I’ve always been a fan of Anjelica Huston’s work but knew very little about her life. I’d heard she had a sorta famous father and dated Jack Nicholson for a bit, but now I realize her father was one of the most famous directors of our time and her relationship with Nicholson lasted 17 years. Until this memoir, I had just barely scratched the surface of Morticia Addams’ life. (She is Morticia to me. No one could have played the role better.)
Huston was born into Hollywood society and treated to an upbringing in Europe and an early career in New York/LA that made her worldly. She appreciates culture – she was culture. But I am not sure she understands that some of her experiences are so far from what most would consider reality. Her parents seemed to let her run off and do whatever she pleased and were lucky she had such a strong head on her shoulders. It’s not typical to be in a relationship with a man more than two decades your senior when you are in your twenties. Nor is it the norm to spend every evening at drug-filled celebrity parties while toting around your 13 year old sister. And it seems monogamy is a “nice to have” in these circles. Still, while that lifestyle could ravage many, Huston seems to have a clear and healthy perspective as an adult.
To get a glimpse of this glam lifestyle and the process of movie-making is nice, but the memoir read more as a slew of individual anecdotes, very lightly strung together. Though it follows a vague arc of “love, fame, fortune,” her story seems to be told more in bits and pieces. They are descriptive, well-written, and beautifully analyzed…but they’re still bits.
2.5 out of 5 stars.
Peaches to Apples 