Tag: Mia Farrow

Classic Films · Dramas

The Great Gatsby (1974)

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Image credit: The Great Gatsby, 1974

With summer officially here, it seems like a great time to revisit a classic story of wild parties, sweaty cocktails, sweatier people, and lightweight linen suits. The Great Gatsby (Disc/Download) has been adapted several times by Hollywood, but my favorite will always be the 1974 version. There’s something so soothing about the soft focus and pastel costumes that watching it is akin to having a lovely dream during an afternoon nap on a screened-in porch.

Starring Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby and Mia Farrow as his long lost love Daisy Buchanan, this adaptation is tonally more faithful to the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel than the more recent Baz Luhrmann cinematic extravaganza. Nevertheless, some disco-era touches manage to sneak in. The sequined head wraps, the dewy makeup, the frenetic, dancing crowds—Gatsby’s mansion may as well have been a Studio 54 outpost. The cast is great, particularly Bruce Dern as Daisy’s philandering husband Tom Buchanan, and Sam Waterston in the role of gentle narrator Nick Carraway, but what this film will most be remembered for are the clothes. Featuring menswear designed by Ralph Lauren, The Great Gatsby ushered in a new era of preppy chic. The movie is long at two-and-a-half hours, but I’m convinced the filmmakers just wanted an excuse to throw another three-piece suit up on the screen. Really, I can’t blame them.

Speaking of linen suits, now seems like a great time to drink a quintessential summer cocktail consisting of gin, cucumbers, and elderflower liqueur. Bright and fresh, this will have you dancing the Charleston in no time. While watching The Great Gatsby (1974), I recommend drinking a White Linen cocktail.

White Linen

2oz Gin

¾ oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

1 oz Lime Juice

2-3 slices cucumber, plus more for garnish

2 oz Soda water

Muddle cucumber at the bottom of a shaker with gin, elderflower liqueur, and lime juice. Add ice, and shake to chill. Double strain into a glass filled with fresh ice, and top with soda water. Garnish with fresh cucumber.

Honestly, the true MVP of this movie is the ice bucket. Because there was no central air conditioning in the 1920s, the only relief for the wealthy elite was a cold cocktail. Ice was essential then, and it still is today. It always amazes me when I show up to a party and the host has all the mixers out, but no ice! If you want to be a helpful old sport like Nick Carraway, make sure to stop for a bag of ice before arriving at your next summer soirée; your fellow partygoers will be paralyzed with happiness. Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

Rosemary’s Baby

LizLocke1 Comment

rosemarys baby
Image credit: Rosemary’s Baby, 1968.

Cute dresses, weird jewelry, and Ruth Gordon’s funky hats- THIS is how you get me to watch a horror film. Like a spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down, the costume and production design of Rosemary’s Baby (DVD/Download) make it palatable (dare I say, enjoyable) to a scary-movie neophyte like me. If you haven’t seen this classic film yet, stop what you’re doing and go watch it right now.  You’ll thank me later.

More than a horror film, I consider this picture to be classic suspense. Rosemary, played brilliantly by vintage-pixie Mia Farrow, is married to a handsome, feckless actor when they move into a storied New York City apartment building. Their neighbors, played by Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer, are old, very creepy, and secret occultists. Rosemary is drugged and raped by the devil while a bunch of naked senior citizens (AND HER AWFUL HUSBAND) stand by and watch, then she’s unknowingly forced to carry the spawn of Satan for 9 months. There are not enough words in the English language to fully convey how much I hate Rosemary’s husband, who makes her think he violently raped and clawed her up, instead of the devil in her dream. Because that’s somehow okay??? I’d say Rosemary needs a divorce attorney.

How, you ask, do Rosemary and her husband get pulled into this coven’s orbit? By that great social icebreaker, a cocktail party. Their strange neighbors serve up cocktails and terrible cake made of god-knows-what. Devil’s food? (Sorry, I had to). While you watch Rosemary’s Baby, I recommend drinking this Vodka Blush cocktail, straight from the Castavet’s fabulous apartment.

Vodka Blush

2 1/2 oz Vodka

½ oz Lime juice

½ oz Grenadine

Sprig of Rosemary for garnish

Mix vodka and lime juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until cold, then strain into a chilled flute. Slowly top with grenadine, and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Vodka Blush

While I definitely had one tense night of sleep where I woke up expecting Ruth Gordon to be standing in a corner with too much lipstick and a lime green feather boa, this movie didn’t exactly scare the bejeezus out of me. I attribute this mainly to the relatable performance by Mia Farrow, Roman Polanski’s incredible direction, and an enviable 60’s wardrobe. I can only hope her maternity dresses will come back in style for the rest of us. Not that I’m planning on getting pregnant with the spawn of Satan, but they’re the perfect camouflage for a belly full of cocktails and queso. Cheers!