JA from MNPP here. The bizarre news this morning of a remake of Drop Dead Fred coming our way got me thinking on the loveliness that is Miss Phoebe Cates. I guess I was of the right age but my childhood was filled with her. On her I nursed one of those girl-crushes back at that age before I knew where my desires were leading me... what I mean is, being a gay-in-training, her infamous red-bikini moment in Fast Times at Ridgemont High never did anything for me like it did for my booby-admiring peers (although I did take a lesson or two from that scene with the carrot); rather I preferred her when she played it safe, cute and innocent, like the spunky yet neutered girlfriend Kate she played in the Gremlins films. Rosy-cheeked and always ready with a smile or a swift-kick to Gremlin crotch. She was my girl!
And then... poof! The mystery of Phoebe Cates disappearance haunts us all, doesn't it? She hasn't been in anything since her pals Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh dragged her in front of a camera for their "Look at us being real people with our real friends!" flick The Anniversary Party in 2001. She's apparently been content to just be Mrs. Kevin Kline and stay out of the spotlight... here's what she's been up to via her IMDb page:
"Since her 'retirement' from films, she and her movie star husband, Kevin Kline, divide their time between their country estate in upstate New York and their luxury penthouse in Manhattan's tony upper east side. When not supporting her husband's continuing fine stage and film work, she fills her time attending openings and benefits and her favorite activity, hosting dinner parties and 'dishing the dirt' with her celebrity friends."
That's the life! Or, it's a life. Woody Allen's, I think. Anyway, I miss her. The world misses her, don't we? She had something all her own, I think. Come back, Phoebe Cates! Put down the dirt-dishing and fine china and, hey here's a thought, do a Woody Allen movie! About dirt-dishing and fine china. It's perfect!.
