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Hello Crush,
Thanks to the urging of many CRUSH Readers, I dove into Landman, Taylor Sheridan’s new show about the oil industry in West Texas. Sheridan is the powerhouse behind Yellowstone (and its progeny).
Having this moment finished it, just as I was about to publish this very Letter, I don’t have a lot of considered comments on it. But it is compulsively watchable, propulsive, red-blooded American fare. Also, like Yellowstone, a fascinating look at the interwoven interests and complications involved in land ownership and management, in the case of Landman, the oil industry (environmental, governmental, ancestral, etc.).
Billy Bob Thornton, a favorite actor, seizes his role as the multi-layered tough, wily, loving protagonist with demons. His counterpoint — his ex-wife and current girlfriend, played by the delectable Ali Larter - is a likable breath-of-fresh air as his ”tradwife” sidekick.
I will also say this, though: I spent much of the show longing for Yellowstone’s Beth Dutton. Her character is deep and complicated; her femininity and sexiness are layered in with toughness and wiliness. In Landman, the women are either silly and sweet or professional, vile and humorless. Beth Dutton is everything rolled into one character. It is its first season, and I expect the writing to get better and the characters more nuanced as the series develops.
🧡
Separately, I also saw The Last Showgirl. I think Pamela Anderson is perfect in it. Boy, from her documentary to her role on Broadway as Roxie Hart in Chicago to going make-up free at the Paris fashion shows to publishing her cookbook, I‘ve become such an admirer of how she is owning this stage of her life. In addition to Lisa Ellex’s insightful review of Showgirl below, we’re sharing an earlier story on her by Daisy Foster in our “Previous Stories” section below.
In This Letter. +Love Is Terribly Inconvenient. Meet My New Pup Koko. By Dish Stanley Her training is not going smoothly. +Film Review: The Last Showgirl by Lisa Ellex Pamela Anderson Razzle Dazzles Us +Three Things I’m Crushing On: Two Books That Changed My Life from CRUSH Reader Mieke, plus Manifesting Effectively +Social Media I Loved This Week. +Our Song of the Week
Love Is Terribly Inconvenient. Meet My New Pup Koko. By Dish Stanley
In which Dish falls hard for a King Charles Cavalier with infuriatingly large, beautiful brown eyes.
“Love is a rapturous gift. Terribly inconvenient, though.” - Alexander (one of Dish’s favorite ex’s).
I met Alexander years ago, when the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York was still in business, and still a moderately cool place for people to host things. We were at a party on the hotel’s terrace on an unseasonably warm spring night. A night that held the promise of summer.
We had a brief but memorable conversation about Joan Didion (we had both recently watched Griffin Dunne’s documentary Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold — (he liked it more than I). A bit later, as I was heading for the door, he asked if he could take me out to dinner.
"Oh, thank you," I replied. “I’m hiding under a rock, though. Had a horrible break-up. You know, all that,” I said sweeping my arm across the room toward the New York City skyline outside in a gesture meant to encapsulate the big messiness of life.
He responded by looking me up and down with exaggerated slowness. I was wearing a fitted black leather sheath dress, Manolo Blahnik stilettos and red lipstick.
"You. In That," he gestured, pointing up and down toward my outfit, "That’s your version of ‘hiding under a rock’?"
Continue reading here
Film Review: The Last Showgirl by Lisa Ellex
Starring Pamela Anderson as a seasoned Las Vegas showgirl must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run.
From the moment the film opens on the frightened face of a desperate dancer in the midst of her first audition in over 30 years, the audience is made to feel deeply invested in this character. The face belongs to Shelly Gardner, the fifty-something-year-old Las Vegas showgirl played by Pamela Anderson. For her performance, Anderson has been deservedly nominated as best female actor for the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. As Shelly, Anderson brings pathos, vulnerability, and a lion-heartedness to what could have easily been a victimized character. Instead, she is nothing short of perfect as the birdlike, raw-nerve entertainer whose world is shaken after learning that with the death of old Las Vegas, her life-long gig as a showgirl in “Le Razzle Dazzle” revue is about to come to an end. Dancing is not only Shelly’s livelihood; it is her purpose and her passion. It is how she defines herself and how she has justified the major life choices she has made throughout the decades.
