Like so many others during the pandemic, this movie lover upped her intake of film watching. There are so many free (and paid) services with diverse samplings of features from all genres. I would recommend TubiTV.com, Pluto.TV, and Kanopy, which is free through my library membership. Kanopy is especially appealing because it offers foreign films, some of which are quite esoteric.

Yesterday afternoon, I was in a 'movie mood.' I live close enough to a terrific cinema called The Crest, but I did not feel like venturing out. So I went to a site and watched The Ana Nicole Smith Story (2007) starring Willa Ford. I thought Ford did a great job in capturing the essence of the troubled former Guess Jeans and Playboy large-sized model who succumbed to drug addiction. Ana Nicole had a rough beginning and faced widespread criticism for marrying a much older man who happened to be a billionaire. But from what I gleaned from the movie, the couple provided comfort to each other.

According to the biopic script, Smith had tried to start a career as a model, only to be thwarted by a sleazy photographer who said she could pay for a $500 portfolio by sleeping with him. To her credit, she stormed out of the makeshift studio and went to work at a retail grocer. An older colleague shared that she had worked as a stripper to make ends meet. So Smith, a young single mother, headed to a Houston club and was able to make quick cash.

I did not know much about the Marilyn Monroe lookalike but I can understand why the young vulnerable mother was motivated to be able to make fast money. When I was in my 20s, living in southern California. I had a close friend who will remain unnamed who turned to dance in a strip club near Port Hueneme. I liked her a great deal. We had met at a local mall just after she had dropped out of college as an art major. I worked for a cinematographer at the time.

My friend had two young children who were taken away from her due to a problem with alcohol. She went through treatment and was not drinking. I think the rejection from her parents, plus limited work opportunities led her to the doors of the club. Do I advocate stripping? Not really, because I think it can erode the soul of anyone who engages in such an activity. This is my observation of how my friend changed the longer she worked in the industry, even though she told me she never slept with the men who ogled her. She just "went to work" and went home with cash. I was saddened to hear that she married a club owner she said abused her. We kept in touch for a while, but I lost contact with her and sincerely hope she's well. The movie made me think of my friend--better not to judge.