March 14

Happy Birthday to Michael Caine and Billy Crystal.

For Michael Caine's I watched Educating Rita. It had been awhile since I had seen it, I forgot how good it was. I can identify with both main characters of the film. The music is loud. It is an 80's synthesizer sound. It is composed, performed and arranged by David Hentschel.

Michael played a bored university professor who use to write poetry. At first you think that he is a pompous arrogant professor. He drinks before class (a bottle is hidden in the book shelf behind a copy of The Lost Weekend) to both forget his problems and his boredom and his students. He has to tutor an open university student, played by Julie Waters (the real character's name Susan but she decides to be Rita after her favorite author). Julie is a 26 year old hairdresser who wants to improve her life and her husband and parents don't understand her. She has a common accent and uses a lot of slang. She has very little self-confidence. Her husband wants children and she states she has stopped taking the pill 6 months earlier, but she continues to take them on the sly. When he finds out he burns her books and tells her to stop going to school. Michael invites Julie to a party, but he stands outside looking in and doesn't go in. She goes to a pub to be with her family and looks in the window. She doesn't fit in either world. When she went to see Michael the next time she stated that her mom was crying during a song, she asked her why she was crying and she said “There must be better songs to sing than this”. Julie says “that is what I am trying to do, to sing a better song”. I thought that was a great analogy. Michael and Julie become friends and Michael becomes her mentor. Julie and her husband separate. Julie goes to summer school in the a different city where she gains confidence and quits smoking. Her language also starts to change to a more socially acceptable tone and little slang. When she comes back she rooms with a woman and picks up her mannerisms and works as a waitress. Michael reads her letters very animated.

Michael is married, but is separated from his wife. He lives with another woman who is having an affair with a married man. The man always pretends to use the phone to speak to his publisher when Michael comes in the house. One time Michael comes in and tells him the phone was disconnected that morning. Micheal's girl-friend tells him she is leaving. Michael's drinking is getting worse and is disrupting his classes. He is called on the carpet by the university staff, but not fired. He gives his poetry to Julie to read. She likes it, but Michael being drunk decides that it is crap and tears up the papers. They argue and she leaves. Her roommate overdoses and Julie takes her to the hospital and spends the night. Michael drunk tries to find her and tell her the exam is the next day. He wakes up the dean in the middle of the night. The next day Julie takes her test and goes to see Micheal. He is being transferred to Australia. Michael asks her to go with him. She says no, she doesn't know what she is going to do with her future. In the final scene he leaves for Australia and she is at the airport to say goodbye. He went to the school to get her test results. She passed with distinction.