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,