Jean Paul Gaultier at the NGV

I always love to visit the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) when I am in Melbourne. It always has the most magnificent travelling displays and it's regular collection is spectacular. This is due to the Felton Bequest, if you look closely at all the big pieces in the gallery, you will see this title attached. Alfred Felton came to Australia during the gold rush, was an importer, collected art, and lived in the Esplanade Hotel in St Kilda. You can see why he is a hero of mine. When he died in 1904 he left half of his estate (including his own impressive art collection) to the NGV!

 

The exhibition this time was unlike any I had seen before. It was Jean Paul Gaultier, his fashion as art sensibility being anything but sensible. My mind was blown at the range and style of his art.

 

The first section was early wearable fashion. I was transfixed by the models, these new age models had digital faces. One even had the face of Jean Paul himself!

Then the iconic section.

 

The runway and punk section.

Then the subversive; sheer fabric, and peep show art.

 

Then outlandish costume, remarkable handiwork.

 

And finally the famous dresses for stars.

 

Dita Von Teese

 

Beth Ditto...I love this one BTW!

Nicole Kidman - Oscar dress, winning for The Hours

Kylie Minogue

Cate Blanchett

Afterwards I had a quick zip into the regular gallery to see my favourite pieces.

Picasso's Weeping Woman, oh how I love this glorious gal!

A small version of Rodin's The Thinker

And the magnificent cathedral ceiling - I could sit or lay down and look up forever at this.

And for the first time ever I had a wander in the glorious sculpture garden.

And had one last look at this temporary piece in the foyer!!!

Les Miserables: the show, the exhibition, and the State Library VIC

Why IS Les so miserable?

 

And so the old joke goes...

 

As a literature lover and a Francophile, of course I knew Les Miserables and Victor Hugo. But I had never read the actual book or seen the stage show. I don't know why, I just hadn't.

 

Then a few years back I saw the Anne Hathaway/Hugh Jackman film and fell in love...completely.

 

I knew all the songs, but never matched them to Les Mis. I knew the story, but didn't really know the full story. I sobbed pretty much the whole way through it, not the silent, quiet type of sobbing, but the blubbery, noise making, embarrassing sobbing...I was by myself and near no one in the cinema!

 

And so Les Miserables came back to Melbourne, along with an exhibition of the story at the VIC State Library and I had to go.

 

The exhibition had the original book, in Hugo's messy French handwriting, but that had gone back to France and replaced but a digital version. And on my second day in Melbourne, the exhibit had it's last day and off I went.

 

I think the State Library of VIC is my favourite library, it's a beautiful old building, with a stunning reading room under a magnificent dome. It holds many amazing exhibits.

 

The first section of the exhibit was a range of items from France, old copies of the story, other writings and papers of Hugo, paintings and etchings of Paris at that time, bits of memorabilia. Quite an exhibition, then it moved into the movies and music from the book, posters, costumes and so forth, again remarkable.

 

The second section was a large area which was enhanced by the stunning architecture of the Library itself, a stage, large props, costumes, dressing rooms, music, and on and on it went. It was a remarkable space.

 

I then had a wander around the library, as I have done many times before. Having a look at the dome, reading room, and the 'book' display around the first floor of the dome. Some items never change, other bits do, it shows the evolution of books and parts of the extraordinary collection held there. There was a lovely section dedicated to Helen Garner this time, including her first typewriter.

 

The outside edifice was undergoing some type of construction, but the front gardens were full of students relaxing and enjoying themselves as always.

 

Later on that week I headed to Her Majesty's Theatre to see the staged musical. I had spectacular seats, front row middle in the Grand Circle (Third tier), however, I had not thought of the drop down to the stage and my vertigo set in a little. But I managed ok, the show was brilliant, so I didn't have much time to think about falling over the edge, lol!

 

I managed to keep myself composed through the first half, eyes wet, but not bubbling over. The set design was perfect and effortless. The cast amazing and the music sublime.

 

The story, Dickensian in style, set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, is dramatic and unrelenting in it's misery. It's a devastating show to watch, but stunning in the strength of the characters, and sublime in the haunting tunes that form the musical itself.

 

The two male leads, Jean Valjean (our hero) and Javert (the man intent on destroying him) were superb, although at times I thought their singing was not right on track. The tragic Fantine was a little weak, although her showstopper, I dreamed a dream, was heartfelt and inspired.

