Tuesday June 29, 2004

Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Accent

Ever since I saw Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle 10 years ago, I — like you — have suspected that Dorothy Parker could not have possibly sounded as pouty and mannered as Jennifer Jason Leigh’s bizarre portrayal, which feels like a leftover from the same year’s Hudsucker Proxy. Terry Teachout digs ups some RealAudio to confirm the same suspicion, but I’m surprised how much Parker actually does sound like Katherine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby, albeit without the boo-boopie-doo Jason Leigh brought to the role in place of, oh say, emotion. Campbell Scott’s rendition of Robert Benchley’s “Treasurer’s Report,” on the other hand, is without flaw.

(via Maud Newton.)