Althouse: "The best send up of Williamson was by Sigourney Weaver playing Debra Moorehouse in the gay film Jeffrey."

August 3, 2019

"The best send up of Williamson was by Sigourney Weaver playing Debra Moorehouse in the gay film Jeffrey."

Writes J. Farmer — in the comments to my post "Marianne Williamson escapes the paw-like grip of Bill Maher" — linking to this video clip:

The movie is from 1995, and here's a contemporaneous San Francisco Chronicle article, which mentions the "self-help guru Debra Moorehouse (Sigourney Weaver)": "Powerful, full of 12-step cliches, Debra is obviously a send-up of Marianne Williamson and other charismatic, quick-fix evangelists."

27 comments:

Phil 314 said...: I’m imaging a debate between Debra Moorhouse and Frank T.J. Mackey.; 8/3/19, 9:59 AM
Sebastian said...: I think we missed an entry in our recent lists of actresses who age well.; 8/3/19, 9:59 AM
Ann Althouse said...: @Sebastian

She was 46 when that movie came out.; 8/3/19, 10:03 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Ha! Spot on. Also, Sigourney Weaver is great.; 8/3/19, 10:04 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: Heh. The ads write themselves. Will Google and Youtube erase?; 8/3/19, 10:05 AM
traditionalguy said...: The better actors and actresses are all Presidential material. I for one would elect Julia Louis-Dreyfus Vice President. And Sigourney could handle the Aliens at the border.; 8/3/19, 10:11 AM
Sebastian said...: "She was 46 when that movie came out."

Which is "old" for Hollywood actresses, no?

Anyway, I wasn't just thinking of this clip: Weaver has had a productive career with many roles in her 60s, and she has aged as well as any of the female actresses mentioned in the earlier thread.

Didn't mean to go OT, the post just triggered a connection.; 8/3/19, 10:12 AM
rhhardin said...: I only remember her in Dave (1993), which was good. I see I've seen her in about 20 pictures by the movie log. I have the feeling there was something more recent where she was older but don't spot the title. The old woman roles tend to be better ones in general.; 8/3/19, 10:16 AM
rhhardin said...: Anna Kendrick is about the only young actress that stands out as non-generic. Mr. Right (2015) being a fine example.; 8/3/19, 10:37 AM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: The funny thing is that she will probably be most remembered for Holes since that is a Disney film, and will be watched by kids for the next 100 years. (And she could have done a lot worse: It's a good performance in a good film).; 8/3/19, 10:40 AM
Fernandinande said...: "I can walk."

"You could always walk."

"Shutup."; 8/3/19, 10:44 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Which is "old" for Hollywood actresses, no?"

I'm just saying if the question is whether she's aging well (i.e., better than other women), she looks 46 in that clip. That's what 46 looks like.; 8/3/19, 10:45 AM
rhhardin said...: Endeavour season 1 episode 1 starts with Mozart's Mass in C Minor. I don't know if the bad guys like classical music Hollywood cliche applies to British films yet. I replayed the beginning to hear it again though. Mozart at his most Bach-like.; 8/3/19, 10:49 AM
rcocean said...: Weaver is hilarious in this. But I'm not really a fan, she had that weird frizzy hair going in too many of her movies.

Yeah, that's 46 with Botox, face lifts, and Hollywood Camera Magic.; 8/3/19, 11:13 AM
rcocean said...: Now with Computer special effects and digital film they can make anyone look 20 years younger. Of course, that applies to those 40 and over. They can't turn a 20 year/old into a baby. Yet.; 8/3/19, 11:15 AM
rcocean said...: Supposedly Cary Grant and Burt Lancaster managed to keep their looks into their 50's because they were the first leading men to have Face Lifts. I know Gary Cooper after 1950 needed a face lift, his face looked like 10 miles of bad road in "Love in the Afternoon".; 8/3/19, 11:20 AM
Sebastian said...: "whether she's aging well (i.e., better than other women)"

Didn't know that's how you operationalized the variable.

Yes, that's how 46 looks on Weaver, who had a head start.

Anyway, I would hypothesize that Weaver has gotten more decent roles after 60 than anyone in her cohort. What's the competition -- Streep? Mirren?; 8/3/19, 11:37 AM
Jupiter said...: "Gay film"?; 8/3/19, 12:12 PM
JAORE said...: Gawd, is THAT supposed to be good acting?

No, not the debate, the movie.; 8/3/19, 12:49 PM
Carol said...: his face looked like 10 miles of bad road in "Love in the Afternoon

Some of those 1950s movies with May-December matchups are looking pretty creepy now on TCM. Like that one and Sabrina. What were they thinking...; 8/3/19, 1:05 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Jupiter:

"Gay film"?

Jeffrey is a film about a gay man played by Steven Weber (of Wings fame) who is celibate because of the AIDS crisis and falls in love with an HIV-positive man. The film features several vignettes in which Jeffrey receives advice on what to do. This is one of those vignettes, which is why it is preceded by an interstitial describing Moorehouse as "the nation's hottest post-modern evangelist."; 8/3/19, 1:18 PM
Mr. Groovington said...: She was extremely fuckable in Alien. But she doesn’t have an ass, otherwise.; 8/3/19, 2:55 PM
narciso said...: well she was in avatar, where she played the evil ceo, and a similar role in cabin in the woods, joss whedon's very twisty gorefest, but since then,; 8/3/19, 3:32 PM
dbp said...: Weaver is really great but what comes to mind is, where is the crack MC when you need him?; 8/3/19, 4:26 PM
Anonymous said...: I love Sigourney Weaver. She's delicious.

Marianne Williamson is just a cute kook.

I'm holding out hope that Deepstate Chakra will run again in 2020 and we get another taste of a Comey Island banana republic.

I'm kidding! I'll just vote for whomever offers the most free stuff to the most undeserving illegal alien freeloaders in the name of peace and love and virtue signaling.

Namaste.; 8/3/19, 6:39 PM
sinz52 said...: I would love to see a debate between Marianne Williamson and Donald Trump. I would pay real money to see that.

To quote Mr. Spock from Star Trek:

"The resulting torrential flood of illogic would be most entertaining."; 8/3/19, 6:45 PM
Paul Snively said...: My problem is I can't see Weaver for watching Kathy Najimy ("Peggy Hill" from "King of the Hill," among many other things) play the earnest straight-woman here.; 8/3/19, 8:04 PM