Oscar Cram Week continued today with Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose". Even my limited, not even taxicab variety, French tells me that is "Life in Pink". A song made famous by Edith Piaf, whose life story is told in this movie. She died in 1963 at the age of 47 and rammed about 150 years worth of hard living and heartache into this one.

So, of course, this is a performance that Oscar loves. Because Cotillard can play her both young and old, you have to read the movie via subtitles, it's a famous person plus you have major triumphs and downfalls all in the same 2:14 movie that ping-pongs in a non-chronological way. Her affair with Marcel Cerdan was also highlighted. That means we get a little boxing action in the middle of an arty flick. Giddyup.

Famous names mentioned in the movie: Jean Cocteau, Marlene Dietrich, Marcel Cerdan, Marlon Brando, Charles Chaplin, Charles Aznavour, Yves Montand.

It's the type of movie where you say life kinda sucked in the early 20th century. You know, kids with dirty faces and snot running down their noses. Piaf was first abandoned by her mother, then her father and was raised in a whorehouse, run by her grandma. Nice family upbringing. Father reclaims her and did I mention he's a circus performer. A contortionist. I told you life kinda sucked. Try paying the bills that way.

What did we learn? Well, this is not a comedy. Piaf was blind as a child; as a teen, she had a child very few knew about who died of meningitis; she played the diva role to the hilt "Who says I can't? What's the point of being Edith Piaf?", that's a great line; the guy who discovered her (Gerard Depardieu) was killed by mobsters who knew Piaf and people didn't take a shine to that as they thought she was involved; she then hooked up with another guy who molded her into a star by booking her into music halls, etc.; her marriages get short shrift in the movie but the Cerdan affair was her great love and keeping with the theme of her life, he was on his way to see her and died in a plane crash in 1949. Can you pile any more onto her?

Did I mention she was an alcoholic and also a morphine addict? Her husband made her go to rehab, did they call it that back then? BTW, she also died of liver cancer. Yep, that's a full life to take a final curtain at 47.

Great performance, but not a movie you wanna see early on a sunny day.

Meal of Links

Lindsay Lohan gets naked. Wasn't this sort of hush-hush, I mean, who knew this was coming?

22 remakes and how they differed from the original. Some were improved, others not so much.

It's the new cast of "Dancing With The Stars". Monica Seles says, "I'm a tennis player. I don't know a tango from a mango." Also, check out Priscilla Presley's new face.

Exercise Yard

With all of the contenders in the NBA making trades, what will the Cavs do? Get Kirk Snyder? Yawn.

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