Also nominated (as best female actor in a supporting role) is Anderson’s co-star Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis plays Annette, the badly-tanned, brassy-haired, gambling-addicted, showgirl-cum-cocktail waitress and Shelly’s longest friend. Annette works in the same casino as Sandy and with no pension or savings Annette, too, finds herself in crisis. When asked by a 19-year-old co-worker if she’ll retire she matter-of-factly responds, “Retire? Are you crazy? Bankers retire. What do you think, I have a 501K? No, I’m not gonna retire. I’m gonna work and then I’m gonna work some more. And then I’m gonna die. I’ll probably die in my uniform.” Since her tour-de-force performance as Carmy’s manic mom in The Bear, Curtis has been pulling out all the stops and exercising a creative freedom in her roles that most actors don’t have the skill or courage to execute. As Annette, Curtis is fearless in revealing a character stripped of everything– including her physical beauty in a world that is built on glamour.
Another performance worth noting comes from retired champion wrestler, David Bautista. His understated portrayal of Eddie, the lonely, down-to-earth stage manager who has also been with the revue from the start, is textured and honest and beautifully juxtaposes the glitz of Vegas and all it represents.
Continue reading here
In this series, readers like you share recommendations for the things they love the most, right at this moment.
How to Approach a New Year: Two Books That Changed My Life From CRUSH Reader Mieke & How to Effectively Manifest
CRUSH Reader (& frequent contributor) Mieke, whose thoughtful recommendations you’ve read in our regular Reader-sourced column Three Things I’m Crushing On, sent in a couple of books she’s recently dived into. It’s a new year, so I thought you’d want to know about them (if you don’t already). “I am focused on making a few changes in myself,” Mieke wrote. (Thank you, Mieke!)
And then, since we’re on the topic of change, I am adding a clip on how to manifest effectively.
"This book helped me cut back on my wine intake! 🤪"
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza
The Steps to Manifesting, from a Top Neurosurgeon. Manifesting isn’t about just saying a wish and blowing out a candle on your birthday. (Oh. Maybe that explains a few things!) There are steps that engage your brain and senses, according to this neurosurgeon (from Mel Robbins).
Social Media I Loved This Week
Song of the Week
High Note by Valerie June (featuring Stax Music Academy)
This song is a “euphoric slice of Memphis soul.” I read that in fantasy, an online music magazine I try to check out regularly. This song was originally written for Mavis Staples, but what a version by Memphis native June here.
The last two shots in the “Social Media I Loved This Week” are from a new “refined cocktail and entertainment lounge” that just opened up last night in West Palm Beach called Mary Lou’s. I’ve been following the reports on its opening for months, as it is down the block from where I’ve been renting a place while my own place is being renovated. When the descriptive for a new bar includes the word “lounge” you know they’re trying to deliver something that’s up a notch or two.
I don’t know where my invitation went for the opening night festivities (LOL), but a close friend Lulu got hers. (Her name is Lulu, so of course she got an opening night invitation.) “Overdressed opulence,” it said. “A revival of the iconic Rothschild Surrealist Ball of 1972. We invite you to embrace an irreverent, bold statement of fashion.” Looking at Mary Lou’s inst story feed of opening night photos, that seems to primarily have been interpreted as “dress as scantily as humanly possible.”
Anyway. I’m going with my nephew and my most “game” girlfriend tonight. I scored a reservation by sending an email the second after I noticed from Mary Lou’s insta account that the reservation desk was open. “I live in the neighborhood,” I wrote, “and have been looking forward to your opening. Can you fit us in?” This is really for my nephew, who is down from New York City for the week end.
It’s not opening night, so thank god we don’t have to be surreal, but I have no idea what to wear. Or what’s in store for us. It’ll be a night to remember, though.
I’ll report back. If we survive.
XO,
Dish
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The Crush Letter is a weekly newsletter from Dish Stanley curating articles & intelligence on everything love & connection - friendship, romance, self-love, sex. If you’d like to take a look at some of our best stories go to Read Us. Want the Dish?
