Carrie Fisher 1956-2016
To say that the first Star Wars trilogy was an obsession in my youth is a tremendous understatement. The action figures were nearly the only toys my brother and I had. And that fact alone would make me a Carrie Fisher fan-- what a talented, funny, gorgeous woman she was.
But in her most famous role, George Lucas' mythical universe acted as a sort of sexless universe. In my opinion, Carrie was much more of a magnetic physical presence in the years that followed. While Star Wars dominated a certain period of my life, Nora Ephron's When Harry Met Sally laid its own particular legacy on me-- in respect to romantic relationships-- when it came out in the year of my 14th birthday. Carrie had the best friend role to Meg Ryan's title character, but she created a sexy, indelible character, paired opposite the equally marvelous actor Bruno Kirby. All of a sudden, Princess Leia was grown, and she was funny. And she could cut you off at the knees. "Marie Fisher" kept a Rolodex of men she might potentially date, and you'll recall the reveal in the film that she only dog-ears the cards of men that have gotten married. Has there, before or since, been a better "best friend' in a romantic comedy than Carrie Fisher in that movie? I thought it was a colossal failure of Hollywood the last few years that nobody ever thought to pair Carrie again with her Star Wars co-star Harrison Ford in the supporting role of parents, or the like, in another romantic comedy. People would have gone crazy for that.
"Marie" was the role I always imagined to be closest to the real Carrie, the sarcastic wit that survived the high-profile celebrity breakup of her parents, attended Beverly Hills High School and didn't bother to graduate, inspired the Paul Simon song "Hearts and Bones," guested so memorably on 30 Rock and lent her voice to Family Guy, authored the hilarious, best-selling autobiographies/semi-autobiographies "Postcards from the Edge" and "Wishful Drinking," and wrote in the latter that she wished to die "drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra." I eventually came to believe that Princess Leia was obligated to renounce the monarchy system of Alderaan if she wished to become a true rebel hero, but I loved Carrie Fisher. She was a true rebel hero.
posted by CM @ 6:52 PM
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