#Fictional Lenny Bruce

[wonderlandleighleigh]

Random Faves Day 10

[tirna0602]

For all the people missing Lenny this season, these are my favourite Lenny gifs from season 4. Let's reminisce

[theangelwithawand]

I was thinking about Midge and Lenny while working on a new chapter of “Very Blue Lives” (it’s on ao3, please go read and review. I need validation like Lenny and Midge need each other).

Anyways, I was thinking about Midge and Lenny in Miami and why Midge turned Lenny down.

Sure the bs Vegas train wreck just happened, and Carol kind of freaked her out, but those answers are boring.

First of all, he’s weirdly reluctant to talk about her career. In Miami, whether she knows it or not, Lenny’s avoidance to discuss her career is part of the reason she walks away. Flash forward to the blue room, he’s making it clear that he listens to her and promises to take her seriously, and that’s when she decides “yes, okay. Let’s see what’s between us.”

She needs him to take her seriously as a comic, and once she realizes that he does, she’s willing to be vulnerable with him as a woman.

And that’s a great step for Midge, who isn’t taken seriously personally or professionally, especially by people she loves.

[toomanylizzes]

If the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel happened in real life, Midge and Lenny would have 100% been spoofed in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

[theresawritesstuff]

42, "I came alone."

Lenny opened the door to his dressing room expecting Jo-Jo or Alan, or the club manager, or some intrepid fan hoping for an autograph.

Instead, he found Midge's mother standing on the other side.

"Good evening, Leonard," she greeted primly, as if it were perfectly normal for her to be there. Like they'd run into each other at the deli counter or something.

"Hi." He blinked, suddenly very aware of the residual stage sweat along his brow. "Rose, wasn't it?"

"That's right."

Lenny glanced down the hall, but found it empty.

"Did…Midge bring you? Or are you and Abe out on–"

"No. I came alone," she informed him. "I wanted to talk to you."

"To me?" He couldn't help the surprise on his face.

"Yes." Rose nodded and he suddenly saw exactly where Midge got hers from. 

She waited a moment for him to process before asking "May I come in? This floor is quite sticky."

Lenny stepped aside dumbly, letting her into his dressing room and closing the door behind them despite the apprehensive feeling growing in his gut.

"Um...Did you catch my set?" he asked, attempting a casual conversation.

"Some of it," she replied, giving him nothing more.

"Right." Lenny exhaled, leaning casually against the counter. "So to what do I owe the pleasure, Mrs. Weissman?"

"I've been… doing a little personal detective work. Mainly for my own edification. And there's one question I keep coming back to that I believe only you can answer," she replied, perching herself cautiously on the edge of the dressing room couch.

He smirked, intrigued. "Is that right?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Lay it on me," he prompted, wiping his brow with a towelette.

"How long have you been in love with my daughter?"

Lenny stared, speechless, and a little spooked.

He'd spent no more than five minutes with this woman in total. How could she possibly know he…

"I'm sorry, wh–"

"I've been piecing it together for some time now. Miriam no longer confides in me about her love life, but I have been able to discern that she hasn't been serious about a man since her sudden break up with Benjamin. That is… except for you."

"I–"

Rose held up a hand. "I'm not here to threaten you. We both know you're more than capable of making a quick exit of your own volition."

Lenny looked down at his shoes.

"I'm not proud of how I handled myself that morning. Or leading up to it."

"It must have been a jarring experience," Rose replied mercifully, "waking up to such an intimate look into her life. And to being offered blintzes no less."

Lenny smirked sheepishly at her attempt to tease him and lighten the mood.

"You weren't expecting it," she continued. "You're used to meeting her on your own terms, in your own element. Like at a club, or a bar across town. Or on tour in Miami."

Lenny looked up at her again, dumbfounded.

"Like I said, I've been piecing some things together. Susie's assistant Dinah has been very helpful," Rose admitted. "Miriam doesn't talk about her career with us much. And we haven't exactly encouraged her to. Which is probably a mistake on our part but…"

She let out a sigh. "The one person from that world she does talk about in any capacity, other than Susie, is you. She won't say when you've been together or share anything truly personal about your relationship, whatever that may be. But I still know my daughter enough to know when someone means a great deal to her. And when she's been heartbroken."

Rose stood, steadying a soft, weary gaze on him. "You've been there for my daughter from the start of this…odd adventure of hers. More so than her own family. You've lent her your aid unselfishly. Bolstered her courage and I suspect…been one of the few people willing to be at odds with her in order to get her set back on track. Something happened between you two when you played Carnegie last month. I don't need to know what. All I know is it would benefit you both to resolve it. She's got a…gig. That's what you call them, right? Gigs?"

Lenny nodded.

"Yes, well, she's got one tomorrow, at this address." She slipped a piece of paper from her purse onto the counter as she made her way to leave. "I know she'd want you to be there."

Lenny watched her as she stepped towards the door until her hand was on the knob.

"You never let me answer your question," he informed her.

Rose turned back, waiting for his reply.

Lenny pulled a cigarette from the pack in his pocket, considering it carefully between his fingers. 

"Do you remember the flowers I sent?"

She nodded quietly. "It was a lovely arrangement."

He shrugged. "Midge is a lovely woman. In a number of ways. Far more than a guy like me ever deserves."

Rose studied him carefully as he lit his cigarette, taking a long drag. 

"That's the thing you young people always get so hung up on, isn't it."

Lenny smirked. "I'm not that young."

"Then you should know relationships are never built on being deserving of another. Love is a gift, Leonard. Not a prize. And even if it were…you've already won hers."

He looked up at her then as Rose gave him a tired smile only a mother could give. 

"She…"

"Yes." Rose nodded. "So stop being such a drama queen and decide what you're going to fucking do about it."

And with that, she walked out, leaving him with only the sound of her heels on the sticky floor and his own thoughts to consider.

[vinatintasupernovita]

Susie and Joel’s argument at the end of S1 makes it very clear they stand on the same level of importance in Midge’s life. And it has the same air as the ex and the current partner arguing about the protagonist’s happiness and life. They continue and continue to be clear parallels, the only two true loves of Midge Maisel’s life. The only two people who could make her laugh like that, in the beginning and the end

[super-oddity]

Princess Margaret visits New York, November 19, 1965. Lenny Bruce dies, August 3, 1966.

[lovepollution]

Title: Grow Old With Me Characters: Midge Maisel, Lenny Bruce, Abe Weissman, Rose Weissman, Susie Myerson, Sally Marr Pairings: Midge Maisel/Lenny Bruce Rating: T Word count: 4351 Notes: Part of the In This Life series (fits in-between Of Blue Rooms and Blue Rings and Missing Piece).

The one thing Midge was not expecting to see when she returned home from tour was Lenny with a mustache. “What do you think?” he asked, brushing his fingers over the thick band of hair that now sat above his upper lip. “It’s different,” Midge replied neutrally, still absorbing the change in her fiancé’s appearance. “Abe likes it,” Lenny stated, standing a little taller. “When he dropped the kids back yesterday he said I looked ‘very distinguished’, in fact.” There was silence from Midge as she continued to take in Lenny’s appearance. Read more

[wonderlandleighleigh]

"Should I get my ears pierced?" Lenny asks thoughtfully.

"No," Jess responds as he wipes down a nearby table.

Lenny frowns. "Why not? It would look cool."

"What if you regret it when you grow up?" Jess asks snarkily.

Lenny snorts and swats at him with his newspaper as the teenager walks by. "Smart-ass little punk."

"Learned from the best!"

[variousqueerthings]

heterosexuals really want to see lenny and midge get together

queers understand that it's all about susie and midge

[theangelwithawand]

This was originally titled “Tying Cherry Stems” however, I have combined it with the sequel, added to it, and heavily restructured it. I love reviews, so please let me know what you think! I need feedback like Midge and Lenny need each other.

[leavemeslowly]

Midge meets Lenny for the last time in an underground bar where she lands with her friends after work. Her new friends, actually. People prominent in the show-business.

Lenny is in the bar on his own, drinking another round, chain smoking cigarettes. Unshaven and with a rasp voice he asks what is she doing in this despicable place. She is stunned to see him, a bit overwhelmed, not expecting to meet him ever again. She has heard about his legal troubles. The five minutes he was talking about on the Carnegie Hall’s stage long gone by now.