 

The trio of Cosette (Fantine's daughter), Marius (the man who loves her), and Eponine (the girl who loves Marius) were excellent, with Eponine being the stand out. Though I might be biased, she is my favourite character. Gutsy, romantic, and gets what I believe is THE showstopper, On my own. She owns the beginning of Act 2, and had me in tears at her magnificent performance.

 

And rounding out the main players are the comic relief of The Thenardiers - they were outrageously fabulous, mean and nasty, funny and bawdy. I do love Master of the House, it makes me smile so, and much needed comic relief in such a dire story.

 

The set design was bleak, but strong, with some great visual effects that help depict scenes, in particular the sewers and Javert's plummet from the bridge.

 

But ultimately Les Miserables is about the music, and it was divine. Every song a star, every song a friend. I am so pleased to have finally been able to see it.

 

Now I guess I need to read the book!

Julia in Newcastle

I was lucky enough to be in the audience for Julia Gillard at City Hall at the beginning of the month. Lucky in that our friend A had scored our tickets when they sold out in something amazing like 15 mins! And lucky because she was our first female Prime Minister and a rather remarkable woman. 

I got to City Hall and was first in line, which gave us excellent seats when the doors opened. The enthusiastic audience ranged in ages but over half were female.

 

Rosemarie Milsom introduced the former PM to thunderous applause, it was thrilling to be in the audience. And from that moment for about an hour, Julia Gillard shone. Enhanced greatly by the extraordinary Rosemarie, Julia answered questions and told stories with grace, humour, and intelligence. This should not be surprising, but I guess I was surprised at how graceful, warm, funny, and charismatic she was. Much more than expected.

I cannot remember everything she spoke about, and I remember being so entranced I barely tweeted anything. I could have sat and listened to her all night.

 

She spoke at length about the period before she took over from Kevin and of course the night Kevin took over from her. It's hard to know what is spin and what is not with politicians, but I guess there are some things we'll never know. But I could tell she felt conflicted over the man and the course of action taken from all aspects.

 

She spoke about her family and the impact of her being PM had on them, especially given the treatment she got.

And I guess this is what stayed with me most about her talk, was her mistreatment, the thing that bothered me the most about when she was in power. The double standards, the misogyny, the bullshit. She said it mostly rolled off her and she tried to take no notice of it, but there were times it was hard to ignore. When she was in large briefings with big business and the only woman for example, it appears - as we know - feminism still has a long way to go.

 

She spoke about her famous misogyny speech and how she had no idea the impact of it and how powerful it was. A few close to her at the time mumbled to her they wouldn't want to be in Abbott's shoes at that moment. And it wasn't until she returned to her office that she found messages and realised how well it had been taken. She said she can be in another country that might only know about kangaroos and koalas in terms of Australia, but they would also know about her speech, and that was pleasing.

 

My favourite line was "criticism only hurts from people you respect." This was in direct response to the extreme sexism she was treated to during her time in office.

She also took time to acknowledge Joanne McCarthy, who was in the audience, and spoke about her harrowing decision to go ahead with the Royal Commission, as she wanted those affected to go through the least amount of pain.

 

She spoke about her passion of education, meeting President Obama, her family, and her work now she is out of office. All were presented with openness, and great humour. She was funny!

 

The evening ended with questions, and one was an offer to come and be Lord Mayor, no doubt she would be pleased Nuatali Nelmes taking on that role.

At the end of the day, she was not a perfect PM, but are there any perfect politicians? But she got a huge amount of policy through in a trying government and has come out the other end as a respectable and decent human. I think the history books will be kind to her and deservingly so.

OCTOBER ROUND UP

Well this month has been challenging as the black dog has taken up inside of me again. I have written about this here before, and I know I am lucky as I usually can control it pretty well so as not to impact too much on my life. I know others are not so lucky. However it took hold strongly and I have had some dark moments this month. I have had the odd episode like this before, but not for a long, long time. I could see it coming and just could do nothing to stave it off this time. Sometimes you get through it quickly, other times you have to give into it...sigh.

