by Anne Edwards
Tall (6'4"), trim but wide of shoulder, handsome in the classic middle-aged criteria – a full head of shiny silver hair, tanned, healthy complexion (signifying he was still an outdoorsman) and a wide, welcoming smile – he happened also to be a man with a gentle manner who held women, especially working ones, in high regard. Friends noted an immediate, mutual attraction between the two. As a close friend later said, “It was as though Fanny Brice had come face to face with Nicky Arnstein – but when they were wiser and older.” Unlike those doomed screen (and true life) lovers, Streisand was her own woman, having already been divorced once and a partner in several demanding affairs (their reasons for failure noted and absorbed widely, and wildly, by the media) while Brolin was drawn to the private woman as well as to her star persona.
He drove her home from that first meeting, her own car and driver dismissed. “We talked until 3 a.m. and stood in the foyer, trying to decide whether to kiss or shake hands,” Streisand confided to an interviewer some time later. “We were both shy.” Not revealing what they had decided, she added that she had offered him a glass of port and a chair.
“You know how uncomfortable Duncan Phyfe furniture is?” Brolin broke in to comment. “You can’t lounge or get comfortable.”
Theirs seemed to be a happy union. Whatever had drawn them together originally, the time spent together for the next two years appeared to have given them a deep bond that was put to the test and survived. They helped each other through some individual and difficult situations. Brolin had a pre-teen daughter who had to be considered. Her parents’ divorce and his attachment to another woman should be handled with care. Both of them had come to a new fork in their careers, being in their fifties, an age in Hollywood that very much limited a leading performer’s roles. This was especially true for women in the industry. Although age was not as great a problem for a male actor who could play a historical figure, captain of industry, or military hero (his co-star being a good deal younger than himself), Brolin was not known for taking on that heavy of a role. That did not stop his agent from trying to find a suitable fit.
Streisand still wanted to direct and optioned some controversial properties. But the poor reviews and low box office figures of The Mirror Has Two Faces added to Hollywood’s bias toward her as a director and made getting anything off the ground almost impossible; more so as her choice of properties like Larry Kramer’s AIDS drama, The Normal Heart, were not seen as mainstream films. Brolin, although working through his own career and divorce problems, was there for her – supportive, mature, sensible, loving – the man she had been seeking all her life. And he had found the communicable, intelligent, gifted woman that made for a well-mated match, if not in heaven then in middle-age sensibility. Friends noted how comfortable they were with each other, endowed, it seemed, with mutual love and esteem.
His divorce final, they set a wedding date and on July 1, 1998, a colossal ivory voile tent was raised on the grounds of her Malibu estate, ready and equipped for a festive wedding reception. The Olympic-sized pool was filled with pink waterlilies and burning candles, lighting the nighttime view of the cresting Pacific Ocean just beyond and below the vast property. Inside the grand living room of the house, most of her famed collection of art deco, art nouveau, and early American furniture had been removed to make space for the seating of over a hundred guests. Streisand “in a shimmering, crystal-beaded Donna Karan gown with a 15-foot diaphanous [train]” and Brolin in an elegant, well-tailored evening suit, white shirt and black bow tie, his silver hair alight from the brilliant, overhead chandelier, exchanged vows. The bride’s mother, 89-year-old Diane Kind (whose relationship with her older daughter had never been easy) had a front aisle seat, as did Brolin’s parents, Helen, 83, and Henry, 87. In all accounts it was a fairly traditional Jewish wedding, although lacking a huppah, the canopy under which Jewish couples are traditionally wed.
Streisand controlled the wedding arrangements as meticulously as she had scenes for her films. She had canceled the huppah on the previous day as (one) this was not a first marriage for either of them and (two) it obscured the view of the marriage ceremony for many seated guests. “She had that normal bride’s anxiety,” one guest remarked, but she was always in charge. At the last minute she also ordered the well-known florist for the event to create an amaranthus and rose scrim over the room’s huge, front picture window to foil news photographers with long-range “prying cameras.” A bit quirkishly, she asked her good friend, composer-pianist Marvin Hamlisch, to play an atonal “Wedding March” as they walked down the aisle and Andre Previn’s beautiful, lively theme from “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” after they had exchanged vows – chosen, she explained, as she disliked wedding music.
