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STAGE KISS, MADISON COUNTY, relationship fantasies [MAJOR SPOILERS]

Posted by: NeoAdamite 12:37 am EDT 04/04/14

Saw STAGE KISS tonight, and was very disappointed in what I took to be the writer's point:

Marriage is about repetition. Every night the sun goes down and the moon comes up and you get another chance to be good. Romance is not about repetition.

That has little or nothing to do with most real long-term relationships I've seen, which are rather about choosing to spend years making a life together in tandem. Sometimes every day seems (to the outsider) chaotically different, sometimes numbingly the same, but that's a decision each couple makes.

Mostly it made me think of MADISON COUNTY, where as in STAGE KISS a woman approaching middle age has a torrid affair, then goes back to her husband, and in both cases we're supposed to think that her marriage will somehow be the better for it.

In STAGE KISS the relationship between the woman and her lover is messy and strews bits of well-observed reality amidst the comic tropes, while the relationship with the husband is little but fantasy and cliche; while MADISON COUNTY is the reverse.

Very weird, I had expected more.


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re: STAGE KISS, MADISON COUNTY, relationship fantasies [MAJOR SPOILERS]

Posted by: Kaoru 12:57 am EDT 04/04/14
In reply to: STAGE KISS, MADISON COUNTY, relationship fantasies [MAJOR SPOILERS] - NeoAdamite 12:37 am EDT 04/04/14

Funny, I saw Bridges first, then Stage Kiss and thiought about a similar thing. Although I enjoyed Stage Kiss more than you did.

To me, SK was one possible option Bridges lovers may end up facing if Francesca left her family for Robert. Of course their personalities are different, so the relationship won't be as messy as SK couple. But I thought yes, Francesca may say one day I want to go home.

So although these are totally different shows, because of the framework of the two shows and the timing of when I saw them, I thought it's a fun to compare and contrast.


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re: STAGE KISS, MADISON COUNTY, relationship fantasies [MAJOR SPOILERS]

Posted by: NeoAdamite 01:41 am EDT 04/04/14
In reply to: re: STAGE KISS, MADISON COUNTY, relationship fantasies [MAJOR SPOILERS] - Kaoru 12:57 am EDT 04/04/14

Although I enjoyed Stage Kiss more than you did.

Actually I enjoyed most of STAGE KISS. Ruhl knows how to set up conflicts and keep things moving, the comedy got over, and I've never enjoyed Jessica Hecht more.

It's only when Ruhl began resolving the interesting situations with inauthentic bromides that things went sour for me.


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