With depression, and I hasten to add mine is usually quite mild, it comes in waves, sometimes for no real reason at all, sometimes something triggers it, it doesn't really matter how it begins, but moreso how you cope and how you banish it, and as I say I am lucky to be able to do that. I wouldn't say it is banished, but I do feel a million bucks on top of what I felt like at the beginning of the month. I write this not to make people feel sorry for me or uncomfortable, but to acknowledge, sometimes life is not rosy, and I think we will go through that from time to time. 

So yeah I have done a lot of sleeping (yet still so tired, this is common with the black dog!), a fair bit of sobbing (cathartic!), and unfortunately a lot of comfort eating. They have almost subsided. The whole thing is rather ironic given it is mental health month, lol! But revenge for depression is to try and keep your sense of humour...always!

Simultaneously the month started with the National Young Writer's Festival and you can read about my experience here. I also caught up with the fabulous C for brunch at III Bean and a bit of antiquing.

L, J, and I picnicked at Scotties and had a girly, chatty catch up. I also caught up with D, my oldest friend who I've known since Kindi, we walked and talked, drank at Bar Petite, and then caught the movie Gone Girl. Wow, I had not read the book, I tried, but it's just not the kind of thing I normally read. A colleague suggested just seeing the movie and I am glad I did. It was a great thriller, though I suspected the twist as such. Definitely not a date movie, and possibly rather a scary for anyone in a relationship they are having doubts about. I would call this the Fatal Attraction of this decade!

I also went to The Hop Factory for the first time and was impressed. It's a small bar with a cafe outlook, J & I had 'afternoon tea' there, it consisted of fries and aioli, beers, and crème brulee! We chatted and philosophised about love, life, and everything in between. Man, I love chats like that and am blessed to have friends of a similar headspace. Another first was heading to the Pork Ewe Deli at Mayfield. Oh my, it felt like I was back in Tuscany, amazing imported cold meats, cheeses, pates etc.

Work has been busy, I am doing our baby storytime this year, and really enjoying it. Those that know me, know babies aren't my thing, but it's a lovely group of young Mum's and some cute little bubs. Funnily enough the group is growing each week, so I must be doing something right! But I do love storytelling (it's the frustrated performer within I think) and molding young minds towards literature is always delightful! I have also taken on the project of managing our Christmas Closure and changes to new opening hours, which is a lot of work but a lovely change to my regular work. I do like mixing it up. 

And on a personal note, we have moved to a 9 day fortnight, which now means I have every second Monday off and I am loving it. Though my first two have been clogged up dealing with car stuff, getting electronic keys replaced (do not even ask, suffice to say take care of your keys, they are very very expensive to replace and very very time consuming) and car serviced!

We were lucky to have popular author, Graeme Simsion return to the library, this time to Belmont. S & I saw him almost 2 years ago at Charlestown Library just before The Rosie Project took off, so it was lovely for us to see him have so much success and yet seem not to have changed a bit. He was talking about his success since the first book and about his follow up, The Rosie Effect. It was utterly delightful, he is such an entertainer, and if you haven't read his books about Don Tillman, a 40 year old with possible Aspergers and his search for love, you simply must. Quirky and funny, and told with such kindness and love, it is one of the best popular novels I have read in a long time.

And our local retirement village, Tenison Apartments brought us another play late in the month. Danny's Doomed Love Drama, with three actors and a choir of stunning elderly voices, we were enchanted and brought to tears by this true story, crafted beautifully into a play by Kit, their activities officer.

A, L, & I took an impromptu night out to The Playhouse and saw Checklist for an Armed Robber. An outstanding short play about two devastating events, the theatre Siege in Kosovo some years back and an armed robbery on a local bookstore around the same time. 4 actors on stage with both sets side by side and lines sometimes going back and forth between the two plotlines. Despite the dramatic and tense undertones of the subject matter it was presented with great humour and the whole thing was thoroughly enjoyable.

At Bookclub we got our mojo back, after a few odd months of going off the boil, and had a lively and wonderful conversation about Z: a novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler. You can read about it and other reviews here.

A, L, C & I headed off to Glendale for the premiere of Pride, and I cannot talk this brilliant little indie up enough. It was great for a first time director. A real feel good (but not in the usual twee way) movie based on a true story about the miner's strike in the mid 80s. A group of Gays and Lesbians form a group to raise money for the miners and an unlikely friendship is made. It has such heart, with humour, real drama, and a killer soundtrack. You simply MUST go and see this film!

