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Among Friends |
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| What people want The highest-grossing film directed by a woman is based on the premise that, after an accident, a male chauvinist who suddenly hears women's thoughts co-ops them as his own to become their most sensitive and insightful lover and friend. Starring Mel Gibson as slick ad executive Nick Marshall, the 2000 film "What Women Want," directed by Nancy Meyers, has grossed $374 million worldwide on the simple real-life premise that nice guys not only get the girl, but they live happily ever after, too. Sadly, we're reminded of this mostly true axiom by the recent deaths of movie director Sydney Pollack and journalist Tim Russert, who, both by mourners' testimonials and a lifetime of personal example, were among the nicest guys around. Many years ago, I chanced to be standing next to a long-haul trucker who had broken down on a desolate stretch of Wyoming blacktop in the middle of sagebrush country when I discovered the good ol' boy was a philosopher. "You know," he said, removing the straw between his teeth just long enough to point it at the ineffectual mechanic failing to fix his 18-wheeler, "some people just take up space." That will never be said of Pollack or Russert. During their time with us, they entertained and informed millions, mentored dozens in their professions, became role-model husbands and fathers, improved their crafts, and by the anecdotes of friends and colleagues pouring forth following their deaths, had a helluva good time. Pollack gave us some of our favorite movies, the ones we replay on DVDs, whose punch lines we quote by heart, whose characters have become part of our extended family. In "Tootsie," Pollack turns his cross-dressing hero from a callow, narcissistic B-grade actor into an empathetic feminist who gets the girl even after she finds out her gal pal is a guy. In "Out of Africa," Pollack turned an iconic memoir into one of the baby-boomer generation's most heart-stopping romantic films with the powerful pairing of Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. Keeping the story's author and heroine, Karen Blixen, as the resourceful, gallant, and ultimately tragic centerpiece of his lush film, Pollack reminds his audience that not all meaningful lives have happy endings. By most published accounts, his 73 years were marked by personal and professional success. Besides winning two Oscars, he was a lifelong advocate for artists' rights and often cast himself as an actor in his own films. Two daughters and his wife of 50 years, Claire Griswold, survive him. Russert's death of a heart attack at his desk in the NBC Washington bureau triggered thousands of viewer e-mails and a eulogy from President Bush, who described the 58-year-old "Meet the Press" host as "a really fine citizen ... a hardworking, thorough, decent man (who) loved his country, he loved his family, and he loved his job." Journalists praised him for his integrity, professionalism and intelligence, and grieved the loss of his good company, his sense of humor, and his generous support and affection for his friends and colleagues. Several mentioned his lifelong contact with Sister Lucille, the Buffalo, N.Y., nun at his Catholic high school who first channeled his energy and curiosity toward journalism. Among the dozens of news folks he mentored were CBS Nightly News anchor Katie Couric, PBS anchor Gwen Ifill, and NBC political correspondent Andrea Mitchell. He was magazine journalist Maureen Orth's biggest fan, as well as her husband of nearly three decades. His son Luke, a 2008 graduate of Boston College, was the joy of his life. In 2002, Russert and Orth hosted a lavish Washington VIP party to help launch the book "War Torn," which I co-wrote with eight other women reporters who covered the Vietnam War. That gracious, happy evening spent with them and their friends in their home remains a highlight of my life. As author Flannery O'Connor warned us, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." Russert and Pollack were among the best; they epitomized what women want, men admire and aspire to be, and what is impossible to replicate without a great and abiding heart. |
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