There is also something else. Something she has never seen before in his eyes. Blurriness, confusion and utter, gut-wrenching sadness. His moves are different too. They are no longer sharp, rather slow and imprecise. Her eyes fill with tears at the realisation.

He smiles at her. To convince her his is fine. And happy to see her. The world that wants to destroy him has no power over him when he is with her. Midge tries not to be fooled by his words, tries to see clearly past his smoke screen.

But fails miserably when he asks her to dance. He leads her to the dancefloor. Many years later she barely remembers the song playing in this club. She cherishes his touch on her body, even through layers of clothing, this one more time.

Lenny lowers his head and absent-mindedly confesses his love for her. Momentarily, her world falls to pieces and she wants to run away. Somehow keeping her composure, Midge looks into his hazy eyes, confronting drugs hiding in the corners and tells him that she loves him too. Again and again as if these words could save him.

Lenny wraps his arms tighter around her. When she finally stops mumbling, he takes her face in his hands and whispers ‘there are never enough I love yous’.

With their eyes filled with unshed tears, they keep on dancing. Midge with her beloved flying high above the streets of New York. Lenny with the only person not ostracising him. They sway, sway and sway, until they are the last pair on the dancefloor, the last ones stopping daylight from shining through and delaying the final goodbye as long as possible.

[theresawritesstuff]

Saving Lenny Bruce

Lenny let out a tired sigh as he slipped into his apartment at the end of the day.

It had been the day from hell, debate on it's existence notwithstanding.

He'd been late meeting his lawyers for his latest court hearing because, well because he was a grade A asshole, but the tardiness had not helped his case any. He'd gotten off with a hefty fine by the skin of his teeth.

A guilty voice in his brain itched at the thought that having his suit jacket pressed and neat might have contributed to his lesser punishment only made it worse.

He draped the garment in question over a chair, making his way towards the kitchen.

It had smelled faintly of lavender all morning, which might have been pleasant with a clearer head, but he'd been so hungover it had only contributed to his general feelings of shittiness.

God he'd really fucked up.

Midge looked so pissed.

Worse yet, she looked disappointed.

He hadn't meant to imply her whole life was abhorrent to his, he'd just…

Panicked.

Because as much as he wanted her, there was no place for a guy like him in her real life.

He knew it. She… apparently didn't, but she didn't have the whole picture. He'd been very intentional about that. Keeping things light, fun.

Guarded.

Maintaining an air of suave mystery to keep their sporadic run-ins interesting.

Because if he truly let her in, she'd turn running.

Or so he thought.

But no, she just had to find him face down on the sidewalk completely blitzed and drag him back to her perfect upper west side life that he had no right to even think about venturing into.

Turns out he's the one who went running from reality.

Both hers and his…

He poured himself a drink and sat down at the table.

Honey had called yesterday to tell him she's not actually going to visit Kitty for mother's day after all because she's going on vacation with her new Cabana boy toy Ricardo or something stupid like that.

And she'd called him instead of Ma because she knew she could make him feel like shit for also not being there for their daughter.

He was trying. He was…

But when it came down to it he just couldn't be who Kitty needed. Certainly not who she deserved.

He called when he could but a voice on the phone doesn't make a father and having her with him was just impractical. Impossible…

With his arrests and his habits he couldn't seem to kick. Paparazzi hounding him and writing him for filth every chance they got…

What kind of life was that for a kid?

He downed his whiskey with a wince and an exhale, pouring himself another.

There was a bag in his bathroom that whispered a welcoming escape but he ignored it.

This time…

The bottle was half empty by the time he decided to stumble his way to bed.

Daylight streamed in relentlessly as he winced himself awake, his head pounding.

Lenny sat up with a groan and something squeaked underneath him.

He looked down to see a child's toy on a bed that wasn't his.

What the…

His hands felt absently over his rumpled shirt, unbuttoned much further than he remembered it being before getting stiffly to his feet.

Another toy caught under him as he righted himself, balancing against a crib.

Unoccupied. 

Familiar…

He peeked through the curtains out onto the clean sunlight street below.

Definitely not his apartment. But…

He closed his eyes tight, trying to will his brain into some semblance of function.

