Nora Ephron.

 

Two years ago, my friend Evan got me the book "I Feel Bad About My Neck" by Nora Ephron for Christmas.  I read it in a day and really enjoyed it.  She was so honest and smart and funny.  It was like talking to a mentor who all of a sudden became your friend.  (Has that happened to anyone but me?  I had a teacher in high school who somehow became my actual friend.  In a very non-creepy way.) 

 

The thing I loved about Nora Ephron was her honesty, realism and wit.  All of her female characters were REAL.  They weren't total basket cases and they certainly weren't perfect.  I won't lie, I love a mindless chick-flick every now and again.  But Nora Ephron's movies were the types that I never felt guilty enjoying, because the characters were real depictions of how human beings act.  I could watch those movies and relate to nearly everything, and that is the type of comedy I enjoy. 

 

In my classes, I always preach being realistic in improv scenes.  I tell my students not to go for the joke and to find the humor in the mundane.  I'd much rather see a realistic scene about a divorcing couple over a scene where there's a troll underneath a bridge who survives off pigeon skulls and is really bad at riddles.  Hmm, okay, that sounds kind of funny... but you get the picture.  I think people seek entertainment to take their mind off reality, but I also think people connect more with relatable situations and characters.  Those are the scenes they take with them when they go home. 

 

And that's why Nora Ephron's work will last forever.  People will carry it with them for as long as they live.  We'll be "having what she's having" for many years to come!

 

"Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim."