Article: Stepping out of character.(REEL WORLD)(Limelight)(Shopgirl)(Movie review)

KNOWING THAT MY FAVORITE "golden age" comedian is Charlie Chaplin, while Steve Martin holds that distinction for modern-day funnymen, one of my students asked what was each's most underrated movie, and could I make any connection between the two, beyond the comic link. I pinpointed Chaplin's "Limelight" (1952) and Martin's "Shopgirl" (2005). While the films have many complexly conflicting nuances, each poignantly has examined the loneliness of an older man briefly placated by the love of a younger woman. Both are based upon autobiographical novels--Chaplin's unpublished Footlights and the Martin bestseller Shopgirl.

Chaplin's "Limelight" came out at a time when ...

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