He opened the door, stopping short to avoid getting trampled by a little boy running full tilt down the hall.

Hadn't he done this already?

He rubbed his eyes, side stepping at the last second as the kid came barreling back the other direction.

"Lenny!"

He looked over to see a familiar couple sitting down to breakfast.

"Good morning. Would you like some coffee?"

"Uh…"

"We have bagels, bialys, grapefruit. Zelda could make you a blintz."

"Oh, yes. Go with the blintz! The blintz is a wonderful choice."

Okay he'd definitely already done this morning before.

Which meant this was Midge's apartment. And her parents offering him breakfast. Again. Verbatim…

What the fuck?

[fragileswift1313]

Mrs Maisel Musings!

Kia ora, friends!

Alright, here it is folks, the moment maybe some, maybe none of you have been waiting for: my thoughts on the The Marvellous Mrs Maisel final season. I did it, I finally got it done. I think the reason it took me so long, aside from previously mentioned mental health issues, is that writing stuff like this for five hundred and sixteen minutes of television is hard! It’s really hard. I would love to hear what you all think of this, and if you want to discuss what I’ve written here, or even just about the show or season in general, please hit me up! I would love to talk about it with you.

Now enough with the delays and the stalling - please enjoy my review (??) of The Marvellous Mrs Maisel season 5, the final season.

So, I really liked the first few seasons of The Marvellous Mrs Maisel. Even though it’s a bit cheesy and dopey at times. Rachel Brosnahan is a joy to watch on-screen, and a lot of the other actors here do a really great job with the script they were given... such as it is. On a recent rewatch, though, I started to see the strings a little bit - things that I liked the first time around just didn’t quite hit the same. I got through most of it, all the important parts, and then I started the new season. It’s been a couple weeks or so since I finished it, and I’m not as down on it now as I was when I started, but y’all, I am about to have some opinions.

This the final Mrs Maisel season really feels like creator Amy Sherman-Palladino probably wanted to do at least one more season after this, but someone at Jeff’s Website Studios said no, so she simply decided to burn the show to the ground.

Now as I wrote in the subtitle, I am about to spoil things here, so this is your final warning: if you don’t want to be spoiled for season five of The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, get out now.

Also: foul language ahead! 🤬

The entire point of this season seems to be leaning into how much of a piece of shit Miriam Weissman is. We get glimpses of her in “current day” 1962 juxtaposed with scenes set in 1972 and 1982, and a couple of other random years, where we skip around and see all sorts of wild stuff - Midge is rich and famous, her kids Ethan and Esther are all grown up, Joel is in prison, and there are some bonkers and hilariously bad facial prosthetics.

Now, aside from the hilariously stupid idea that Midge as a stand-up comic somehow got insanely rich, there are some cool ideas here. The first episode opens with Esther in a psychiatrists office in 1981, searching through a backpack for something and seeming very annoyed. On first watch, I didn’t like that this is something that’s shown at all, but the more I thought about it the more I warmed to the idea. In previous seasons, The Marvellous Mrs Maisel has at times made a point of showing Midge being a terrible and/or absent mother, usually for comedic effect, but I think it’s interesting that they took this idea and bore it out, to show that mid-20’s Midge’s actions had consequences. In a later episode we also see Ethan as an adult, with Midge annoyingly landing in a helicopter nearby and upsetting everyone - this wasn’t as interesting to me, but it was still a good glimpse into how little regard Midge appears to have for anyone but herself, Joel, Susie, or Lenny Bruce.

Speaking of Lenny Bruce, I want to talk about his appearances in the final season. If you know anything about him from real life, you might know how his life ended, and where. The very first episode of season five has Midge bumping into him randomly at the airport when he is about to board a plane to Los Angeles. This made me so. Fucking. Mad. IRL Lenny Bruce was found dead in his home in Hollywood Hills in 1966, which lead me to believe that the very last time Midge will ever see him was this scene at the airport. Midge walks away from the interaction with Lenny with a strange look on her face, as if she somehow knows that this will be the last time she ever sees him alive, and it is my humble opinion that that fucking sucks. Lenny Bruce is one of the best characters on this show, with a ton of great appearances and lines and jokes, and Luke Kirby does a phenomenal job of capturing the real Lenny’s energy - it’s not 1:1, but it’s a great depiction, and I simply cannot believe Amy S-P would do my boy like this. The only other time we see Lenny in this season is years later, performing in front of a fairly disinterested crowd as he mumbles and rambles about this thing and that, and it’s so fucking depressing. This season, the show never outright mentions his drug use, but it’s heavily implied, and there’s a moment in a back room where he is talking to Susie and appears to be unable to stand up. On the one hand, I’m kind of pleased that they didn’t depict his death at all, but it really bothered me that these two scenes were all we got of him before the show stops referencing him at all.