Dinner was served in the rather magical tent. There was a lot of lively speech-making followed by music and dancing under the stars. The bride sang a moving, new love song written by Melissa Manchester and Tom Snow, “Just One Lifetime,” after which the groom was handed the microphone. “You expect me to follow that?” he grinned, then added: “I can’t tell you how lucky I am that this should happen to me so late in life. Every night is a new adventure. Sleeping is a waste of time. I can’t wait to see her again in the morning.” Words from a man obviously deep in love.
They spent a short week’s honeymoon on the Channel Islands as the groom had to report for work for his leading role as a high-ranking, naval officer in a new syndicated television series, “Pensacola: Wings of Gold.” Streisand did not remain idle for long. Six months later, on New Year’s Eve, 1999, she returned to the concert stage in Las Vegas, playing a second performance the following night. Tickets for both shows had been sold out short hours after having been placed on sale. Marvin Hamlisch, Streisand’s good friend and frequent collaborator, was the orchestra’s conductor, interacting with her from time to time. Moments before midnight of the first performance Brolin appeared on stage with her for a short, but warm, exchange, his arm about her waist, as the audience joined in for a jubilant “Auld Lang Syne.”
It appeared that concert performances would engender in her a third act. Her voice was amazingly strong and would continue so into her seventh decade. Her mezzo soprano voice, which had a range of well over two octaves (from E to high G), had somewhat lowered and could occasionally have a husky edge, but still remained distinctive in tone, instantly recognizable, and able to bring a depth of emotion to that sound.
The album of the millennium performances (beautifully mastered) was a massive hit (as all her future concerts would be). Streisand, from concert appearances and album sales, was the number one singer in the United States both on the charts and in fiscal earnings. She took some time off to be with Brolin when his series ended and then toured the show in Australia, returning to the States for concerts in New York and Los Angeles. She had never overcome her fear of appearing live, or of forgetting lyrics or pre-written dialogue. She used a cue machine (which many artists appearing live did), but it didn’t seem to alleviate her apprehension. In September, 2000, the tour over, she announced her decision to retire from appearing in public concert venues. She was weary, wanting to get back to some part of filmmaking and to spend prime time with her husband. She kept that oath for the next six years, although she recorded fundraisers on the grounds of her estate and a special television performance with the great Tony Bennet, who she much admired, to celebrate his 80th birthday. That performance seemed to buoy her enthusiasm for another tour, which would at the same time be used to raise money for many of the medical issues – women’s heart disease, breast cancer, AIDS, and numerous others – that she supported. On October 4, 2006, she appeared in Philadelphia, followed by featured stops across the country and abroad, including an amazing 20 concerts in super-sized venues in Zurich, Vienna, Paris, Berlin, Manchester, and Dublin, ending the European portion of the tour with three performances in London with ticket prices there rising as high as fifteen thousand pounds (over $3,500). It was a tremendous success as were the recordings s
he made of it. She had become one of the entertainment world’s richest performers, which gave her the chance to raise and donate large sums of money to those issues that she felt strongly about.
Gay rights was one of her motivating causes. When asked by an interviewer for The Advocate how she felt about her son Jason’s homosexuality, she replied sharply, “I would never wish for my son to be anything but what he is. He is bright, kind, sensitive, caring, and a very conscientious and good person. He is a very gifted actor and filmmaker. What more could a parent ask for in their child? I have been truly blessed.” And then added, when queried about a gay person’s right to marry, “Nobody on this earth has the right to tell anyone that their love for another human being is morally wrong.” Jason would, from time to time, sing (and very well, too) with his mother on several of her tour stops, always to great audience enthusiasm.
