JANUARY 21 • 2021 | 33

SEGEL; LEBOWITZ; SEX
AND THE CITY REBOOT
Our Friend, a “tearjerker”
dramatic film, opens in a
few theaters Jan. 22 and is
also available that day on
video-on-demand. It is based
on a 2015 Esquire article
in which Matthew Teague
detailed the death of his wife,
Nicole, from ovarian cancer.
The couple’s best friend,
Dane, upended his life and
stayed with them for months,
assisting with everything,
including helping with their
two young daughters. Jason
Segel, 40, plays Dane, his first
major film in four years. Casey
Affleck plays Matthew, with
Dakota Johnson as Nicole.
Critics were divided, but all
praised Segel’s performance.

In 1978, Fran Lebowitz,
now 70, came out of almost
nowhere with Metropolitan
Life, a collection of stories
featuring acerbic, brilliant and
funny observations about
contemporary life. It was a
smash, as was Social Studies
(1982), a similar collection
of stories. Lebowitz was in
demand as a paid speaker
and talk show guest for most
of the 1980s. Most people,
I think, assumed she came
from an intellectual family and
had an Ivy League degree. In
reality, her father ran a New
Jersey furniture store, and
she was a high school drop-
out (she did get a G.E.D.).
Lebowitz worked menial
jobs until magazines started
buying her stories, some
of which were in her first
book. Her Cinderella story
faded as she wrote virtually
nothing after 1982, blaming a
writer’s block. Then, in 2010,
Martin Scorsese brought her

back into the public eye with
Public Speaking, an HBO
documentary mostly about
her entertaining speaking
appearances. A decade
has passed, and Scorsese
has stepped up again to
showcase Lebowitz in a new
documentary. Pretend It’s a
City, was released on Netflix
on Jan. 8. Scorsese pretty
much points the camera at
Lebowitz and she opines, in

her funny/snarky way, about
New York City, the pandemic
and other things. A memo-
rable line: It would take one
subway ride for the Dalai
Lama to turn into a lunatic,
crazy person.
On Jan. 9, it was confirmed
that a revival or reboot of Sex
and the City will begin film-
ing this spring for HBO Max.
Three out of the four leads
will return: Sarah Jessica
Parker, now 55, as Carrie,
Cynthia Nixon as Miranda and
Kristen Davis as Charlotte,
who converted to Judaism
and wed Harry, a Jewish guy
played by Evan Handler, now
60. It’s likely that Handler will
be in the reboot. Kim Cattrall,
who played Samantha,
has said that she wouldn’t
appear in another sequel.
Few details are available, just
a vague press release about
the ladies navigating the
realities of life and friendship
in their 50s.

ARTS&LIFE
CELEBRITY JEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

WIKIPEDIA

Thank you to all the guests that have been patient and understanding and
have supported us through this extremely difficult past year. For over 56
years our restaurants have been through countless challenges, from financial
recessions to depressions and through it all we have continued to expand and
grow and together we have now faced a pandemic.

We are blessed to always find a positive solution to overcome and succeed!
This could not be possible without our extended family of staff and their ability
to step up to the many challenges with a positive focus on working together
unified in one direction and a goal to always move forward Tiriamo AvantiTM.

As we begin this brand-new year, we are faced with the unknown in what
the restaurant industry as many businesses have been forced to close
and hardworking people are now unemployed. One thing is promised, my
family and I are looking forward to working, serving and feeding our great
community. We remain strong and thank our guests for standing with us.
Looking forward to a positive 2021!

A Family Tradition
Since 1964

www.antoniosrestaurants.com

Dearborn
Farmington Hills
Canton
Dearborn Heights
Livonia

Sincerely,
Anthony Rugiero, CEO. President
Antonio's and Roman Village

Dear Readers,