The part of this season that really shines the most to me is a scene from episode eight, with Abe in a dimly-lit restaurant with Gabe, his boss, and a couple of colleagues. The scene begins with Abe checking his coat and coming over to sit where Gabe etcetera are already seated around a table and chatting. They order some wine. There’s a cut here to a few minutes later where the wine has arrived and been poured, and Abe sits silently, swirling his drink and clearly deep in thought while the others talk amongst themselves. Eventually, Gabe interrupts Abe’s thoughts, telling him that he had been raving to the others about his conversational skills. Abe apologises. “It’s just… the whole goddamn world, you know,” he says, clearly depressed about something. “Only that?” chimes in one of the other men at the table. Then ensues a conversation about the state of the world, about progress, about gender inequality and mental health, even, which was surprising to me. This scene is heartbreaking, and might be some of the best writing in the entire series. I cried watching this scene the first time around, and again just now rewatching it. It’s really sad that Abe never got the kind of character development shown here earlier, I would have liked to see that.

Episode six is an interesting sort of experiment; beginning with Midge on stage, in 1985, talking about her relationship with Susie, it then transitions into a roast for an indifferent and grumpy Susie in 1990, which is basically a device for a bunch of famous people you’ve seen in other things to come together as characters never seen before or again and tell stories about Susie’s rise to fame as one of the biggest talent managers in the United States. Here we get an explanation for why Joel is in prison, and a bunch of seemingly randomly selected stories about what Susie has been up to since 1962. As with the portrayal of Esther in episode one, this was another thing about this season that really bothered me at first, because it felt like it lacks focus, but as I thought about it more, it started to grow on me. This collection of tales about Susie’s exploits make sense for her character, and help to define who she is.

Overall, this season really fell down for me when I realised that a lot of really interesting moments never truly pay off. We jump around a lot between different years and perspectives, and we see a lot of things that could have been great story arcs, but they simply end and are never mentioned again. I really do feel like this season was supposed to be two or more, and Jeff’s Studio said no, so Amy Sherman-Palladino lit it all on fire. I think that if hyou like this show, it might still be worth it to catch the final season, but personally I feel like it should never have been made - at least not in this form. I would much rather have seen this stretched out more, over at least one more season. It tries to give the viewer some closure in the very last scene of the very last episode, but for me it falls flat. I don’t think I’ll ever watch this again.

Thanks so much for reading! What did you think? Once again, please feel free to hit me up in the comments, on the socials, or send me an email. And as always, if you want to read more stuff by me, you can check out my Letterboxd reviews - I recently reviewed The Craft (1996), Eradication (2022), and The Sand (2015)!

I hope y’all are staying safe out there! Have a great week and I’ll talk to you again soon. Ka kite anō au i a koe. 💚

Rebecca

Links | Twitter | Mastodon | Cohost | Substack | itch.io | Letterboxd | Instagram | Carrd | Email

[s0undsinmyhead]

Amy Sherman-Palladino I asked you for one thing.

Leave Lenny alone.

That’s it. I love him and Midge and obviously they’re perfect together. But I knew. I knew it could never happen. Not really. And I LOVED what we got. I was grateful and I didn’t expect anymore.

I just wanted one last scene with Lenny being okay and being there for Midge. One last smile and joke.

You’re far enough away from the year of his death it never had to be brought up. None of that needed to be brought up.

But you couldn’t give me that could you? You had to show my Lenny at his lowest. Foreshadowing the fate we already all know about. You couldn’t let us have one nice thing.

[jewish-american-boy-toy]

male gaze this female gaze that everyone shut the fuck up and give me floppy pathetic men that got left out in the rain. jesus christ