Driving Holly & Mickey

        Today’s post centers around a partial transcription of one of the funniest scenes in film history. It makes me laugh every time I read it. No matter what, I can always use a good laugh. Dare I say that usually, we all could.
        During the movie Hannah And Her Sisters, Woody Allen’s character, a television producer called Mickey, takes out Diane Wiest’s character, Holly. Holly takes Mickey to a rock club to hear a punk band, during which time she openly snorts coke at the table while she bounces to the music. Mickey, on the other hand, sits there holding his ears, completely mortified.
        Then Mickey takes Holly to a piano bar with a jazz trio to hear some “real music”. Mickey enjoys himself immensely, quietly basking in the culture and refinement. Holly fidgets obsessively, unimpressed, a nervous fish out of water, occasionally using a coke spoon to amp herself up.
        The following dialogue is from the scene outside the jazz club, just before they part ways on what was by all accounts a disastrous date.

Holly: I was so bored.

Mickey: Yeah, that’s tough. You don’t deserve Cole Porter. You should stay with those groups that look like they’re gonna stab their mother!

Holly: At least I’m open to new concepts.

Mickey: And you don’t have to snort cocaine at the table all the time. What do you do, carry a kilo around in your purse?

Holly: That crowd wouldn’t know the difference. They were embalmed.

Mickey: I had a great time tonight. It was like the Nuremberg trials.


        Later on in the movie, they end up bumping into each other in a record store, start dating again, fall in love, and get married. It’s only a movie, but it illustrates the sometimes strange dynamics of relationships and the mysterious nature of love. The message for me is to stay open and receptive, because we never know what the universe will throw at us. I quote the song Drive by Incubus, noting that I hardly always follow these words of wisdom, but I do aspire to them:

Whatever tomorrow brings I’ll be there
With open arms and open eyes

Peace,
Clint