My Weekend Crush

All this marriage talk this week got me thinking about great couples, onscreen and off. And one of the greatest to bridge both was Bogart and Bacall. OK, fine, there was that kinda creepy 25-year age difference. But their chemistry was unstoppable. Bacall was the sassy yin to Bogart’s gruff yang. I think it worked because Lauren Bacall always seemed older, wiser and possibly just a little bit wickeder than her age would let on. A star at 20, Bacall was and continues to be wonderfully, unapologetically assertive. “You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow.” If I was Bogey, I would have fallen in love on the spot, too. “The Look.” The voice. The way she lit a cigarette. She made them all instantly iconic. Through the years, she has remained off screen much like her onscreen persona: smart, sultry and quick with a snappy retort. Take one of her interviews with Larry King.

Bacall: “I’m a total Democrat. I’m anti-Republican. And it’s only fair that you know it.”
King: “Wait a minute. Are you a liberal?”
Bacall: “I’m a liberal. The L word!”

Ah, if only. Happy weekend, all.