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MOVIES FOR YOUR MIND|A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME Episode
A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME
Harvey is a well-meaning ne’er do well who finds himself assigned to public service in the Glendale Senior Citizens Home, after he is arrested for breaking the car window of the richest man in town while rescuing a puppy who is suffocating in the summer swelter. Ken, by contrast, is a college overachiever who finds himself spending a semester at Glendale as part of a sociology internship. Third in the triangle is the elderly, elegant Elvira Callahan Peachtree, who befriends the young men by regaling them with stories of her colorful and sometimes scandalous past. Harvey brings life to the old folks’ home, where before there was only depression and death.
For Elvira’s whirlwind romance and engagement to the dignified sexagenarian Jasper Rollins, Harvey arranges to sneak in a hunky Chippendale’s male stripper for the groping granddames at the bridal shower. For the ancient patient with the arthritic hands who will not squeeze Nurse Prichards’ blue (exercise) balls, Harvey sneaks in a stray kitten for the old man to pet. For cynical, senile Artie Stern, Harvey hunts down one of Artie’s old clients, a well-preserved stripper who brings new life to the old man. The cornerstone of the story, however, are the tales of Elvira’s wild and wonderful past that she spins out for Harvey and Ken every night. And as Elvira and Harvey grow closer and closer, we wonder if Harvey is actually her first love, his spirit back from the grave to take care of his beloved Elvira in her twilight years. The mystery deeply engages Ken, as well, who is profoundly changed by all these strange and dreamy goings-on, and ready to believe things that he can no longer explain. . .
[ Fri, 18 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0500 ]
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