July 19 Kathleen Turner

Happy Birthday to Kathleen Turner, Pat Hingle, Anthony Edwards and Beverly Archer.

As part of the Arab images on film, Jewel of the Nile was shown on TCM so I decided to watch the film for Kathleen Turner’s birthday. I probably saw the film in it’s original release in 1985, but I didn’t remember the film and after I saw it I realized why, it is not a good film. Dr. Shaheen called it one of the 10 worst films of arab images.

The film starts as a scene of Kathleen Turner’s new story. The scene then switches to a modern story with Kathleen Turner writing a story on a typewriter on a boat. She has writers block and in a fit of frustration she throws the typewriter into the water. Michael Douglas tries to comfort her, but they argue about their future plans. Later that day is a party. At the party a man, Spiros Focas, approaches Kathleen to write his biography. He has been vilified in the press and wants to set the story straight. Michael is invited, but declines. Kathleen gets her things and goes with Spiros. On the way back to the boat Danny DeVito stops Michael on the dock. On the water the boat explodes and he decides to go after Kathleen.

The film goes downhill after that. Danny DeVito overacts, Michael Douglas as a drifter and protector is well acted. Kathleen Turner plays a curious/noisy American at the Arab compound taking pictures getting in things where she doesn’t belong also acts very well.

I am not a fan of friends. When I found out that Kathleen Turner was going to play Chandlers DAD I was intrigued. Kathleen played a drag queen in Las Vegas. She was a hoot. I think you have to have a really good sense of who you are as a person and an actor to play someone of the opposite sex.