THE MISADVENTURES OF MARGARET
When I’m home alone and no one will know what I’m doing, I throw THE MISADVENTURES OF MARGARET into the DVD player. Haven’t heard of it? Not surprising, given that it wasn’t shown in (many? any?) theatres. And what’s a better indication of the quality of a movie than it having gone straight to DVD? Sure, the audio may not be mixed quite right, but that just means you have to turn up the volume extra loud to catch every bit of poetry Jeremy Northam quotes to his wife, Parker Posey.
Posey plays an author. An author (almost) unimaginably neurotic. She’s got writer’s block, is tired of her charming English husband quoting romantic poetry to her (ok, yes, this stretches credulity), and spends at least half of her time in a rich fantasy world that meshes 20th century Manhattan with 18th century France. She thinks divorce lawyers should be on call 24 hours a day, alienates her sister, and fails at her attempt to become a lesbian. Obviously, she needs to leave New York. So she goes (as you do) to a château in France. The trip is ostensibly for research, but she winds up flirting with a quirky and sweet Frenchman. A Frenchman who disappoints her beyond measure when he visits her once she’s back in New York. And what girl, when faced with a Frenchman who won’t sleep with her because she snores, wouldn’t fall into the arms of her narcissistic dentist?
(Beginning to see why this may have gone straight to DVD?)
But dentists can prove disappointing. Novels must be finished, writer’s block or not. And poetry-quoting husbands aren’t a dime a dozen. Margaret eventually finds her way, but not before one of her friends offers up a great line: “Stop being such a Hamlet.”
Thinking about it, it’s too long since I’ve watched Margaret in action. Guilty pleasure of the best kind.
Tasha
When she was a little girl, a wise man from Kentucky predicted that Tasha Alexnader was destined to be a protector of a young, Englishman. Because of this, Tasha spent her childhood training in martial arts and cricket. By age ten, she was able to drop a 200 pound man, at 80 yards, with nothing  more than a crumpet. To further prepare herself, Tasha studied English at Notre Dame. While studying there, she felt conflicted about being represented by the Fighting Irish.
Eventually, the prediction came true when she met, and married, Andrew Grant. When she is not protecting him, Tasha writes the critically acclaimed Lady Emily mystery series, the most recent of which is DANGEROUS TO KNOW. To learn more about her, or to contact her with questions about cricket, go to her website.