We're back into the romantic comedies now with this 1995 movie from director Christopher Ashley. Like some of the other great works we've seen so far, it started life as a play, based on the real life of Richard Jeffrey and written by Paul Rudnick. Rudnick was also involved in the movie, converting his work into a screenplay.
A young Ethan Phillips has a cameo in the film, as does Hollywood legend Sigourney Weaver, but it's Steven Weber in the lead role playing Jeffrey himself. Patrick Stewart also provides a memorable turn as an aging gay painter dealing with the recent loss of his partner to AIDS. The story is all about the AIDS crisis but is dealt with in a sensitive and humorous manner. In a climate of fear in the gay community as the threat of AIDS intensifies, Jeffrey must decide whether to hide from love, or accept it along with all the risks it entails.
Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.
Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.
Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.