Cinema Betty

Before my re-read, Britannia of Britannia All At Sea (a book I am convinced was named before it was written) was such a stalker. But, as I have mentioned, upon reflection I began to see that she wasn't chasing our hero so much as leaving openings for him to ask her out wide enough to drive an articulated lorry through. But, still, she does follow him to Holland. And so, my pick is:

Three Coins In The Fountain (1954)

Look at her Louis! She has no soul in her cold, dead eyes! Run!

Three secretaries in Rome. One bags her Prince by pretending to love the piccolo and memorizing lists of his favorite things (Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes...). This is a flawed movie, for me, (the dark secretary is mis-cast (I find her impossible to like.) the author's story is needlessly tragic and the earthy secretary (while awesome) wallows more than a bit in Italian jungle fever) but I would walk a mile barefoot across busted glass to see anything with Louis Jourdan in it. Rossano Brazzi did not waste my time either.


The Chain of Destiny features our hero attempting to find an un-ending stream of jobs for our heroine. Why, says Betty Debbie, it's like he's a one-man employment agency. Hmm. A movie about jobs and temp agencies:

Dave (1993)

Kevin Klein plays a genuinely decent fellow who comes to the presidency by chance--supplanting the look-alike rotter that was in there before. He romances the smoking hot first-lady while he's at it and pushes a jobs bill because he was a temp agency owner in his previous life.
Dave asks the question: What kind of narcissist thinks he should be the president?