A Fine Romance

One of the most memorable aspects of THE GROUP was seeing a young Candice Bergen on screen for the first time. She was so incandescently beautiful you couldn't take your eyes off of her. Over the years, I didn't pay much attention to her since I didn't care for her film work. RICH AND FAMOUS was fun and the beginning of noticing that Bergen was developing a comedic persona that was becoming more interesting. By the time she co-starred as Burt Reynold's self-absorbed ex-wife who couldn't find the pitch of a song if she fell over it, I was once again, a fan. Then MURPHY BROWN finally pushed this talented and beautiful women into the limelight and became a household name. Candice and Murphy were made for each other and I, along with millions of viewers, was a devoted fan of the show for it's entire decade-long run. Now Candice Bergen has delivered her second memoir, A FINE ROMANCE. It covers the years of her meeting and marriage to French film director, Louis Malle, the birth of her beloved daughter, Chloe, and brings us up to the present. Bergen is an observant writer who tells her story with wit, humor, and a surprising honesty. She is hilariously self-deprecating and nothing is more charming than seeing a positively gorgeous woman act like a goofball whether it is on the screen or on the page. Despite her success in films and during her freshman year on MURPHY BROWN, it took her many years to finally come to terms with her looks and her talent.Her father, who formed the center of her first memoir (KNOCK WOOD), is hardly a presence here. Meeting and falling in love with Louis Malle gets things off to a good start. Malle, an excellent director, is French and used to being the center of his own universe. He's been married and divorced twice when he meets Bergen. Their first five years together are wonderful with much traveling, setting up of their households with his family home in France and her glamorous New York City apartment. Deciding she wants a child, she becomes pregnant. The arrival of Chloe stirs something deep within her and Bergen embraces motherhood developing a bond with her daughter that is so enveloping, it pulls her away somewhat from Malle, who is a distant father, always away on a film shoot. Then MURPHY BROWN comes along and with it, and their lives are changed forever. Though Bergen never says so, the reader gets the feeling that Malle is not used to being second fiddle. The family is divided even further with Bergen and her daughter in Los Angeles where the show shoots for a big part of the year, France and New York. When Malle gets sick, Bergen is in superdrive, working long hours on her hit s***, then coming home to her sick husband and young child. Malle dies just as the MURPHY BROWN is hitting its popular peak. Mother and daughter are now an unbreakable team. And after five years, she meets and falls in love again, this time with the real estate magnate, Marshall Rose. Again, the marriage is a success.Candice Bergen emerges in these pages as a warm and funny woman who has come to terms with herself. She's not afraid to talk about Prozac, plastic surgery, or gaining weight. She's a generous colleague and always a bit insecure about her acting abilities. Surrounded by legendary pros such as Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones in a revival of THE BEST MAN on Broadway and Bergen is a mass of insecurities. But you admire her for putting herself on the line time and time again. Bergen is a good friend, a great mother, a loving daughter and sister. But what holds your attention throughout A FINE ROMANCE is the idea of a gorgeous girl navigating through life in a couture gown with her eyes crossed. Few celebrity memoirs are this readable.

This is a very easy and enjoyable read. Yes, it's not as good as her first book. Yes, she name drops a lot, but that's her life. It's not as if she is just mentioning get celebrities because she happened to run into them at a party. Yes, she talks about how much money she made, but that seemed more about she was shocked and thrilled by how much TV paid and how much she made relatively late in her career. And yes, she has a blind spot regarding her daughter and her accomplishments (doubt very much being the daughter of 2 celebrities hurt her in landing a good job at Vogue and it's easier to be independent when your mother gifts you a Central Park South apartment and picks up the maintenance) but are 't most mothers like that? Her marriages are what I found most interesting. As pointed out in another review, Louis Malle comes off like Mikhail Baryshnikov's character in Sex and the City (ironically the object of Candice Bergen's character's crush on the show): romantic, charming, talented and also moody and self-involved. Bergen's second husband Marshall Rose is more traditional: to him, a marriage means being together, unlike the situation with her first marriage where she estimates (liberally, it seems) that they spent 10 years of their 15 year marriage actually in each other's company (they were together so infequently in the later years of their marriage, their daughter tended to resent his appearance as an intrusion when he would 'visit' them in L.A.). All in all, the boos is worth the read if you don't expect a lot.

What a life this woman has had. And how great that she is able to impart her experiences with modesty.There are so many life experiences that she has had that I too have had. Too many to list here. But I could relate to so many.I was moved, I cried, I laughed, the full range of emotions. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves Candice Bergen and wants to get to know her a bit better.

Interesting and absorbing. A quick read, I devoured this in a day. Very insightful into a life that is very different from most people's.....but a good reminder that no one is immune from heartbreak. As a person, she is extremely likable: self aware, funny, witty, and entertaining. I enjoyed reading about her life, travels etc and the chapter on empty nests really spoke to me.I can't give it more than 3 stars, however, for several reasons:1. Where was the editor? More than once, I found references made to people or events that had no prior context or introduction. Two that come to mind: the death of Chloe's nanny and the broken pelvis, both dropped in without further explanation, only to come back up again. A bit disjointed--could have used tighter vetting by editors.2. I could have used more depth in explaining the differences between her two marriages. Marsh, to me, sounds like a better man: kind, solicitous, grounded whereas the late Mr. Malle came across more like a brilliant but selfish person. So while I appreciated her candor about these things, I wondered why it came across like she liked husband #1 more than husband #2. If you read between the lines, you can see that Marsh has made her happier--but it needed to be explained, I think.3. I never quite understood who the romance was with--except for maybe her daughter. This could have been better flushed out too.Keep writing, Ms. Bergen--despite these imperfections, I'd buy your third book and am sure enjoy it as well. :-)

her second book and just as good as the first.

Perfetto

If you miss the old Hollywood glamour then this book is definitely for you! I love Candice Bergen and this book is amazingly written and narrated! I've cried more than once while reading it and when I was done I wanted to start reading it again!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was like sitting down having a coffee and chat with Candice. But it!

"A Fine Romance" e' il completamento dell'altro capolavoro di Candice Bergen. Chiude, rivelando ancora una volta, l'attrice come persona, come scrittrice che vuole aprirsi umanamente e generosamente al suo pubblico. Da leggere entrambi.