My nephew turned 12! 12, where on earth did the years go, high school next year and nearly a teenager, but still time for cuddles with his aunt. This kid (and his sister) are my favourite people on the planet. We had a lovely family BBQ, laughs and fun.

I also bought myself a little something special, from the always amazing Blackbird Corner. If you do not know what this is, well, you need to take a long hard look at yourself!

My birthday is Boxing day (that is a blog onto itself!) and my friend M, Christmas Day (decidedly worse than mine), so our mutual friend S organised an early (or late) celebration for us, which really was just an excuse to get our wonderful group of gals together for a night out. And what fun we had, heading to Broadmeadow for Pinballs and Pizza. We hired the small back room for a small fee for 2 hours and had 7 machines of unlimited games. Breaking for the excellent pizzas midway. I highly recommend heading there for a night out with a difference, we had a blast.

My month ended with much laughter as I was lucky enough to see Bill Bailey at The Civic Theatre.

As always some photos from my escapades... 

OCTOBER REVIEWS

What I've been listening to

Singles soundtrack – nice hark back to when Grunge was king. Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and The Replacements. Man, I really loved The Replacements, so my stand out tune is Dyslexic Heart. 

Hypnotic - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers = great rocking Tom

New Morrissey and Sinead O’Connor – both great albums by artists whose recent output has been ordinary. Especially Sinead’s which I would call close to perfect, she’s never sounded better and the album has a range from ballads, to pop to rock, highly recommend. 

Exits by Steve Smyth.  I first saw the decadently bearded Smyth on Rockwiz about a year ago. He was marvelous and I adored his rock/blues voice. I was also lucky enough to see him live in September. He was a mix of Tom Waits and Jeff Buckley, rocking blues tracks to more laid back jazzy/pop tunes. An impressive presence on stage, I think he is one of those performers who is better seen live. However his album is a pretty good representation and one I highly recommend. 

Revelation is the latest from Brian Jonestown Massacre and a goodun’. A mix of rock, pop and the usual crazy, I found this an immediately listenable album. One I have had on rotation for a while. 

Liam Finn’s latest album is called Nihilist and that will give you an idea of what to expect. A hazy muddle of a whole range of genres, sometimes all in one song. My favourite was a Prince like funk pop tune called Snug as F...k. Liam has a mixed sound and then you listen to some songs and you can see the genetics streaming through. Finn the younger always presents a mixed bag, sometimes not to my taste, but I quite liked this.

Also been listening to a few by Paloma Faith. She has a huge voice and great style. I know her through live things I've seen online or tele, and whilst the albums are great, she is a visual performer. I think seeing her adds to performance, I prefer it!

What I've been watching

Sons of Anarchy 5, yet again I start this series and yet again I think this is the same old stuff with the violence pushed up a notch or two. Yet by episode 2 I was sucked back  in, mostly due to the arrival of a new bloke in Town, Jimmy Smits. Everyone is double crossing each other, there are hits, murders, and pure assassinations. The body count is high. As always the women in the cast stand out.

Arrested Development S4 - read my AD review here.

Josh Thomas finished up on a lovely note with his stunning series Please Like Me, S3 is on the way apparently. Hurrah, it's the best thing on Australian television by far!

ABC had a fabulous week of scheduling for Mental Health Month, including a stunning QandA. I was a fan of QandA for a long time, but I grew weary of it last year, possibly as politics has taken such a dreadful turn, watching people debate it out just wore thing. However there has been a few perfectly chosen panels of late, eg no politicians, and this was no exception. Surprisingly Josh Thomas shone through with his kind simplicity about issues. Another piece I particularly enjoyed was a documentary about depression and anxiety (two things I work through myself from time to time) by Felicity Ward. Kind, compassionate, and funny, check it out on iview if it's still there.

I've seen a few ordinary films too. Adoration was about two close friends (Naomi Watts and Robin Wright) who end up having affairs with each other's sons. Of course this cause no end of dramas. This was beautifully filmed and well acted, and was a clever concept, but ultimately left me feeling meh. The Butler was as bad as I thought it would be. How could Lee Daniels (Monster's Ball, Precious, The Paperboy) would make such a beige film? Based on a true story, which I think could have been really radical, it just did not translate and seemed to be Oscar bait of the very worst type. In fact the whole film reeked of 'Let's give Oprah an Oscar!' Ummmm, let's not!!! And I found Mandela: a long walk to freedom, ponderous and plodding. I adore Mandela and his story is a complex one for sure, but I guess we all know that by now, so the film seemed a bit moot. Mr Pip was nowhere near as good as the novel. Sunshine on Leith I watched twice, the first time I fell asleep through the whole thing, the second I just couldn't get into it, and I like The Proclaimers and love Jane Horracks!