Streisand had risen above the label of “star” and was now being honored as an American treasure. In 2000, she was the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award and The National Medal of Arts Award, the latter presented to her by President Clinton. Two months later she received the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award. Despite these accolades she had always been active in numerous causes and was free with her opinions along with giving her support and financial backing to many Democratic campaigns. Her first major contribution in philanthropy was given in 1984 to fund the Emanuel Streisand Building for Jewish Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It was in memory of her father, who was a teacher and scholar, and who had died when she was a child. Afterwards she continued to devote a greater part of her time and resources to philanthropy. In succeeding years, along with smaller but considerable donations, she donated five million dollars to endow the Barbra Streisand Women’s Cardiovascular Research Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Women’s Heart Center, and donated ten million dollars a few years later to another fund at the same Center. The endowed building is now officially named The Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center.
She could have retired comfortably at any time after her Millennium Tour, for the tours and her recordings had made her immensely rich. Her husband was doing well in his career, having just portrayed President Ronald Reagan in a television movie as well as building an advantageous stock folder. However, she loved the making of films and was still energetic enough to keep going at her usual dynamic pace. Not behind the camera, perhaps – at present the odds were stacked against her there – but in acting roles that could fit her years.
In 2003 she had been offered a supporting role in a Ben Stiller comedy co-starring Robert De Niro: Meet the Fockers. It was a sequel to Stiller’s huge box office success, Meet the Parents (2000). Both films had a lot of slapstick and characters without much soul, sense, or good taste. In a short time Stiller had become a power in Hollywood, thought by many to be carrying on for the great silent comedy stars Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. In this film he was the oddball young man in love with a girl not of his faith or his madcap background. De Niro was the extreme right-wing, swaggering father of Stiller’s love interest (Teri Polo). Blythe Danner was the beautiful, but cowed, mother of the bride. Dustin Hoffman and Streisand were brought into the sequel as Stiller’s left-wing “unconventional” parents, still living the “mod” lifestyle of a much earlier decade (outlandish clothes and plenty of weed). Even though the film had enough star power to make up for what it lacked in a worthy script of good taste, it is difficult to understand why either Hoffman or Streisand came on board. Hoffman was brilliant at comedy (think Tootsie), but, although he gave it his best, his role – being no more than caricature – had little to build upon. Streisand, with the same obstacles and given her early Broadway success in milder musical comedy, was clearly further out of her medium. Even the title, Meet the Fockers, was bad taste. The film did well at the box office despite consistent bad reviews to all involved.
Still, in 2010, Streisand took on the job of playing Mrs. Focker in yet a second sequel, Little Fockers. She and Hoffman were now grandparents to Stiller’s demonic kids, with rather disgusting scatological and toilet gags throughout. Little Fockers was a real bomb this time and received even worse reviews than its predecessors. Good sense would dictate against their accepting these roles a second time. Perhaps, Streisand and Hoffman were tied to the project by terms of their original contracts. But, since they were both well known for their tough negotiating powers, even that scenario is hard to fathom.
No one could count Barbra Streisand “out”. She came right back by accepting the co-starring role of a Jewish mother traveling the roads on a bonding mission with her son (Seth Rogen) in the Paramount Pictures movie, The Guilt Trip. Streisand was drawn to the project for two reasons. First, it was to be directed by Anne Fletcher, one of the few women currently working successfully behind the camera (her most recent film had been The Proposal starring Sandra Bullock). Second and prime, although the role of the son was not written or performed as gay, there were basic motivations in the character, and that of the mother, that spoke to gay men. Jason had been given a copy of the script which Fletcher had been having a difficult time getting a studio to back. Perhaps he thought he might be cast in the role. Or it might have been Fletcher’s way to get to Streisand.
“Mom, you have to do this movie,” Jason told his mother after they had read it together.
And she agreed to do so. But Jason did not get the part.
