Fala Greta Garbo

...playing an extremely feisty lady living in NYC who simply doesn't take anyone's stuff-for example, when construction guys yell obscenities to passing women, she gets up on a lift and confronts the guys, "Ok, who here has the electric tongue? Is it plug in or batteries?" She is a Garbo fanatic, presumably enchanted by Garbo's independent nature, crying at her films playing on TV.

Her suffering adult son Gilbert (Ron Silver) has to routinely bail her from jail, take daily humiliation at work and deal with his complaining wife, uncharacteristically played by cutie Carrie Fisher.

Add to that, Mom is diagnosed with inoperable brain tumor. Her dying wish is to meet Greta Garbo, whom we all know at the time lived in NYC. For anyone who remembers NYC in the 80's, it was a big deal to have a "Garbo Sighting" and better yet-a snap photo.

All this sets up the episodic story of Gilbert's goal to find Garbo. It was very cute, although the story flow was kind of uneven. Some "episodes" in his quest were funny, some poignant, some too long and others too short for my liking.

Overall, it was worth a view for the enjoyable performances, especially Bancroft who obviously had fun doing it. Catherine Hicks is also a standout, as a struggling actress working at the same dull accounting firm as Gilbert. Harvey Fierstein's segment was way too short, he's a powerhouse (as usual) in his vignette.

The music however was the absolute worst. It's dated, inappropriate and goofy. Leonard Maltin's two sentence comment actually mentions the horrible soundtrack. Never underestimate the power of music in film!

Ron Silver's decision to try and grant his dying mother's wish to meet Greta Garbo becomes an all-consuming obsession in "Garbo Talks" (***1/2). This unusual story touches upon a theme that is seldom explored with much depth in films: the effect the movies or a particular star may have on our entire lives. How many of us have had the experience of watching a golden oldie that evokes a vivid memory of where we were and what our lives were like the very first time we saw it? Most of us, I'll bet. This thought is crystallized in the funny and touching monologue Anne Bancroft delivers in her hospital bed to her idol as she tells Garbo what her films have meant to her during key moments of her life. Ron Silver is effectively low-key as Bancroft's devoted son, and the telling cameos contributed by a great supporting cast playing assorted New York oddballs he meets during his odyssey are a special bonus (Hermione Gingold is a rare hoot). There are a few gaps that could probably have been filled in better between the vignettes (I would have been curious to know how Silver spent his night on Fire Island after missing the last ferry boat), but all-in-all this is a wonderful little sleeper. Those who are tuned into it will know what I mean.

Anne Bancroft, in the film Garbo Talks, experiences what many film fans can only dream of, meeting their idol. As Estelle Rolfe fades, we see her son Gilbert grow, helped along by his quest to find the mysterious Greta Garbo before his mother dies.

This film, while not great, is a great film if you are a Garbo fan. Listening to Estelle tell Garbo of all the big moments of her life and how each were punctuated by one of Garbo's films, is a testament to the power film can have.

The story of a dying woman's last request is to meet her favorite film actress. It wouldn't be problem but the actress is Greta Garbo who has remained in seclusion for years since her retirement from the film industry. Anne Bancroft plays the dying mother and Ron Silver plays her son. The rest of the cast includes Harvey Fierstein as what else a gay New Yorker, Liz Smith, Denny Dillon, Steven Hill, and others that are well-known in New York City. Anne Bancroft's performance is really something to watch in this film. You want what she wants. In a way, the film is more about her than her son who wants to please his dying mother and grant her one wish even if it's almost impossible. Greta Garbo's legacy and her reclusion in New York City life reads like a great fiction novel but it's true. Garbo who was one of the most famous of her generation didn't hide but didn't promote herself shamelessly and she didn't even make the movie. But it must be a compliment that so many of her fans still remember her fondly.

This film brought to mind our own encounter with the elusive Ms. Garbo one afternoon as we held the door open for her at the 59th St. entrance of Bloomingdale's. Ms. Garbo could be seen around her East Side neighborhood, where people didn't even stare at her out of respect of her privacy! Manhattan in the 50s, 60s and even 70s had a lot of antique dealers on 3rd. Ave. and Ms. Garbo was a constant figure browsing those stores. Greta Garbo, the once silver screen goddess, lived a modest life in Manhattan. Her trade mark was the shade of lipstick she always wore and the camel hair coat one saw on her, until in later years when she adopted a brown duffle coat whenever she went out.

Sidney Lumet's film pays homage to that fleeting figure. The mysterious woman is at the center of a film that perhaps is not so much about the mythical figure, as much as the allure of what she stood for.

The story of the terminally ill Estelle Rolfe is a sweet account in how her loving son Gilbert tries to bring the illusion of the movies to his dying mother. The movie shows to what lengths Gilbert goes to grant Estelle a moment with the person she most admired, the actress Greta Garbo. Estelle was a fan, but more than that, she was a no nonsense lady who championed righteousness above all.

Anne Bancroft was born to play Estelle. Ms. Bancroft knew this woman and her portrayal benefits from the way she plays her. As the son, Ron Silver is good. He will go to whatever extreme to please his mother. Carrie Fisher is Lisa, the California girl married to Gilbert who doesn't want to stay in New York. Veteran actors like Howard Da Silva, Stephen Hill, Herminone Gingold, Dorothy Loudon, Harvey Fierstein are seen in the film in supporting parts.

"Garbo Talks" is not one of Sidney Lumet's best movies, but still, one gets the feeling what it is to live in New York with this tale about the celluloid meeting reality in Manhattan.