Head Over Beales

I know I'm late to this dance, but my wife and I finally saw the documentary Grey Gardens last night and we can't recommend it enough.





Earlier this summer, my parents took us to see the Grey Gardens musical on Broadway. It was very good...except for the music (I guess the producers thought the only way to get butts crammed into those uncomfortable yet expensive Broadway seats was to add music and sparkle!). The play did an excellent job of revealing the past lives of Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter, "Little Edie". They were rich, they were fabulous, they were desired. But perhaps a tad eccentric. Unfortunately, the play spent so much time on the past (the entire first act), that it only scratched the surface of the Beale's later years in the raccoon-infested squaller of their East Hampton estate.

The film brilliantly documents the insanity of life at Grey Gardens. It was directed by the Maysles brothers, Albert and David (along with Ellen Hovde) who obviously had a way of making their subjects fall in love with them (literally in the case of "Little Edie" and Albert). If it's not on your Netflix queue, you know what to do.

For a little taste of the film, click the pic above...