Monday, July 26, 2010

The Alyssa Milano Factor

So, I apparently tossed one in from left field on Thursday when I include Alyssa Milano in my Dinner with Strangers guestlist (you can see the whole posting here). I'm guessing that, since at least one reader asked about that reference, maybe others of you were also wondering about it.

Here's the thing, I realize that many of the people on the list seemed like no-brainers. I mean... talking to Samantha Brown about her travels sounds like a great time - especially since she's smart and funny. Lauren Graham is another one in the smart and funny category - if you've ever seen her on a talkshow, she seems like someone who would be great at a dinner party.

John Barrowman and Scott Gill - well - you can page through the postings labelled "John Barrowman" for info on that. Tyler Florence is one of the few FoodTV personalities who I think would be fun to have over to dinner - and I don't think I'd spend the entire time worrying about what I made.

Carrie Fischer and Debbie Reynolds are fairly new to my list of dinner invitees. But I've always enjoyed both of them and - having seen Carrie Fischer's one-woman show last year - I think they'd be fun to have over.

There are a bunch of other people I invite to these fantasy dinner parties from time to time. Angela Lansbury would probably be great fun. Recently, I've started thinking that Catherine Zeta-Jones might also be fun to have over for dinner. The two, together, might be a good pairing since they've done Broadway together (rather splendidly, I might add - or I would add if I had seen that... umm... yeah... that's what I meant... because I didn't see them because I was home sick from work that day, and not in NYC...). But I don't think I'd invite them to the same dinner party as Sam and Lauren and the rest, because they just don't seem like they'd gel as a group.

I'm sure that pretty much all of those people I've mentioned seem to - in one way or another - kind of make sense if you know me.

And then there's the Alyssa Milano factor.

Sure. There's the part of me that was growing up in the 80s and watched her on "Who's the Boss?" and I watched her in "Charmed," too. And even in the sitcom she had for a short time earlier this year (no news on that, but I'm guessing it's long gone). But what I really enjoy is seeing how she is - or isn't - in the press and in the tabloids. Two of the major things she's been in the news for in the past few years have been her wedding and the fact that she is pushing major sports teams to design a line of clothing that is made for women - and not just all logo football jerseys.

Considering she's been in the public eye for literally decades, she survived adolescence and has made it into adulthood and still seems to be famous, as opposed to infamous, I think she'd probably make for an interesting dinner guest.

There would probably be stories to tell and details to ask about, but mainly I just think she seems like someone who would be pleasant to hang out with, would make good mostly-polite dinner conversation, and would be able to hold her own with the rest of the crowd if things got too boisterous.

And, well, those are the three qualities I look for in most of my dinner guests. (You've all been forewarned.)

1 comment:

Najla said...

Robert - I love that you are so responsive.