Above the Line

March 1, 2016

Award-winning actress MacLaine, most recently praised for her appearances in the television series Downton Abbey, has written ten books, mainly about otherworldly surrealistic speculations. This title includes those elements as she describes her involvement in a financially stressed, still unreleased film on a location in the Canary Islands, "remnants of the Lost Colony of Atlantis," playing an old lady owed a $900 check, who gets $900,000 instead, and takes off with a friend (played by Jessica Lange), to sow her wild oats in Las Vegas. In the title, "line" divides the filmmakers: management and cast above, crew below. Capricious surreal guru-toned speculation peppers the narrative and fills an extensive undocumented appendix of her "research." Two other voices also emerge: a crafty gossip publicizing the offscreen behaviors of cast, crew, and management, and a proud octogenarian celebrating her lifestyle: sharing her appearance-centered hair-and-makeup experiences, wise financial insights, buried-to-the-neck-in-sand dreams, and hang-by-the-neck-underwater ongoing therapy program with her current mentor. VERDICT For fans of MacLaine and behind-the-scenes Hollywood gossip.--Ann Fey, SUNY Rockland Community Coll., Suffern

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2016
In this sprightly mix of moviemaking and metaphysical ramblings, MacLaine invites readers to join her as she starsor tries to starin the picture Wild Oats, as well as acting out a few past lives in Atlantis. The main narrative chronicles the difficulties of independent filmmaking, where financing wobbles and cast and crew sometimes have to defer their salaries until . . . well, perhaps forever. MacLaine, never one to avoid writing about others, says she's changed some names, but a quick check of IMDB, and you can probably figure out who's who. The unpredictability of showbiz doesn't always mesh as clearly as MacLaine thinks with her other focus, the demise of Atlantis. Wild Oats was shot primarily in the Canary Islands, thought to be a remnant of the lost continent. MacLaine claims that many of the cast and crew felt an otherworldly pull, but it's her own recollections of her time in ancient history that are interspersed throughout. Though this is mostly for MacLaine followersand especially the subset of that group with their own New Age bentthe sausage-making aspect of the movie story may also attract more mainstream film buffs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

December 15, 2015
The award-winning actress reflects on her latest film and her previous life. MacLaine, a talented woman who believes in reincarnation, is getting a lot out of this life. She's acted in more than 50 films and written 14 books, including this one. At 81, she's acting in another film and writing a book about it. Wild Oats (2016), a screwball comedy about an elderly woman (MacLaine) who mistakenly receives a very large social security check and decides to take her friend (Jessica Lange) on a lavish vacation, was over five years in the making and $500,000 in debt before it even started shooting in the Canary Islands, which some believed "were the remnants of Atlantis." After the musical chairs of finalizing actors and director and with funding somewhat secured, the cast was flown to the island's opulent Lopesan resort, and her "adventure" began. She writes in a jaunty, casual, daily diary style, providing affectionate portraits of her fellow actors: Billy Connolly (in one scene, "he made me laugh so hard, I nearly developed a herniated disk), Lange ("beautiful, intense, and a brilliant dramatic actress"), Demi Moore (sweet...and nervous"), and Howard Hesseman ("adorably funny")." MacLaine was constantly anxious about the ongoing efforts to raise funds, calling it "amateur hour," and at one point worried, "Why am I here? Are we going to shoot a movie...or ourselves?" However, it ended well: "It had all been worth it to me for so many reasons." The author's insider's portrait of the moviemaking world sparkles, but it's dimmer when she engages in her nNew aAge ruminations ("I feel that I am in alignment with my soul's destiny"). MacLaine is wickedly honest about moviemaking, sincere and enthusiastic in describing her beliefs, and welcoming in the skepticism of others--it's all refreshing and fun.

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