Friday, October 17, 2008

Bonet



I'm flipping through channels last night after checking out this Harvey Keitel flick from '93 called the Young Americans and I come across Life on Mars, the US remake of yet another UK show that I hear is pretty great. Truth be told I don't watch a heck of a lot of TV. But I do watch a gang of movies. So if it's not one of my shows it can get off of my radar pretty easily. This is changing as I'm trying to break into the TV biz of course. But I digress.

Somewhere toward the end of the show in this weird flashback I see Lisa Bonet, the now happily 40-something hippy vixen ex-wife of Lenny Kravitz actress who used to be on the Cosby show. When she was younger she used to get on my nerves. But as I've seen less of her, usually in small supporting roles like this one, she has somehow become one of my goddesses. Angel Heart and High Fidelity are two of my favorite flicks. She kept me awake through Biker Boyz. And with the tats and the yoga and the eyes I often think that she's the kind of woman I would love to wake up to in the morning, even though she's a Scorpio too, which means we'd probably tear each other to pieces. That can be a good and bad thing.

The thing I respect about Lisa, Sade, Jada Pinkett and a few other sistas is that they only step back into the spotlight when they feel like it, doing work that they believe in before returning to the ethos of their lives and families. They seem free of the addiction to fame and career survival that takes so many down. Of course it's their wealth (I'm sure Lenny Kravitz alimony checks are kinda nice) that allows them to do this, but you'll never catch them being part of the overexposure that Beyonce', JLo and Halle Berry endure year after year.

Seeing her for a few seconds was enough to make me download the pilot episode, just so that I could see her for a few more minutes. Her presence takes me back to all these different sectors of a life that's changing irrevocably. I am a boy wishing that I went to Hillman. I am 23 with an unpublished novel under my arm watching Enemy of the State. I am eating a grilled tuna steak discussing High Fidelity with someone who hated it. Now I'm a newborn child learning to crawl before I can walk, preparing to be blown all around the world by the gods so that I can get back to the brownstone I already own in my mind in the Ithaca of Brooklyn.

Shoutout to Gigi and Alston, Gonzales, Meghan, Wall, Theda, Wonder Woman and all who hit me with their shoutouts. My engine is revving in park. Soon I'll be shifting into drive. Out.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not a fan of Life On Mars , but I continue to watch it b/c of Lisa Bonet. I never thought about it but you are totally right about the wat those women only step out when they feel like it. That's probably why its so amazing when they do. I double that had Lisa been in the spotlight forever, I would be so excited to see her. :)

Kenji Jasper said...

Thanks for coming over and checking me out.

Anonymous said...

You love High Fidelity too?!! One of my favorite lines is towards the end of the flick. Rob is tryna convince Barry not to perform at the showcase. Barry isn't going for it. He says something like if Laura and her hoity toity friends don't like it...let them riot. I swear, there's something about that "let them riot" line that cracks me up. The first time I heard it I was a goner. Man down I tell ya! Man down! Ha! Maybe others don't find it so funny but I get such a kick out of it. Maybe it's Jack Black? I love him in this flick. Plus, his performance of "Let's Get It On" is hysterical. I saw it in the theater with a friend. We haven't seen a movie together since. She complained about the movie. I loved it and she didn't get it. Sigh. Oh! I sent the number to you by text. Didja get it?