Hey look at me, I'm dancin'!

Thanks to the following clip, I am deeply annoyed that I never started watching Life On Mars.



Genius. I might have to invest in the box set, at some point when I'm not spending all my money on vintage dresses and fizzy drinks that come in nice bottles.

Something that I certainly will be investing in is the new Singalong edition of the classic musical Bugsy Malone. Set in prohibition America, the cast is entirely made up of under 16 year olds with little or no acting experience. (Most haven't followed up a career in film, with the notable exception of Scott Baio and Jodie Foster) All the singing was done by adults, including the film's writer, and lip synched by the children. The weapons are splurge guns that shoot custard, the cars are powered by pedaling furiously and the final number involves everyone being apparently 'killed' and then coming back to life in order to make friends and sing the final number:


What's not to love? I think most people of my generation appeared in some high-school performance of the show: I was a dancer in an out of school drama society, cast at the last minute because 1) I could dance well and act and sing a bit and 2) I was the same size as the girl who dropped out so I could just use her costumes. Which incidentally, consisted of sequined hotpants and tiny halterneck. Ah yes, I had a glittering (literally. LOL) career in theatre. Sometimes I ask myself why I gave it all up for science.

I purchased High Society for a bargain £4 in Asda today (though was disappointed by their usually fabulous clothing range) and intend to settle down and watch that tonight. If you haven't seen it, I strongly suggest that you do. It's a musical remake of the film ThePhiladelphia Story and stars Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong as himself. Grace Kelly looks absolutely amazing in it and makes me despair of the movie stars of today who
can't act, never mind sing and dance as well. They certainly don't
display any of the grace shown by stars then.
I hate this 'instant celebrity' culture of today, where everyone gets their fifteen minutes of fame, or even longer. I was hoping the public crucifixion of Jade Goody would bring an end to it all, but I think I was a little too optimistic there. I despise anyone who is famous for doing nothing. All Goody did was appear on Big
Brother and prove herself to be a complete moron. And the British public celebrated this! We do so love an idiot in this country. She (and most other reality TV stars) represents everything about people that I hate. I don't understand why we so desperately want to watch very dull people live out their very dull lives on our TV screens, rather than having a life ourselves. Why can't we idolise someone worthwhile for a change? Possibly, there's no one left worth idolising.
"They took the idols and smashed them, the Fairbankses, the Gilberts, the Valentinos! And who've we got now? Some nobodies! "
I have a horrible suspicion that all the best people are dying and nobody is replacing them, and so far I seem to be being proved right.

On a cheerier note, since my 15 year old sister came out a few weeks ago I seem to have developed some sort of sympathy Gay Pride which is a little odd, considering that I'm straight. Perhaps I just wish I belonged to some kind of minority group that I could have solidarity with. As a white, lower middle class, well educated female (well, I've had a good education. Whether or not I've taken any good out of it is another question), all I've got is feminism and I'm not even very good at that, having recently announced that I want to be a housewife (though in my opinion, feminism is about women doing what they want, and not denying any traditional female roles. Cos erm, isn't that basically trying to be a man? But this is something to
expand on another time) I like the idea of being a rebel, a student activist, but I'm far too English and don't like complaining. Wouldn't want to inconvenience anyone. I'll take what I'm given with a stiff upper lip, and would anyone like some tea?