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(November 2001)

A small proposal. There are two movies about to open that are remakes of earlier movies much beloved by The Toast. The Time Machine (1960) and Rollerball (1975). It's certainly presumptuous to condemn the remakes as crap without having first seen them. But hey! How many remakes or sequels do you know that are better than the original (excepting The Godfather: Part II of course)? So we at The Toast would like to propose an international law that forbids the remake of beloved movies for 75 years. In that time, most of the fans of the original will have passed on and there won't be anyone left to be insulted. Except effete film critics, bless their souls.

Another up and comer. Brittany Murphy is currently appearing in two movies: Don't Say A Word (with Michael Douglas) and Riding In Cars With Boys (with Drew Barrymore). Soon she will be seen in Edward Burns' Sidewalks of New York. 2001 is a very good year for Ms Murphy. Like most everyone, we at The Toast first saw this talented young actress as the slightly zaftig but very adorable makeover target of the hip and sassy Cher and Dionne (Alicia Silverstone and Stacey Dash) in Amy Heckerling's charming 1995 movie Clueless.

Showing her versatility, Brittany followed the next year with a small but potent roll in Matthew Bright's dark but delicious movie Freeway. She plays a scar-faced, girly-loving fellow inmate with Reese Witherspoon. That Brittany is able to give her emotionally crippled character a strong sense of humanity is a tribute to her acting chops. Playing yet another emotional wreak, in 1998 she was in the television re-make of David and Lisa with Sidney Poitier and Lukas Haas. In 1999 she appeared in two well received movies: Drop Dead Gorgeous where she was a beauty pageant contestant who would rather be in New York with her cross-dressing brother, and Girl, Interrupted as yet another mental patient.

The Toast is impressed with Brittany Murphy and look forward to the growing maturation of her movie career.

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