The Nerdery Movie Night #134: Mildred Pierce and Gyro Popcorn Goodness

We both think Ida is a scrumptious character, and a self-published popcorn connoisseur might actually be onto something...

Gyro Popcorn Goodness

Dave: Mildred Pierce might well have been called Toddlers and Tiaras: The Prequel. Poor Mildred works her whole life, goes through several husbands and lovers, and builds and loses a casual dining empire (which seems to foreshadow TGIFridays) in order to keep her ungrateful, deceitful daughter Veda rolling in fancy dresses and polo lessons. Even when Veda takes a job singing at a bar (which seems to be the 1940s equivalent of working at Hooters or a strip joint), Mildred keeps trying to bring her back home, even going so far as to marry a weasel-like man who seems to be a pedophile. [Spoiler alert: in the end Veda is just as horrible as you might think she is, and Mildred, selfless Mama Bear that she is, does almost anything she can to protect her daughter.] Almost. Mildred and Vera aside, Eve Arden’s role as Ida, Mildred’s wisecracking, vaguely lesbian business manager, stole every scene she was in. Her comic timing and wit lighten the mood in all of the otherwise maudlin scenes in which she appears. I want to see the movie from her perspective, where she intervenes in doomed love affairs between cooks and waitresses and keeps the restaurant running (and profitable!) while Mildred swans off to Mexico after kicking Veda out. Ida would be a badass and a more likable character than anyone else in the film. Plus she'd look freaking amazing the whole time, too. (⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)

When Joe said he was making gyro popcorn, I groaned inwardly. Many of the “it tastes just like this ethnic dish” popcorns we’ve had have been woefully under par. Need I remind anyone about the Szechuan style popcorn from our early Food Network popcorn list days which somehow coated the inside of our mouths so that even a drink of plain water was incredibly revolting? But I digress. I’m a fool for feta cheese - I’ll eat it on anything - and when paired with the Montreal steak seasoning, it made this popcorn eerily and believably reminiscent of gyros. I was missing a bit of the gaminess from the lamb and maybe a little smoke, but, despite that, this popcorn was a winner. I could have easily eaten another bowl. But I could probably always eat a bowl of feta cheese by itself, so... (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Joe: Like many insufferable 90s hipsters, I owned Sonic Youth's album Goo when I was in high school. Because we didn't have Wikipedia in that era, I (erroneously) assumed the quasi-instrumental noise-rock track "Mildred Pierce" was about 14th U.S. president Franklin Pierce's wife. Please don't ask why. I was a dumb teenage boy who was also lazy when it came to research. Anyway. Here we have it. The real inspiration for that song. This film featured a twisty-turny plot that I really enjoyed watching play out. It does, however, feature that superfastclippeddialogue that is so prevalent in Hollywood's "golden era". Crawford is pretty darn luminous; as Ida, Eve Arden embodies everything I want to be; Butterfly McQueen is instantly recognizable; and the women's' outfits are to die for - especially Ida's. Having said that, Mildred Pierce it's ultimately pretty damn hokey and melodramatic. I can't say, though, that I regret watching the film - it absolutely held my attention for its running time. (⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)

Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to consult the self-published popcorn recipe book (referenced in last week's post). Right off the bat, I was vaguely concerned by the name of the popcorn: why not just call it gyro popcorn? Why the "goodness"? I forged ahead, though, and I must say that Castle is kinda onto something with this recipe. It tasted vaguely like a gyro, with a mixture of spices that I think many white people (perhaps Castle himself?) would qualify as "exotic". The texture of the feta cheese works well with the popcorn, and the steak seasoning adds a little bit of oomph. There's an alarming amount of butter - almost 3/4 stick! - that I would dial back should I make this again, but all in all: not bad. Not bad, Castle. Not bad. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Popcorn recipe from: 100 Popcorn Recipes by "Kirk Castle"

Mildred Pierce on IMDB.