1991, undated later edition, from William Abrahams
Pauline Kael
Movie Love: Complete Reviews, 1988-1991
Probably bought newish for $14.95
Worn paperback
B-
This book came out just after Kael retired at 71, due to Parkinson's disease. She lived another decade, and published the compendium For Keeps, which we'll get to in 1994, but this is basically it for then-new reviews. As such, it's funny to not only see future Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves pop up (as the twenty-nine-year-old writer-director of The Fabulous Baker Boys), but get Kael's take on the Disney "comeback" vehicle The Little Mermaid ("a bland reworking of old Disney fairy tales, featuring a teenage tootsie in a flirty seashell bra"). This collection is a bit of a come-down from the peak of Hooked, but it still has interesting insights and the occasional great quote. Thanks to her opinion of Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves, my ex-husband and I used to sing "Feathers in his hair, feathers in his head" to the tune of the Cowsills' "(I Love) The Flower Girl." With For Keeps, we'll be going all the way back to '64, so even though the last few years will be a repetition of the other Kael collections I own, it should be interesting. Besides, her reviews definitely stand up to repeat readings.
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