The Weekend Snack 2.25.24

Oh, Mary!

Welcome to the Weekend Snack - a quick roundup of my favorite bites from the past few days.

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Hi team! If I seem off, it’s because I’m still trying to process the revelations from Mischa Barton’s recent Call Her Daddy interview (I’m not generally a fan of CHD, but my millennial self obviously took the clickbait on a Mischa Barton tell-all). Official confirmation that she and Ben McKenzie dated? She’s happy with Marissa’s ending? It’s all a lot for my former 13-year-old self to process, but I’m thrilled Mischa is healthy and happy. Those bombshells aside, here are a couple of other quick weekend bites:

• 🎭 Cole Escola’s “Oh, Mary” at the Lucille Lortel Theater. I saw this play on Thursday, and I genuinely can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard. “Oh, Mary” is an anachronistic and hilarious mistelling of Mary Todd Lincon’s life, written by and starring the talented comedian Cole Escola (you might recognize them from Search Party or At Home with Amy Sedaris). But this isn’t Steven Spielbierg’s Lincoln (though he and Sally Field did attend the show this past week), and you shouldn’t expect a history lesson (there have been walkouts from people who made that mistake). You can expect 80 minutes of riotous and irreverent laughter, with a standout performance from Escola (loved this Rolling Stone profile of them). Watching Escola made me feel like I was seeing a tremendous talent I’d be discussing for years to come. Not to mention, it was such a fun crowd. A must-see if you’re in New York, and it was just extended through May 5th!

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• 📚 The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis. You know that feeling when you’re laying in bed reading a book, drifting off, but you feel compelled to fight against the inevitable tide of exhaustion just to keep finding out what happens next? That was me this past week as I devoured this 600-page novel. Initially released as a serialized story on the Bret Easton Ellis podcast, The Shards is Ellis’ first book in 13 years. It’s an autofiction/horror novel written from the perspective of “Bret Ellis,” a heightened version of the author reflecting on the events of his senior year at an elite private school in Los Angeles. A new take on the coming-out and coming-of-age story, the loss of innocence and transition into adulthood becomes a literal terror as the narrator navigates being seventeen in the shadow of a serial killer and a Mansonesque cult. The friend that recommended it sold me by suggesting there were parallels with The Secret History - an apt comparison, as the story follows a tight-knit group of privileged friends with many secrets between them. I’d add that it also feels like the Stephen King meets Joan Didion slasher reboot of Beverly Hills, 90210, that I didn’t know I needed. 

  In interviews, Ellis shared that he began the book shortly after high school but didn’t think he had the writing chops yet to finish. It wasn’t until the free time of the pandemic and several Google searches of old classmates (good to know famous authors do that too) that the story returned to him, and he decided to tell it from the perspective of a 50-something author revisiting his transition to adulthood and early beginnings as a writer. I found it incredibly affecting - both haunting and achingly vulnerable; you’re immediately lost in the detailed descriptions of eighties Los Angeles locales and the many references to the movies and music of the time (someone even made a playlist). Though I’ll admit, when not processing the debauchery and brutal gore, the many descriptions of LA driving routes had me thinking about “The Californians.” It’s set for an HBO adaptation, with Luca Gudagnino on board, and calls for Jacob Elordi to star (I can see why, but I feel somewhat indifferent to that casting). I enjoyed this interview with Ellis, where he talked more about the motivations and his thought process behind the novel. I’d also recommend this recent Vanity Fair profile for more context on the mystique and controversy of Bret Easton Ellis if you know him only as the author of American Psycho. Tell me when you read this one - I’ll create a discussion thread if there’s interest!

And I’ll leave you with my favorite TikTok of the week (an insight into why I might look distracted if you’re on Zoom with me).

@lilireinhartHe’s my secretary 🥲

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What did you watch this weekend? Tell me in the comments. 

💖 If you liked this post, don’t forget to hit the heart to let me know and help others find my writing.

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