Inevitably

"Gone with the Wind" or The Southern Version of Days of our Lives or The Movie with 18,000 Deaths. Four hours, two meals, and one nap later, I have finished the Scarlet O'Hara Saga, to be aired later this month in segments as an E! True Hollywood Story because Lord knows that the whole thing wouldn't be able to fit in a one hour show. OK, so, this isn't going to be a rant about what I just watched. I will stick strictly to Mr. Gable; if I don't, just slap your computer or something.

It started off all good and well-the classic 'love/hate' story. I knew that Scarlet was going to get annoying, but I didn't think I would have to follow her through three marriages and, as stated before, 18,000 deaths. I liked Gable's character, I mean, we're supposed to like him even if he is somewhat of a sleaze....but he grows out of that and we all have hopes for Scarlet's spoiled nature to leave. I think I liked Rhett Butler because I've only seen Gable play the atypical, quiet hero-the bad boy role was good for him, and I hope some of his other characters are a little shady in my upcoming viewings of movies of his that are only an hour and a half long. And I have to admit, I was confused for at least two hours by why he loved Scarlet so much. Then came the scene when he said that they were exactly alike, and I nodded my head in approval to the writers. 'Yes, I can see that. And she'll come around, and you will make sure that, even though it may seem impossible, they will end up together in the end like you always do, writer men and women.' Well, they were together, but the movie just couldn't end there...I mean, we're talking about the death of the South, so I guess that means everyone has to die, including marriages and unborn babies.

I kept waiting for the "Frankly my dear, I just don't give a damn" line, and I started to imagine it in all sorts of different contexts as the movie started to throw me for a loop as I moved on to disc two. I imagined it in the context of Rhett telling Scarlet that he didn't care if she loved another man, that he was indeed going to marry her. I tried to imagine it when he was telling her that he was going off to war and that he didn't care if he was shot. I tried to imagine it when he was taking their daughter, Bonnie, off to London. Nope. None of those. But when does the line come up? At the end, which is fine, but it's when he is LEAVING her, and he doesn't give a damn about that! Yes he does! I understand that you've been through a lot, Rhett, but she's finally telling you that she loves you and you should give a damn! (Imagine me ironing clothes, watching daytime tv, and yelling those same things at the Days of Our Live characters-yep, exactly the same thing) And THEN, to make matters even worse, Scarlet realizes that she can just go home. Go home to her Tara, to her beautiful plantation. THAT'S the moral of the story? Land? Dirt in your fist? TARA??!? Whatever, Scarlet, whatever.

Ok, so I both understand and applaud the efforts to make this a not happy movie. The character development was quite good, and even I admit that I subscribe to a post-modern archetypal 'everything works out in the end' BAM end of character development story line, but I'm just not a fan.