I did enjoy Mud, a boys own adventure starring Matthew McConaughey, a felon hiding out on a swampy island in the South. Two young boys stumble across him, get to know him, and help him fix an old boat for escape. I also saw two French films about food. The first Tasting Menu, is about a famous chef and restaurant and their last night open. A range of guests are invited to enjoy this last evening, and many are at a crossroads in their life. Amongst the delicious food are the people working through their worries. The second was Le Chef, with the great Jean Reno, as head chef at a 3 hat restaurant, but growing bored with the job, he takes on an assistant and hilarity ensues. This has the usual French farce elements, with a little drama, and great food.

Frank was definitely the stand out movie for the month. Frank (Michael Fassbender) is the lead singer of an enigmatic, underground band. Jon (Domhnall Gleeson - Harry Potter, About Time) is a young struggling musician, who happens to be in the right place at the right time, when the band requires a temporary keyboard player. He joins the band and ends up being a confidant of Frank and goes away with the band to record their first album.

Frank's style of music is avant garde and then some, and he refuses to remove a large, false head. He has an odd relationship with Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal) another band member. It is really hard to explain Frank (the movie and the person), but it is very odd, incredibly endearing, dramatic, sad, and very funny. Fassbender - who spends almost the entire movie with his head in this huge false head - is absolutely stunning. The emotions and range protrayed, without a face, has to be seen to be believed. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Domhnall Gleeson also superb. This is a little film, but with great hit and heart. It is loosely based on a band, writer, Jon Ronson knew. Oh and Fassbender sings for reals on the bands music. 

What I've been reading

Z: a novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler is a superb fictionalised account of Zelda’s life. From her Southern childhood to the life changing event of meeting one F. Scott Fitzgerald and then their hedonistic life covering many countries and parties. This is a grand tale of love, craziness, and the swinging twenties.

As luck would have it by Derek Jacob, I listened to on audiobook, read by the great man himself. As a young tween I was obsessed with I Claudius, and Jacobi's performance in particular and have enjoyed him on the small and big screen ever since. This Autobiography tells the fascinating story of his life, leading up to I Claudius, and beyond when he became very famous. Fabulous insight into acting, the theatre, Shakespeare and many of his contemporaries. He has acted with all the greats and tells exactly how they were to be around. From Lawrence Olivier, to Noel Coward, to Maggie Smith, to Kenneth Branagh, every story is wonderful.

Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There – Lewis Carroll as read by Miriam Margolyes. This was a fun audiobook, with Miriam doing marvelous justice to the voices of each and every character within Carroll's imagination.

The Stationary Ark by Gerald Durrell, read by Nigel Davenport. I have always been fascinated by the stories of Gerald Durrell, mostly his childhood stories from the island of Corfu. This is about setting up a zoo on the Jersey Isles. Parts of it are fascinating, parts of it lists and dull procedures from set up, and parts of it awful stories or what would amount to stealing animals today. I was unsure how to take this book, I've never been a fan of zoos, but am enamoured of all animals and attempts at conservation. This book seemed not to be the later, and it protested too much about people who become anti-zoo activists. Nonetheless, there were some endearing animals stories within.

Not that kind of girl by Lena Dunham is a mix of essays, thought pieces, and lists. I like her writing style very much, it's matter of a fact and far more mature than I would have thought. Some of it fascinating, especially her early childhood, and her early 20s. Some of it didn't interest me and I skimmed through. In all, if you like good feminist memoirs, you will find much in there to love.

Dress, memory by Lorelei Vashti is an expansion from her fabulous fashion tumblr from a few years back. Lorelei has a lovely frock collection and would blog about one piece a week, why she bought the outfit or dress and what emotions it brought out of biographical information of the time. Dress memory, extends those small pieces into larger chapters per year. It is mostly memoir, but with extensive detail of her outfits for each memory within.

