Friday, January 25, 2008

A 'Love Story'

I'll never forget the time I told a handsome new editor at my old job in Midtown seven or eight years ago that he looked like a "young Ryan O'Neal." The whole room went silent and everyone stared at me before one of them got up the nerve to say, "Who's Ryan O'Neal?" At first I was stunned as I tried to explain to them that he was "the Brad Pitt of the 1970s," Eventually, though, I just kind of laughed it off and realized that I was actually happy I was older and knew who he was. Ryan was certainly a HUGE part of my coming of age. So incredibly handsome it was almost painful for me to look at him as a young boy. (And what about Ali McGraw? Brad and Angelina who?) These days O'Neal is more of a tabloid fixture and late-night punchline for, um, having a tendency to punch his son in the mouth (or did he shoot at him last time?), so it was a pleasant reminder for even myself when I was flipping the channels last night and "Love Story" was in full swing on Turner Classic Movies. That golden hair, crystal blue eyes and perfect smile. Those muscular legs in all of those scenes where he's playing squash in white short-shorts. (And what about that chest?) Swoon! It all came rushing back to me and naturally I knew that I didn't have to say I was "sorry" for forgetting how much he'd once meant to me.

Catching "Love Story" was great. But my all-time favorite O'Neal film (my whole family loves it) is Peter Bogdanavich's "What's Up, Doc?,"which I consider to be the funniest screwball comedy of all time. ("This usually doesn't happen."). The chemistry between O'Neal's Dr. Howard Bannister and Barbra Streisand's Judy Maxwell and Madeline Kahn's Eunice Burns has never been matched since, And his star kept rising with "Paper Moon" and the critically acclaimed "Barry Lyndon," which took home four Oscars.
Sure, by the end of the decade his star was fading, despite the fact that his re-teaming with Babs in 1979's "The Main Event" is one of the funniest movies ever, if you asked me. Ryan in nothing but satin boxing shorts for 90 minutes was worth the price of admission, Patti D'Arbanville was robbed of an Oscar for her performance as Ryan's chain-smoking and perpetually hacking girlfriend, Donna, and Barbra's "paper cut" scene at the boxing camp makes shows like "The Office" and "The Comeback" look completely comfortable to watch by comparison! Ten years later Ryan was still handsome as ever in the highly underrated "Chances Are" opposite Cybill Shepherd, his "Nickelodeon" co-star, one of the big-budget bombs he made that chipped away at his star power.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

OMG Kenneth, our taste in men is so identical, I can't even believe it! I think I still have an original promotional movie poster from "The Main Event" somewhere ... with the tag line ... "It's a Glove Story!" And, "What's up Doc?" has to be one of the best comedies of all time!

What is difficult to deal with, though, are all the rumors about him beating Farrah and that "The Burning Bed" wasn't a far cry from the truth.

sashtonphoto

Anonymous said...

You can catch a mature Ryan O'Neal on the Fox show "Bones". He plays the title character's father. One of the more interesting roles of his career, I believe.

Sam said...

Thank you so much for posting that! I was so in love with Ryan as a kid in the 70s, and What's Up Doc is one of my top 5 favorite movies. They tried to make him look nerdy, but when he dropped his pants and was standing there in his boxer shorts, it was almost more than my budding libido could handle!

Anonymous said...

"What's Up Do" is the best romantic comedy ever! I know, I know, "It Happened One Night," blah, blah blah. But it's at least my favorite.

wd said...

I had to chuckle when I read the post. I very much remember Love Story however, I do have to admit, I really didn't mist up when she died. All I could think was "Thank God I don't have to listen to "preppy - preppy!!" anymore. LOL. But goodness Ryan was a HUNK!

There was also an urban legend that the theme was the first movie theme composed (but not played) by a computer. Supposedly, the studio fed all the major love themes into a computer and it massaged and combined them ...(shrug)

(HUGE bear hug) ...b

Anonymous said...

So true! One funny/stupid comeday Ryan made in the early 80's was "So Fine," where he reprises his role as a stuffed shirt. Through a series of misadventures, he ends up wearing tight designer jeans with clear plastic over his butt cheeks. YUM! I haven't seen it since, but if you ever get a chance, it's worth a look. His co-star is an Italian actress who plays a total ditz. I liked it, but all my friends thought I was on drugs for enjoying it.

Eric V. said...

Indeed, there's something to be said about the manly look of the '70s and early '80s. Add Burt Reynolds circa Deliverance to the Ryan O'Neal mix, and you got the makings for some good pre-condom classics.

Henry Holland said...

Great post, I love him in Barry Lyndon, especially when he comes across the two men in the lake who are saying goodbye to each other as they head off to battle.

James Greenlee said...

Yes, Ryan was dreamy, wasn't he? What's Up, Doc? is one of my perrenial favorites. It's one of those movies I can watch over and over again (along with 9 to 5 and Ruthless People.

Thanks for the memories, Kenneth!

Joey said...

I bet you're glad you're not working with that bunch of dummies anymore. What kind of people only know what is popular at THEIR time, and nothing from popular culture before?? I guess I've been fortunate: the people I've worked with would've known who I meant if I'd said, "You look like Clark Gable."

Timmy said...

This is totally weird. The Main Event just finished showing on HBO and since I haven't checked your blog in a few days I decided to check in and...

I too had a HUGE crush on the young Ryan. That face and that hairy chest were quite yummy.

Anonymous said...

I love Ryan O'Neal then and now. When he was staring at the ice skating pond at the end of the of "Love Story",with Babs and even when he is already "aged" now.
I still love whenever and in which ever films and series that he played in(even in that doomed "MissMatch" with Alicia Silverstone) *it's the way he embodied each characters that makes him, still one of my favourites and still sexy....*

Unknown said...

He lives in my neighborhood and I see him all the time. He resembles nothing as much as he does an elephant seal. He is also given to wearing shorts and fairly skimpy shirts, both of which are a bad idea.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone remember "Partners" ? it was an early 90's movie with John Hurt , they were policemen working undercover as a gay couple to solve a murder . It's a very cute movie, John Hurt , who really is gay, starts to fall for ryan's character , and you really feel for him. Ryan even models for a gay mag. The last line is as good as the one in "Some like it Hot'!
stevegan

Cheekydawg said...

Ryan O'Neal was one of the most beautiful men that I have ever seen, even without the hyper-perfect body that is required of pretty boys nowadays. Too bad he didn't age well like Paul Newman.