I love the Wizard of Oz. Something about it causes my mind to hush, my jaw to relax, and my whole body to unclench. It also has the amazing ability to bring my emotions to a rolling boil. I blubber like a small child, with diaper rash. I can't help it- before the good witch even makes her first appearance, I find my eyes heavy with dew. Upon my most recent viewing (last night), I realized what I find so compelling about this film. It isn't the story (which is a pretty basic arch that has been told in thousands of various incarnations), it isn't the dialogue (trite at best), and it most certainly isn't the visual appeal (chintzy set design, and a lot of not-so-special effects).
It's Judy Garland, plain and simple. Although, plain and simple are two adjectives that could never be attributed to the late great Ms. Garland. She was breathtaking in her beauty, and her complexity. It's hard to fathom how such emotional depth could be captured within the miniscule window of narrative film. But the crafty bitch gets me every time. It's only with that sad twinkle in her eye, and a thick drawl in her voice, that the land beyond the rainbow becomes a very real place. It catches me in my throat; that sad girl with longing in her eyes. I believe, that almost every young lady (with a pulse, and a soul that is) has longed- for someone,
some thing, or some place; very far away. A state of being that is more whole, where we are better. Where life, is simply better. Things will make sense, somewhere over that rainbow. Bills will get paid, fingernails will not be chewed, and anxiety melts like lemon drops. So hats off to you Ms. Garland...AND your bitchin' pair of ruby, red kicks !
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