Anita O’Day’s name may have faded into obscurity with the youth of today, but many fans remain as holdovers from the 1950s. O’Day ranks right up there with jazz singers Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn and Billie Holliday. Now, the new film from Robbie Cavolina, Ian McCrudden and AOD Productions has fashioned an informative and fascinating look at the lady who became one of America’s greatest vocal artists. In “Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer,” we see the innovative artist without makeup (sometimes literally) with all her charms, quirks, failings and triumphs. It’s hard to find fault with a film that shows its subject in both good and bad situations. For 20 years, O’Day was addicted to drugs and alcohol. In personal interviews with the singer, she freely admits to her nose-dive into the netherworld of alcoholic haze and stupor-induced drug taking. But before all the drug taking, O’Day was an innovative girl singer who started out with Gene Krupa’s band and could only sing one song because that’s all she knew. She later added Louis Armstrong, Stan Kenton, Roy Eldridge and Hoagy Carmichael to her list of musical geniuses with which she sang. She was also generous in her musical introductions. She had originally found “Vaya Con Dios” and gave it to Les Paul and Mary Ford. It became a smash for the guitar duo and sold more than three million copies. She also found “Tennessee Waltz,” which became a hit for both Les and Mary and Patti Page. Old films of Anita performing on Dick Cavett’s show or the CBS morning show with Bryant Gumbel look quaint today, but she had the chops until the end of her life at 84. She lived her life the way she wanted to and never let “them” take away her joy of living. “The Wrestler” didn’t sound like my cup of tea, but after seeing Mickey Rourke’s extraordinary performance, this reviewer became an instant fan. Although brutal in feeling and overall look, the film is a tough, touching look at a has-been wrestler who was once big and is struggling to make a comeback. Rourke is perfectly cast. Just as sometimes stars are at the right time in their lives and careers for a certain part, this tale of a broken down man on the edge of disaster comes at the right time in Rourke’s nearly destroyed career. Director Darren Aronofsky carefully cast his film with Rourke as the wrestler and Marisa Tomei as a sympathetic stripper who befriends him. Marisa’s career has been up and down since she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her work in “My Cousin Vinny.” But she redeems herself in this part of a good-hearted pole dancer who is kind to, but is reluctant to get too close to, Rourke’s character. Evan Rachel Wood does outstanding work as Rourke’s estranged daughter. Fox Searchlight. “How About You” was brought to our attention as one of the holiday releases that should be of interest to mature audiences. Although not screened at press time, the story sounds charming and endearing as only an Irish and British production can be. Haley Atwell (“Brideshead Revisited”) plays Ellie, a woman who takes on the challenge of becoming a caregiver for the grumpy residents of a home for the elderly in rural Ireland. Ellie encounters such characters as Vanessa Redgrave, playing an old, has-been actress, who breaks into song at the drop of a hat. Great screen character actresses Imelda Staunton and Brenda Fricker add to the hilarity of this charming, warm, funny film. Strand Releasing.
