"The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally," and "This Is Spinal Tap" are masterworks of lighthearted cinema. Not lighthearted in the sense that they have nothing important to say. Lighthearted in that, when I watch them, I feel how I feel when I'm cooking with my family — on a good night, when we all find our groove, disarmed by a bottle of good red wine. I feel how I feel when I bite into a perfect dill pickle, or get a squeeze on my hand from my grandma.
As a secular-but-spiritual Jewish zillennial adult (woof, what a mouthful), bits of the late Rob Reiner's films are imprinted on my brain. My earliest memories are giggling to "The Princess Bride" in a family friend's basement; my dad quoting "Spinal Tap"; my grandpa pointing out that the iconic "I'll have what she's having" scene takes place at Katz's Deli, the beating heart of Jewish New York (at least according to him). These movies are not just familiar but familial — reverberating with New York accents and unseriousness, always pairing wryness with sweetness, like how my grandma believes in dessert with every meal.
Rob Reiner's movies won't be remembered for their high humor, but their style isn't exactly low humor, either. Their funniest moments occupy a different comedic space, in the form of strange sounds and ridiculous plays on words. He made things that were just . . . silly. And that, to me, is sacred.
I never learned to speak or read Yiddish, outside of a few stray terms I've caught over the years from my grandparents, like fakakta and ferschimmelt and farshtunkener, all creative and colorful ways to complain about how much something (or someone) sucks. Silly phrases, voices, and sounds are all I have left of Yiddish in my own life. They're a distant echo of the rich language my ancestors in eastern Europe once used to communicate everything — their hunger, their grief, their boredom, their amusement, their rage. The language wasn't funny to them, of course; it was as ubiquitous and mundane as the air they breathed.
But today, the Yiddish language isn't accessible to me in the same way. Growing up I got the message that Yiddish was a sort of linguistic schmatte, or rag — a threadbare language, worn out by generations of hiding and assimilation. That it's only good for haggling over cabbage at the market, leveling the perfect insult at your enemies, or — and this one's important — for making you laugh.
The humor in some of Rob Reiner's films helps me feel connected, however distantly, to a piece of my culture. Miracle Max in "The Princess Bride" isn't just funny to me; I swear ancestral receptors go off in my brain when I hear Billy Crystal and Carol Kane shout "TO BLAVE" and "humpa-dink, humpa-dink, humpa-dink!"
There's nothing explicitly Jewish about "The Princess Bride" or "When Harry Met Sally." No religious iconography, no prayer, no mention of god except exasperated exclamation. Yet they're infused with so much Jewish familiarity.
This holiday season has already seen so much carnage. Reiner and his wife, Michele, are two on a long list of innocent lives lost that I'm grieving this year, from Rhode Island to Australia to Palestine to Sudan. Through Reiner's filmography — full of so much hilarious, tender work — his memory will be a blessing, giving generations of Jews like me a feeling of home every time we hit "play." |
|
|
Gift Guides: The 40-Something |
|
|
In today's featured column, Popsugar's Angela Elias walks you through shopping for a discerning 40-something. |
Whether it's your BFF, sister, or partner you're shopping for, trying to hunt down the perfect gift for someone in their 40s can feel daunting — even if you're close. Blame it on discerning taste, an increase of disposable income, or other perks that can come with this decade, the pressure to find something she'll want that she doesn't already own is real.
As a shopping editor and 40-something who tests products for a living, I've consulted on this exact topic for countless family members. Between my Slack conversations with coworkers and group texts with friends, I have a treasure trove of gift ideas that are primed for this demographic. — Angela Elias |
Photo credit: Delacorte Press, Jeannie Thomas. |
The Popsugar Reading Nook |
|
|
As part of this year's Reading Challenge, every Tuesday and Friday this month you'll find bite-sized interviews exclusive to this newsletter with contemporary authors behind some of our favorite new releases. This week, meet Nancy Banks, author of "The Uninvited," a Parisian vampire romantasy. |
Popsugar: Why do you think romantasy is such a popular genre right now?
Nancy Banks: I think examining relationships and how they work through the lens of another world is a helpful way to get insights into our relationships in this world. And fantasy is such a fun place to inhabit, with excellent costuming — who doesn't love imagining themselves in a swirling, hooded cape?
PS: What's one trend in YA fiction right now that gives you hope for the future?
NB: YA fiction as a whole gives me hope for the future. It's so open to the full range of human experience. As an example, I was reading YA books with neurodivergent and nonbinary characters long before neurodivergent and nonbinary people were acknowledged in mainstream culture.
PS: Why are vampires and monsters so alluring to women readers?
NB: We live in a world of real-life predators and monsters, so part of the allure is in naming the threat and experiencing it in a safe, controlled environment. A more troubling type of allure is the internalized misogyny in some stories that perpetuates this toxic idea that a monster can be saved by the love of a good woman. That's not romance; it's abuse.
PS: What's your favorite scene or story arc from "The Uninvited"?
NB: I love the scene where Madame Dupuy takes Tosh to the bakery and buys her a pain au chocolat after Tosh has had a rough week in her new school. Pastries play a big role in "The Uninvited" — they're a metaphor for love and friendship. |
|
|
Before you go, here are a few more stories from PS and beyond that you might enjoy. |
|
|
PS — click here to read more from us. Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe now to get more from PS in your inbox. |
|
|
update preferences | privacy notice | unsubscribe
This email was sent to latestnews401.cele@blogger.com. View online As POPSUGAR editors, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. If you buy a product we have recommended, we may receive affiliate commission, which in turn supports our work. Vox Media, 1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036.
Copyright © 2025. All rights reserved. |
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment