Lebowitz & Scorcese : Wit & Wisdom

Martin Scorcese's HBO doc "Public Speaking," an attempt once and for all to capture the wit of Fran Lebowitz, is totally watchable and funny - another great example of the range of Scorcese's talents, not only can he work on the grand scale as in the recent Boardwalk Empire or any number of films but he also works well in the smaller confines of the documentary portrait - compare with his great No Direction Home, on Bob Dylan, in which he fashioned a beautiful and thoughtful biography using only archival material of his subject (though live interviews of others who knew Dylan). In Public Speaking, it's the opposite: plenty of time with Lebowitz, and only a little bit of archival footage: some great wits of the past (Oscar Levant, Dorothy Parker), some historical context (clips from TV talk shows of the 50s when wit ran rampant) all to give a sense that Lebowitz is incredibly funny (she is), acidic in wit but a good friend and good company (she is - I had dinner with her once at a RISD function and can agree), troubled but not troubled by her troubles (gotten lots of mileage out of his inability to write another book). Her 2 books of essays are incredible - but both are throwbacks, as she well knows, and so is she. Humor published today not so much about wit and observation as about personal revelation, which she does not touch on at all. In fact, she seems pretty solid about her privacy - Scorcese never asks her a thing about her personal life (family, lovers). She's funny because of her trenchant observations and insights and her incredibly quick mind - and she's cool enough to laugh at her own flubs and mistakes.