Liars and Saints

 Some aspects of "Wine and Roses" haven't aged well. The opening credits are cheesy; the Jack Klugman performance is over the top. The reverential treatment of AA feels slightly silly (although I understand it must have been bold to stage a fictional AA meeting in the early 1960s). But none of this really matters, because of Jack Lemmon. He plays Joe Clay, a man at war with himself. Joe is paid to recruit young women to make appearances at cocktail parties; this is part of a business enterprise. The women must wear sequins and deep "V" necks. Disgusted with his own life, Joe distracts himself by wooing a young person, Kirsten; he makes it his project to introduce her to alcohol. (She likes Toblerone, so he gives her a chocolate martini.) Years later, in a codependent, vodka-drenched marriage, Joe tries to save himself. The moments of relapse are almost sickening. The experience of watching the film becomes something like standing near a slow-motion car wreck. Le...

 Bernadette Peters recently gave an interview extolling the virtues of a "day out" in NYC. I generally follow Bernadette's advice, so I designed a day of my own: *The Met. The big news here is that a blockbuster Sargent exhibition is about to occur. Sargent was technically American, but he was born in Florence, and his miraculous decade unfolded in Paris. He was a mover and shaker; by design, he befriended the brightest social and literary lights. Do you know how Cynthia Nixon always seems to be at major artistic events? You flip through the pages of gala photos--and there is Cynthia Nixon. That same role was designed by Sargent in Paris in the 1880s. Henry James was always writing--and wringing his hands--about John Singer Sargent. *Film Forum. I went for the Ozon, which was terrific, but the happiest news was that there will soon be a big festival devoted to Jack Lemmon. To me, this is like an extra dose of Lexapro. Thank God for the Jack Lemmon Festival. *Three Lives. ...