Death becomes her
Don’t write Shirley MacLaine’s obituary just yet — or ever
LOS ANGELES — Shirley MacLaine doesn’t suffer fools — or reporters who don’t do their homework — gladly.
More than a few years ago, a guileless gentleman of the press once asked MacLaine what kind of books she wrote when she admitted she enjoyed writing.
The Oscar-honoured actress wasn’t so much offended by the clueless inquiry but by the fact the inquirer hadn’t researched her past enough to know she was also the author of 10 bestsellers. That included her famous autobiography, Out on a Limb, (Bantam, 1986), detailing both her journey and her dedication to New Age spirituality.
Unfortunately, the subsequent MacLaine scolding was hardly New-Age forgiving and included the F-word plus a derogatory assessment of his IQ.
So imagine finding out that MacLaine stars in The Last Word. In the comedy-drama, she plays Harriet, a retired advertising executive and caustic matriarch who assigns an obituary reporter (Amanda Seyfried), the task of writing her death notice before she dies. As the audience soon learns, Harriet is an abrasive, uncompromising chore of woman who has great expectations of others.
Director Mark Pellington doesn’t label the actress’s selection typecasting, not exactly. But he does acknowledge that screenwriter Stuart Ross Fink based his Harriet on a hybrid of the spunky MacLaine and the feisty Aurora from Terms of
Endearment (1983), which earned MacLaine an Academy Award for her portrayal.
So the appropriate question is this: Has the 82-year-old ever considered what her real obituary might contain? She can’t help but smirk a little as she dives into the challenge.
“I just figured out what I want my obituary to say — ‘you think I’m dead but I’m not,’ ” says MacLaine at a Beverly Hills hotel.
More seriously, she adds: “What do you do about legacy? You leave it alone. You try to do your best. Right now, you hope you get financing and you just look for great scripts in terms of working.” When she was offered The Last
Word, she didn’t hesitate. Mostly, MacLaine understood who Harriet was and why she became that way.
One of the sub-plots involves taking risks, yet another thing the former dancer can relate to after making her debut on Broadway at 16 in Oklahoma! before embarking on an impressive career that includes six Oscar nominations, six Emmy nods and lots of acclaim over decades.
Unlike her Last Word character, the actress is more moderate in her approach, compromising on some things but refusing to settle on others.
“I have to basically consider both sides of the road,” she says. “I’m very aware, but I’m very naive, and so when you are really naive and expecting safety and expecting the best, you don’t feel you’re taking risks. You can get smacked a little, but usually it works out pretty well.”
She does agree that Harriet, and the film, represent a kind of old-school feminism that she appreciates.
“I still don’t think the people in this culture know what to do with women,” MacLaine says. “The women know what to do with women, but I think (others), feel more secure with a label, and then they can ascertain whether a woman fits it or not. Labelling is not fair and women have not been treated or dealt with fairly.”
The prejudice applies to senior citizens, too, and MacLaine says that she’d like to follow up The Last
Word with more material on the subject. Currently, she’s developing two more stories for the octogenarian set, although she refuses to reveal what they entail. She does admit that the elderly have been neglected by Hollywood and she promises to change that by becoming the queen of the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), scene.
“I do think that aging people are underserved in this culture big time and I want to stay healthy so I can serve that community and be a kind of voice to it,” she says. “Yes, I want to be queen of AARP, and I want to say what they feel. It’s awful that they seem to be made invisible.”
Meanwhile, MacLaine continues to pursue her special kind of spirituality and she maintains her belief in reincarnation. In fact, she didn’t attend the funerals of friends Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds last December because she doesn’t recognize the concept. She first befriended them when she played the showbiz mother in
Postcards From the Edge (1990), opposite Meryl Streep. The film was based on Fisher’s semi-autobiographical book detailing her life with mom Reynolds.
Which brings us to what she would like the title of her final book to be.
Without missing a beat, MacLaine says, “So far, I like this lifetime the best.”