Beware the flying Poppins

Traditionally I post links on Friday but there is a bit of a time limit on this one so bear with me. Today I had the supreme pleasure to hear DAME Julie Andrews on NPR’s always-topflight interview show Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Dame Julie was on promoting her new memoir that chronicles her early life and the pre-Mary Poppins stage of her career. Topics included her intense (Andrews adorably refers to it as “Dickensian”) upbringing growing up in a home of entertainers during the war and an abusive alcoholic stepfather. Sadly there is no discussion of Mary Poppins (Dame Julie calls it “The Poppins”-AWESOME) but she does have some intriguing stories about The Sound of Music, Victor/Victoria and not continuing her stage role as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady on the big screen. Oh readers I wish you could’ve seen me listening to this thing on the subway. I was smiling ear-to-ear, very goofy. This memoir will most definitely be summer reading for me. If you want to hear this AMAZING interview it’s available FOR FREE to download on iTunes or you who have not sipped the iKool-Aid, you can download it from here.
For those of you who don’t know Mary Poppins is probably my personal FAVORITE movie of all-time. I’m not saying it’s the greatest (The Godfather), I’m not suggesting it’s the coolest (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly or Le Cercle Rouge), most structurally sound (Seven Samurai) or the most worthy of critical dissection (Discreet Charm of the Burgeoise or Citizen Kane or Rules of the Game or Manhattan or, or, or or…)., but my personal favorite. I really want to share with you all WHY it’s my favorite and so I will be starting a new series in the coming week; The Sickness Cinema Personal Cannon. In this ongoing semi-weekly feature I will introduce a new inductee into my own personal list of favorites. The first entry will feature first and still most favorite enchanted Disney lady..Mary Poppins. Get ready with that spoonful of sugar and medicine Miss Poppins cause here comes the Sickness.