Thursday, March 20, 2008

WILL THE REAL BECKY T. LANE, PLEASE STAND UP?

About twenty years ago, John and I were watching MTV, when a Huey Lewis and the News music video came on. It was the one where he and his band were walking down a street en masse, wearing long dark coats that were blowing back behind them - sort of reminded me of an old western movie where the gangs were headed towards each other for a shoot-out. Anyway, John turned to me and asked “Have you ever thought about who you would like to look like, if you could choose anyone in the whole wide world? Well, I think I’d choose that guy.”

I’ve thought about his question often over the years, but never could settle on any one person I would really want to look like. Until now. Not long ago we went to see the movie Across the Universe, and much to my surprise, there I was, up on the stage, belting out a song! Actually, it was singer/actress Dana Fuchs, playing the part of Sadie, and at the risk of sounding even more kooky than you already think me, I have to say that it’s not really that I want to look like this person. It’s more that, in my own mind, I am her, and it always surprises me a bit when I happen to glance up at a mirror, and see this other person looking back at me.

“Sadie” had my same long curly hair, but without the frizz factor going on. Her face wasn’t model perfect, it was interesting, but a little more symmetrical than mine. Her legs were of a length that would balance my long torso and neck, thus turning me into a six foot Amazon. And that voice! That rough, throaty, belt-it-out-Janis kind of voice that I always dreamed of having (but whenever I tried to sing like that, all I got was a sore throat). It’s almost as if I was the beta test, and she’s just the perfected version of me.

So, for all you movie moguls out there who will soon be fighting over the rights to my memoir, here’s a heads up - I won’t settle for anyone less that Dana Fuchs, to play the part of me!

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