Adrienne Shelly - THE MEN

Before writing and directing her best-known film, WAITRESS (2007), Adrienne Shelly directed two features, SUDDEN MANHATTAN (1996), I'LL TAKE YOU THERE (1999) and three shorts, URBAN LEGEND (1994), LOIS LIVES A LITTLE (1997), and THE SHADOWS OF BOB AND ZELDA (2000). She also wrote two screenplays, "The Morgan Stories" (unproduced), and "Serious Moonlight," which was made into a movie in 2009, directed by Cheryl Hines.

I selected these clips as part of an essay, "The Art of Adrienne Shelly," I wrote on her about her my website, which was my attempt at the first critical appreciation of Adrienne's life's work. Nobody had ever done this and nobody has done it since. I was her publicist, she was my friend, and she co-starred in a short film I wrote and directed. There was no WAITRESS back then, and she was very hurt that people didn't appreciate her work as a writer/director. She had a fanbase as an actor in independent films, but the industry and the critics didn't give her much respect when she was alive.

Adrienne wrote an essay for the release of "Sudden Manhattan," which included, "In my twenties I had every bad kind of relationship imaginable. I questioned just about every move I made and I failed an awful lot in a variety of ways--sometimes loud and noisily, and sometimes in small subtly painful ways. There was unrest, boredom, a feeling of hopelessness, powerlessness, and a garden variety angst. Mostly, (modest film career or no modest film career, depending on the month) there was a lot of wandering. I guess what I was really doing was searching, and trying to figure out who the hell I was. And being rather clumsy."

I never found out if the men in her life were as bad as she said they were. There are two sides to every story and I only got to hear hers. As did anybody who saw her movies, particularly Earl in Waitress, who got on a list of the “10 Worst Movie Husbands.” http://www.scene-stealers.com/top-10s...

She also wrote a hilarious essay about Oprah Winfrey’s increasing frustration with her endless non-marriage to her fiancé, Stedman Graham. (It was read at Adrienne’s memorial by one of Adrienne’s closest friends, actress Pamela Gray.)

Adrienne had a fondness for sweet, guileless men in her movies, who refuse to give up their courtship of the women they sincerely love. Waitress fans will fondly remember Ogie (Eddie Jemison), unstoppable in his wooing of Adrienne’s character Dawn, and Alan North plays a similar role in I’ll Take You There.

The open-heartedness of these men leads into the confident, ebullient, joyful side of Adrienne, overwhelmed with boundless love that she directed towards her art and to her friends.

In most of her portraits of men, she wasn't bitter or angry. She looked at these men with compassion and found them more ridiculous than truly bad. She found whimsical humor there. That was her unique gift, and what I loved most about her.

THE BLUES    • Adrienne Shelly - THE BLUES  #adrienneshelly  
MEN    • Adrienne Shelly - THE MEN #adrienneshelly  
SCARY MEN    • Adrienne Shelly - SCARY MEN #adrienneshelly  
TEACHERS    • Adrienne Shelly - TEACHERS #adrienneshelly  
Also
"Adrienne Shelly directs I'LL TAKE YOU THERE"    • Adrienne Shelly directs I'LL TAKE YOU THER...  
(Just a few moments of her on the set)

As it's pretty hard to see these movies, I've put these clips up to hopefully cause more people to seek out her early work, with an eye toward how she developed as a talented young filmmaker. Even though it's difficult to see I'LL TAKE YOU THERE nowadays, SUDDEN MANHATTAN runs free on YouTube and it's my favorite film by her. It's probably not her "best" film, but if you want to know what she was like as a human being, and her sense of humor, it's a great place to start. It shows her sense of humor and her uniquely female perspective on men.

SUDDEN MANHATTAN To my knowledge, this is not available for streaming in the US. You can buy a DVD or VHS tape on Amazon, but the DVD can be really expensive ($99!). However, you can watch it free on YouTube.    • Sudden Manhattan (Adrienne Shelly, 1997) -...  

I'LL TAKE YOU THERE (DEJ Productions) To my knowledge, this is not available on any streaming platform. On Amazon, you can buy a DVD on Amazon ($39.99) or a VHS tape ($2.99). Probably eBay has it now and then.