A few weeks ago, I introduced my Summer of Cher, which just involves me watching as many Cher movies as I can (feel free to join in…Cher is for everyone). I decided to go back to the beginning of Cher’s film career and watch Silkwood, which I’d been interested in for a long time solely because of the Nora Ephron writing credit. But tracking Silkwood down proved difficult. Not only is it not available on any of our one million streaming services, but it’s not even available to rent. A film directed by Mike Nichols, co-written by Nora Ephron, and starring Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell and Cher isn’t available online! I’m sure you could find it on some dodgy download site, but I turned to a more reliable source: the library. Thank you to the Columbus library system, which had a barebones copy of Silkwood. When it comes to this film, you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.
My favorite way to write about a film is what I would describe as gentle roasting. I don’t enjoy treating the things I love with reverence (which is why I cannot identify as a Swiftie!). I fully believe that the best viewing experiences occur when you love something with your whole heart and are also making fun of it just a little bit. This is an attitude that not everyone holds, as I’ve learned the hard way from writing on the internet and also in books. I think it comes from growing up in a family where we got made fun of a lot. I won’t go into specifics to protect both parties involved, but one of my brothers once wrote a poem about an embarrassing thing my other brother did. That takes effort.
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But it feels really weird to write a long, joking post about Silkwood, a movie based on the true story of Karen Silkwood, a union activist who died in mysterious circumstances after working to uncover the terrible things that were happening at the plutonium plant where she worked. This movie was harrowing and emotional, but also…it’s great. And still quite fun in parts! Given all the people involved, that’s no surprise.
So instead of a long post, here are a few reasons why you should watch Silkwood. Get it from the library or find it somewhere online, although I wouldn’t know the first thing about how to do that1.
-One of the top Letterboxd reviews says: “I feel like more people would watch this if they knew cher plays a butch lesbian in it so I’m just going to say it: cher plays a butch lesbian in this movie.” It’s true! According to my research (as always, the trivia section of IMDB), Mike Nichols did NOT want Cher to get glammed up at all for this role and she was upset that she couldn’t even curl her eyelashes. This is a pride month watch for two reasons: Cher in general, and Cher as a lesbian.
-Kurt Russell is, as always, great. Have you ever seen Kurt Russell in a role and thought, “no thanks,” because I certainly haven’t. I’m always happy to see him. He wears very low-slung jeans and, at one point, pours a beer over his head. He and Meryl sleep in a bed under a confederate flag and when he moves out, we see that the flag has been repurposed in his new space as a window-covering. He’s a flawed character and he’s a character that knows the importance of reduce/reuse/recycle.
-Meryl Streep is always hot, but perhaps more than usual in this film, where she has a mullet and a southern accent. I loved every scene with Meryl, Cher, and Kurt. Like, what a cast! The three of them together light up the screen! There’s just so much hair.
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-Craig T. Nelson alert! Siren sounds! After seeing Craig T. Nelson in …And Justice For All (I guess I’ve just accepted the ellipses in the title), I was shocked to see him here. And playing another bad guy! One of the best parts of watching a lot of films from the 70s/80s/90s is that you get a chance to see the same character actors over and over, and it’s a thrill to spot them.2
-E. Katherine Kerr alert! After just seeing her in Suspect, another Cher film, I loved seeing her in a bigger role here.
-At one point Cher starts dating a makeup artist but it turns out she’s a makeup artist at a funeral parlor and she’s making Cher look like a corpse. Hollis was like, “Why was that whole plot in there?” and listen, he’s my husband and I love him, but sometimes I don’t know what he’s thinking. Why wouldn’t that little detail be in there? Why wouldn’t I want to see Cher date a funeral home makeup artist?
-This film is very upsetting. It’s dark and realistic and I almost cried at one of the many scenes where someone has to get plutonium contamination scrubbed off of them (because that’s all the company does when you’re exposed). But it’s ultimately the story of people. As Roger Ebert puts it in his review, “When the Karen Silkwood story was first being talked about as a movie project, I pictured it as an angry political expose…There’d be the noble, young nuclear worker, the evil conglomerate, and, looming above, the death’s-head of a mushroom cloud. That could have been a good movie, but predictable. Mike Nichols’ ‘Silkwood’ is not predictable. That’s because he’s not telling the story of a conspiracy, he’s telling the story of a human life. There are villains in his story, but none with motives we can’t understand. After Karen is dead and the movie is over, we realize this is a lot more movie than perhaps we were expecting.” As he so often was, Rog is right.
I loved this film, and I think you will too if you’re able to track it down. It’s certainly not Nothing Happens Cinema (a lot is happening!), but it’s such a character-focused film for one with so much plot.
How’s your Summer of Cher going? Mine, so far, is full of Cher. Peloton has a wonderful slate of Pride classes, most notably a Cher artist series that dropped this week. I did a Cher walk with my favorite instructor, Matty Maggiacomo, and it was everything I hoped it would be. Have you ever power-walked to “Song for the Lonely?” Because I have, and it was beautiful. My love for “If I Could Turn Back Time” is intense, and it turns out I love working out to it. I showed my son the video and he was shocked (“I can’t believe you can see her whole butt!”). But I never knew this little factoid, gleaned from the song’s Wikipedia page:
The song was written by Diane Warren, who produced the song along with Guy Roche. While the soft rock track was specifically written for Cher, the singer initially disliked the song upon hearing a demo and turned it down. Warren claimed in 1991: “I got on my knees and pleaded. I told her I wasn’t going to leave the room until she said yes, and finally, just to get rid of me, she did.” In 2014, she further added: “She really hated [it], but I held her leg down during a session and said, ‘You have to record it!'” According to Warren, Cher reportedly responded: “‘Fuck you, bitch! You’re hurting my leg! OK, I’ll try it.’ Once Cher sang it, she gave me this look like, ‘You were right’.”
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Just imagine Cher telling you that you’re hurting her leg.
If you’re looking for something to do to celebrate your Summer of Cher, here are just a few ideas:
-Show your child the “If I Could Turn Back Time” video. It’s never too early to start talking about Cher. My son asked, “Why did that sailor grab Cher’s leg?” and I responded, “I guess he just loves Cher.” But then I remembered that we need to teach our children about the importance of consent, so I added, “But you shouldn’t grab someone’s leg, even if it’s Cher…especially if it’s Cher!”
-Do a Cher Peloton workout. There’s also a low impact cardio (which is basically aerobics), barre, yoga, and several rides. I’m trying to draw them out as long as I can. If you don’t have the Peloton app, there’s no reason you can’t just make your own Cher workout. Remember the summer of Hot Girl Walks? What about a Hot Cher Walk?
-Buy this Cher shirt for me. Matty was wearing it in his walk and now I’m obsessed. I guess you can buy it for yourself, whatever.
That’s it for this week. I know I should’ve saved this post for Monday to keep a semi-consistent weekly schedule, but ultimately I just wanted to post it today. I’m a slave to my own whims. No One Asked will be even more sporadic than usual this summer, because although I’m not working much while my son is out of school, I do have a few deadlines and obligations and events that mean I can’t spend every evening watching Cher films.
And speaking of events! What are you doing on Tuesday? I hope you answered, “Going to Gramercy to hear you talk to Jen Devon about her fabulous new book, Right Where We Left Us.” Otherwise, unfortunately, you are dead to me. 🙁 You can get tickets here.
See you very soon (hopefully on Tuesday evening, OR ELSE). xo
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Category: WHY
