Review of Barbra Streisand: On the Couch
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Review of Barbra Streisand: On the Couch
[Following is a volunteer review of "Barbra Streisand: On the Couch" by Alma H. Bond, Ph.D..]
It was a late and muggy evening in New York in February 2015 when a certain psychiatrist, Dr. Darcy Dale, got an unexpected visit from a mysterious figure whose enigmatic presence would prove to be an inspiration for her next book.
In Barbra Streisand: On the Couch… by Alma H. Bond, we follow the grandly amusing memoir of one of America’s most highly celebrated Hollywood icons.
The book starts with a chance but yet a giddy encounter between the author and the legendary “superstar” herself, Ms. Barbra Streisand.
In this book, the famous Hollywood artiste sought the help of the author because of dissatisfaction from previously futile psychiatric treatments. Because of this reason, Streisand then made a no-holds-barred confession as she regaled to the author and the readers as well about her troubled past.
Bond then focuses the rest of her book on the famed actress’s rise to prominence and fortune. Starting with Streisand’s first job as a sweeper in a downtown theater run by a famous acting coach, she got her first big break in a theater production called “The Rose Tattoo.”
Thereafter, she made headlines when she was cast in a role as a frumpy secretary in a musical called, “I Can Get it For You Wholesale.” Moreover, hand in hand with her ensured success in Tinseltown comes her obstinate penchant for flings or romantic relationships with other fellow celebrities.
But the turning point of her acting career was when she was cast for a major role as a student activist playing opposite Robert Redford, in the 1973 movie, “The Way We Were.” In the latter, Streisand was nominated for an Academy Award. She also received several nominations in the critically acclaimed movie, “Yentl,” where she showcased not only her screenwriting prowess but also her distinct reputation as a great director of contemporary cinema.
But more significantly, in a year spent on psychoanalyzing her famous client, the author had greatly uncovered the deep-seated insecurities that Streisand felt over the entire span of her magnanimous career.
The author, who is also known as the fictitious character in this book, Dr. Darcy Dale, was also an accomplished writer besides being a prestigious psychoanalyst. Among such notables (aside from Ms. Streisand) which she had featured in her “On the Couch” book series, were Hillary Clinton and Jacqueline Onassis, both wives of past US presidents.
This book is highly evocative of Woody Allen’s biography that was penned by Eric Lax. In the sense that both Streisand and Allen share the same fervent fascination for the cinema even during their childhood. I particularly loved the part wherein Streisand, in preparation for her fourth movie, The Owl and the Pussycat, made an effort to commingle with real prostitutes in a pricey bordello. Soaking up and studying the part for her role as a prostitute. However, upon exiting the said establishment, she was blatantly mistaken as one of the “hookers” and was offered a hefty sum of money for her services. As an afterthought, she was almost tempted to agree but thought otherwise.
Although this book was superbly written, It was also found teeming with grammatical errors. Proof that it was not professionally edited. Moreover, this book contains a gross number of profanities and light sexual content. However, perhaps in retrospect, both sex and profanity had become the accepted norm, the unglamorous lingua franca of the performing arts since its inception.
The casual way of deleting profanity-laden dialogues as practiced by some directors in films would, in the words of Streisand herself; “leaves the scene without a punch line and completely ruins it.”
In that regard, I, therefore, rate this book three out of four stars. Also, I gladly recommend this book to movie fanatics and especially to film critics whose probable unenlightened views concerning the stature in the life of this book’s most controversial subject in question may be put to rest once and for all.
******
Barbra Streisand: On the Couch
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
It was a late and muggy evening in New York in February 2015 when a certain psychiatrist, Dr. Darcy Dale, got an unexpected visit from a mysterious figure whose enigmatic presence would prove to be an inspiration for her next book.
In Barbra Streisand: On the Couch… by Alma H. Bond, we follow the grandly amusing memoir of one of America’s most highly celebrated Hollywood icons.
The book starts with a chance but yet a giddy encounter between the author and the legendary “superstar” herself, Ms. Barbra Streisand.
In this book, the famous Hollywood artiste sought the help of the author because of dissatisfaction from previously futile psychiatric treatments. Because of this reason, Streisand then made a no-holds-barred confession as she regaled to the author and the readers as well about her troubled past.
Bond then focuses the rest of her book on the famed actress’s rise to prominence and fortune. Starting with Streisand’s first job as a sweeper in a downtown theater run by a famous acting coach, she got her first big break in a theater production called “The Rose Tattoo.”
Thereafter, she made headlines when she was cast in a role as a frumpy secretary in a musical called, “I Can Get it For You Wholesale.” Moreover, hand in hand with her ensured success in Tinseltown comes her obstinate penchant for flings or romantic relationships with other fellow celebrities.
But the turning point of her acting career was when she was cast for a major role as a student activist playing opposite Robert Redford, in the 1973 movie, “The Way We Were.” In the latter, Streisand was nominated for an Academy Award. She also received several nominations in the critically acclaimed movie, “Yentl,” where she showcased not only her screenwriting prowess but also her distinct reputation as a great director of contemporary cinema.
But more significantly, in a year spent on psychoanalyzing her famous client, the author had greatly uncovered the deep-seated insecurities that Streisand felt over the entire span of her magnanimous career.
The author, who is also known as the fictitious character in this book, Dr. Darcy Dale, was also an accomplished writer besides being a prestigious psychoanalyst. Among such notables (aside from Ms. Streisand) which she had featured in her “On the Couch” book series, were Hillary Clinton and Jacqueline Onassis, both wives of past US presidents.
This book is highly evocative of Woody Allen’s biography that was penned by Eric Lax. In the sense that both Streisand and Allen share the same fervent fascination for the cinema even during their childhood. I particularly loved the part wherein Streisand, in preparation for her fourth movie, The Owl and the Pussycat, made an effort to commingle with real prostitutes in a pricey bordello. Soaking up and studying the part for her role as a prostitute. However, upon exiting the said establishment, she was blatantly mistaken as one of the “hookers” and was offered a hefty sum of money for her services. As an afterthought, she was almost tempted to agree but thought otherwise.
Although this book was superbly written, It was also found teeming with grammatical errors. Proof that it was not professionally edited. Moreover, this book contains a gross number of profanities and light sexual content. However, perhaps in retrospect, both sex and profanity had become the accepted norm, the unglamorous lingua franca of the performing arts since its inception.
The casual way of deleting profanity-laden dialogues as practiced by some directors in films would, in the words of Streisand herself; “leaves the scene without a punch line and completely ruins it.”
In that regard, I, therefore, rate this book three out of four stars. Also, I gladly recommend this book to movie fanatics and especially to film critics whose probable unenlightened views concerning the stature in the life of this book’s most controversial subject in question may be put to rest once and for all.
******
Barbra Streisand: On the Couch
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks by Morton E Tavel, MD