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

I discovered Arrested Development a few episodes in I think, but I cannot remember how many. I say I think, as I have watched S1-3 so many times now, the details have faded. But I know I was immediately hooked. Mostly as it had Jeffrey Tambor in it as George Booth Sr, the patriarch of the family the show was about. I had adored Tambor as Hey Now Hank in the Larry Sanders Show - my all-time favourite comedy until Arrested Development - so I knew it would be good.

Arrested Development is close to the funniest, most perfect comedy ever. Underrated and under appreciated, and cut way too soon. If you have not watched it, you must, it is so layered and meta (before meta jumped the shark - and that in itself is an in-joke for actual fans!), It requires attention to detail, but the pay off is delicious and real laugh out loud funny. In fact the jokes run so fast and thick, that it requires multiple viewing and the occasional rewind to replay something you missed! I love intelligence in comedy, I think it is the very best thing there is, you work your beautiful brain AND get to laugh...is there anything better?

AD was about a rich family, who had lost their wealth, but behaved not only as if this had not happened but quite badly as well. The lead was the seemingly unageing Jason Bateman, as the 'good' son, who stays with his horrid family to keep them together. His siblings were Porti di Rossi, hilarious as the spoilt Lindsay, Will Arnett as Gob (pronounced as Job, as in the bible), a 'magician', and the superb Tony Hale as Buster, the youngest, infantile son.

Jessica Walters played their mother, Lucille, a brassy, smoking, drinking, swearing and materialistic woman. Michael's son, George Michael, is played by Michael Cera in his usual laid back fashion. He is secretly in love with their cousin Maeby. Maeby is the daughter of Lindsay and Tobias. Tobias is an odd character played with conviction by David Cross, he is a never-nude, a would be actor, sprouts double entendres, and proclaims he is not gay...he possibly is.

Rounding out the cast is the narrator, voiced by Ron Howard, whose steadily nuanced voice lends additional thought to the layered comedy.

The supporting cast is equally as funny and wonderful. Headed by Liza Minnelli as Lucille 2, Lucille's ex best friend and possible lover to all three of her sons. She is outstanding and funny, especially with physical comedy. I must say I am a huge fan of physical comedy (but done well!), and this show has plenty of it.

Other supports are Henry Winkler as Barry Zuckerkorn, the family lawyer, and Scott Baio as Bob Loblaw the stand in lawyer. Ben Stiller as Tony Wonder, Gob's magician rival. Charlize Theron, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Christine Taylor have all been love interests for the long suffering Michael. Amy Poehler, Jane Lynch, Judy Greer and a cast of many round out the rest of the characters.

The storylines and plots are way too complicated to begin to mention here. But don't let that put you off, it's an easy show to watch, but the more you put into it the more you will get out of it. This is a great thing.

Unfortunately it's style was a little ahead of it's time and it got axed after 3 seasons. However it paved the way for large casts and multi-layered storylines in shows such as 30 Rock, Parks and Recreations, Community, Modern Family and so on.

But all was not lost, it grew as a cult phenomena and they got the band back together so to speak and made S4. This was after many years of talk and speculation.

Ahhh, the expectations were possibly too high, because it just didn't meet the brilliance of S1-3. Having said that, it was still great and better than most comedies out there. I think the problem was they featured on one character per episode and the brilliance of AD is a stunning ensemble cast, not a dud in the main 9 characters and the supporting case (most of whom came back) also fabulous. So when AD works best, it is when the majority of the cast are playing off each other. I get why they filmed it the way they did, most of the cast had gone on to bigger things and scheduling must have been a nightmare. But that meant it lost it's shine for S4, at least for me.

It was still funny, very funny, I hear talk in the past week that Mitch Hurwitz (creator, writer, director) is going to re-cut it back to match the previous three seasons, this could be interesting.

I will leave you with the funniest scene from S4, Lucille is out of jail and under house arrest with an ankle alarm and in a smoke-free apartment. Lucille is a heavy smoker, so she lights up and Buster inhales her smoke for her and releases it out the balcony (where Lucille cannot go due to the ankle alarm). This continues on until she finishes her cigarette. I cannot begin to say how funny this is, not a word spoken, just facial expressions and fabulous slapstick. I saw outtakes of this scene and the script calls for one cigarette but Jessica Walters lights up a second and Tony Hale goes with it, truly the most extraordinarily funny scene I have seen. And with gems like that AD S4 isn't so bad I guess.