The film certainly contained moments that gay men and their parents, especially a mother, could identify with. But the script was not explicit. There is often a close relationship with mothers and their straight sons that require a resolution of some sort, and taking a road trip together might bring them each to a better understanding of the other. Road trip movies, starting with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope through to the two women in Thelma and Louise, have spoken to many variations on the theme. The Guilt Trip is a little different because mother and son in this story are Jewish – and therein the guilt thought to be implicit in the Hebraic people.
Streisand’s character, Joyce, and her thirty-year-old son, Andy, on his insistence, make a cross-country trip, east to west, on the guise that she can help him sell a cleaning product he has devised called ScioClean. In actuality he has learned that, before she married his father, his widowed mother had a love affair with a man named Andy whom she named him after. After some research on the internet, Andy discovers that the gentleman – now unattached – lives in San Francisco. This gives Andy the idea to try to get them together again (mostly so that he can have less responsibility and more privacy).
It is an enjoyable film, albeit with many missteps. It gave Streisand a chance again to play a warm-hearted funny lady with an oversized personality. Low-keyed, unlike Meet the Fockers, she slips into parody. Her intelligence comes through as she sees her son as who he really is for the first time. They have a lot of amusing adventures on the road and the ending is – no surprise – not the “happy” ending her son envisioned, but rather true to the person each of them is.
One reviewer wrote: “The Funny Lady is back if she wants to be.”
The film was not a box office success. Fans of Streisand were disappointed that she didn’t sing and, perhaps, relieved the movie was not an embarrassment. In truth, it deserves a second time round. It is a warm, funny, well-acted, small road movie with two excellent drivers at the wheel.
Streisand wasn’t rushing to make another film, but she had several other projects under consideration. She had always wanted to play Mama Rose in a remake of Gypsy, but actually she was more enthusiastic about once again producing and directing a film. It seemed that maybe the mood in Hollywood had changed. She had lost her option on an adaptation of The Normal Heart, which, in 2014, was made into a major television film by HBO and won the Emmy in that category. It starred Mark Ruffalo as the powerful, desperate young man fighting for his lover’s life and against the bureaucracy that is ignoring the plague taking so many gay men’s liv
es. Julia Roberts had been cast as the wheelchair-bound doctor dedicated, futilely, to the same battle – the role Streisand had once seen for herself.
She announced that year that she planned to direct Skinny and Cat, a love story based on the lives of Margaret Bourke-White, the great news photographer of the early and mid-twentieth century, and Erskine Caldwell, the author, playwright, and reporter best known for God’s Little Acre (which had been a shocking play when first produced). The project had been gestating for twenty-five years. Now seemed to be the right time. At seventy-two, Streisand could no longer play the lead, but she felt deeply that she could, as the director, bring a great deal to the project. Bourke-White was known as “a woman ahead of her time”. Daring and adventurous, she had photographed the battlefields of World War Two, flown on bombing missions, and shared the infantrymen’s “lot on the grim Italian front”. Much of the time she was in a passionate affair with Caldwell who covered the same dangers in order to secure stories for leading American magazines. Streisand claimed she was in shock at how impossible it still was – considering the great advances recently achieved by women in government, science, and news coverage – for her to raise the money for a project directed by a woman about such a groundbreaking individual as Bourke-White. Hollywood had not progressed along with the rest of the country as she had hoped.
Never a defeatist, she felt that a world of opportunities were still up there for her to reach for – and reach for them she would no matter the stretch. Barbra Streisand had already lived many lifetimes measured in what might be expected from that girl from Brooklyn who took the a out of her name to give it a special spelling and who refused to smooth the bump on her nose to fit in with fashion. She will always remain in this movie-goer’s memory as that young woman in The Way We Were determined to make the world a better place, to win the best-looking guy she ever met though it seemed most unlikely for a very bright girl (after all ‘fellas’ weren’t that keen on bright girls smarter than them) or one from the wrong background or faith. A girl with a kind of beauty that had to be studied and warmed to, unusual, unique – not one of those pretty young things on college campuses who were to be found by the dozen. She was a rare bird not easily netted even after she had won the prize: her Mr. Wonderful.