frustrated writer of tragedies

[sergebroom]

Last night's soirée at the NetFlix Theater was 2007's Molière. I thought (and so did Sue when she had added it to our NetFlix queue) that it was going to be a biopic about You-Know-Who. Not quite. It really is a made-up chapter in the life of the frustrated writer of tragedies that supposedly was the inspiration of at least three of his comedies. I recognized plot elements from Les fourberies de Scapin (a family servant works to bring together two young lovers in spite of parental opposition), Le bourgeois gentilhomme (a merchant wants to attain the higher status of a gentleman), and Tartuffe (an apparently saintly man is anything but). There probably were references to many more of Molière's comedies which eluded me as it's been many years since I was exposed to his works. Still, I remembered enough to come out of it amused. Of course, it is quite possible that Your Mileage May Vary if you've never been acquainted with Molière. Then again, Sue's knowledge was minimal and she seemed to like the movie.

Comments

[txanne.livejournal.com]

So it's basically _Molière in Love,_ eh?

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Sort of, but without all the zing and broad comedy of Shakespeare in Love.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

IOW without what made it worth watching.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Oh, there is comedy, but it's very quiet. What can I say? It's French. :)

[txanne.livejournal.com]

Whaaat? Have you SEEN _Les Compères_??

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

I read Le bourgeois gentilhomme en Francais et en Anglais, for two different classes. It was funny in both of them. I should put this on my Netflix queueueueueue and make the rest of my family laugh too.

::laughs at txanne's comment::

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Molière is one of those people whose plays still work even though the specific concerns may not apply anymore. That's definitely true in the case of Tartuffe, what with all the falsely moral people that infest modern society.

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

all the falsely moral people that infest modern society

I was just thinking that myself; Molière ranks up there with Shakespeare on timeless human foibles. Of course, Shakespeare was writing for a more broad range of an audience, so there's all the burlesque and exaggeration in his comedies; Molière got to write more intellectual stuff -- heck, he got to write in prose instead of poetry. ;-)

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

I should ask my friend Elisabeth (http://pics.livejournal.com/serge_lj/pic/000081sg/g3) if Molière's use of prose was the standard way of French plays of the era, or if it's because he didn't like rhyming, or if it's because he was no good at it so he avoided it.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

My bones are made of fangirly squee.

What my professors told me was that prose = frivolous and poetry = srs.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

Oh, and he was as good at verse as Shakespeare was. His just rhymed, is all.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

Serious stuff _was_ in poetry, like Tartuffe. BG has a sekrit hidden social-criticism point, but the play we have was basically a libretto for a musical comedy. Lully was running the show at that point.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

I really should look for possible adaptations of those plays on NetFlix, maybe from a French equivalent of "Masterpiece Theater".

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

There are hypocrites infesting modern society? I'm shocked, shocked that there's gambling in this establishment.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

So am I. If I keep getting my illusions shattered, I'm going to have to grow up.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Me too.

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Ah, I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.


Casablanca is the only movie I've seen in every format possible: film, laserdisc, video, and DVD. (Well, and on cable too.)

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Laserdisc is the only format in which I haven't seen Casablanca. It's a great movie, and it's funny.

"What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?"
"My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters."
"The waters? What waters? We're in the desert."
"I was misinformed."

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

I've only seen it on television, believe it or not.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

I've only seen Le bourgeois gentilhomme performed in English, and read nothing of Molière's in either English or French. I suppose that should mark me as severly under-educated.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Right. And if you believe that, I've got a beach-front property for sale in Florida.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

But you have been speaking prose all your life.

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Florida? What happened to that beach front property in Arizona?

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

From my Albuquerque mansion, I can see whales migrating along the Gulf of New Mexico.

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

I knew I shoulda taken a left at Alberqoique*



*It's really difficult to spell this in Brooklynese, as spoken by Bugs Bunny. Drat.