It was bad enough to discover –on camera, no less- that the person I had chosen to spend my life with had never seen a Kelli McGillis movie. But I cannot live in a world populated by such people. So for those of you who are not fully aware of Kelli (which eye do you want the tear in, right or left?) McGillis, here is a tasting menu. I suggest you Netflix, Amazon On-Demand or otherwise watch them TODAY.

1. Witness, starring Kelli McGillis and Harrison Ford
2. Top Gun, starring Kelli McGillis and Tom Cruise.
3. The Accused, starring Kelli McGillis and Jodie Foster
4. Winter People, starring Kelli McGillis and Kurt Russell

Apparently, Kelli appears on The L Word. The Lesbians will be after me with sticks for not knowing this. To appease them, I give you the gift that is: Debra Winger.

Debra Winger has created some of the most enduring, compelling and breathtaking performances ever captured on film. Her street-smart, aw-shucks demeanor fools you into believing that she adlibs every role, appearing only as herself. One need only watch one interview with Winger to understand that she has probably always been the smartest person in the room. And that it's likely every indignant little pout/smirk is calibrated like Swiss watch. I spent the eighties wiping my eyes on my sleeve in thank-God-it's-dark-in-here movie theatres, watching Winger movies. Sometimes, I would watch the same movie twice in a row. Because it was simply impossible to leave her.

Instead, she left us. At the height of her fame, Winger seemed to remove herself from Hollywood. As I tend not to read about or pay attention to the private lives of actors, I never knew what happened. She was just gone. And I had to adjust to living in a world that no longer had a moon.

Then suddenly there was this:

I googled her. And found a recent appearance on a morning talk show. While it was clearly beneath her to appear on such a grimly cheerful stage, Winger was funny, self-deprecating and smart, smart, smart. She was heartbreaking. Her unexpected, even shocking honesty stunned the hosts into blithering. Debra Fucking Winger was back.

And this was good to see: she is beautiful. Unlike some actress above twenty-three who carve their faces with lusty abandon, Winger seems only to have been gifted with the very kindest genes. As a result, she has something quite rare today in Hollywood: a mature face that is fully, gloriously expressive. By stepping out of the spotlight, Winger is now one of the only actresses her age who could bear scrutiny beneath it.

During the interview I watched, there was the predictable, "But they say you're a real bitch," line of questioning. And how can anybody even respond to that? "I am a bit of a cunt, it's true. But nobody is going to tell me they can't find mango chutney ice cream in all of Palm Springs, California."

Frankly, industry women should know better than to even think of asking such a question. If Winger is difficult, I have to believe, it's not because she's unhappy with the brand of mayonnaise on the Kraft service table. Most likely, if it's even true, the reason has more to do with the work. Debra Winger has never turned in a performance that was less than fully excellent. Even more remarkable, no Debra Winger performance now appears dated. And when Debra Winger was at her peek, women still wore mauve and shoulder pads. And men still weren't used to being elbowed out the way by them at the coffee machine at work.

So this "bitch" reputation must be considered in the context of the era. As well, certain allowances must be made. This is Debra Winger. She was probably the first girl to ever make 75% of the guys my age burst into tears in a public setting. Just whisper the name, "Debra Winger," into the ear of any forty-two year old woman and she will smile as though she has just remembered the taste of blueberry pie. Somebody should do their thesis on this at Hampshire College or Bennington.

The Sheltering Sky, Terms of Endearment, An Officer and a Gentleman, Cannery Row, Shadowlands.

I miss her. And people of my generation miss her. And young people deserve her. We want to see Debra Winger on the big screen. In rich, complex roles. In T-bone steak roles. We want Debra Winger up where she belongs.

* * *

Drew's email this morning:

Hey man,

The new BLOB is up. So, how could you write a whole piece on how awesome Debra Winger is without mentioning that she was the voice of E.T.?  And check THIS out:



:-P