The Green Girl (2014)

Touches You

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Even when I was young, I never was fixated on 'fame,' or popularity based solely on superficial things. As Marilyn Monroe said in her last interview (slightly paraphrased), 'fame is fickle, I've had it, and it's passed me by.'She knew the studios used her - to fill a type, a slot; sexy, dumb blonde.' But Marilyn wanted to show she was so much more.I grew up in the entertainment business, and it never excited me. Some of those I knew, or met, who were 'famous,' were mean, vain, callow. Being a kid, I saw this popularity game starting to happen as I approached teen-hood.I always thought looks are transient, and one second, you have them, but, who knows - a car crash, or you get old - for a woman, that's 40 - and then...Some of the most beautiful women I always thought, had it in them - they'd lived, and they'd seen it, and have Had grown wiser. The smart ones played the game back. The others, well... Who knows.But, of the 'famous,' it's only a very select few. I was always captivated by other qualities, and even when I was little, Ms. Oliver made such an impression. This was before the Internet, so, there was really know if others felt the same,and, honestly, I didn't care, as she was acting for me. I'm sure every other person who saw her felt the same.Her iconic role in Star Trek, is - for me a lot more than surface. She portrayed a woman, who even though she looked beautiful to those who saw her, it was illusory, and I felt it - her insecurity, her need for approval, because, as Vina, she was validated by her appearance.There was such a gentleness to her, and her voice, it quavered, but, not with the 'sex- kitten' quality. Her voice gently prodded, and said; 'please, don't hurt me, because if you don't believe this, I can't survive.'It broke my heart, then, and even thinking now, I'm tearing up.That was an actor. Someone who I felt lived and breathed, because I know she felt it, without question. Just because the screen would go dark, I felt whoever Ms. Oliver was, she - and Vina, her character - lived on.I worked in the entertainment business, and fame still never impressed me. As time went on, the media's need for more faces became ever-more rapacious, first, with cable, then the Internet, and on, and on.Instead of looking to 'groom' someone, it was as if these (usually young) actors were young chicks, and they looked at them solely on the basis of if they'd develop into a good chicken. Nothing more.I'd see/hear more and more young people say they wanted to be 'famous,' but, if I ever asked; famous? For what? The question was irrelevant.They see fame as the sole goal of approval.It saddens me.I was happy to find out - only as 'recently' as the mid 80's more things about Ms. Oliver which made me love her even more; I heard how she was not just a 'plane-flyer,' but, it was a deep passion. I also found out she'd passed away.I came across this documentary a few months ago purely by accident, and it couldn't have been more serendipitous.To see that she was so valued by those she'd worked with, and knew in her personal life, that they made this stunning, loving documentary about a person, a real flesh and blood one.I had my best friend (who passed away a few years ago) tell me about working with her, and even though my friend could drip venom, as she talked about Susan, it was with admiration. My friend had come up through Hollywood by being discovered at a young age by a famous director, and from then on her life was unreality. Working with Ms. Oliver showed my friend that you don't need anyone but yourself to love, because, as the saying forgoes, if you can't love yourself, you can't love anyone. I'm so happy this film was made. For anyone who wants to learn about self-confidence, and believing in yourself, and not have yourself validated, as so many unfortunately do, by fawning fake sycophants, watch this. I wish every young girl, young woman, and young boys, and whoever else felt or feels this plastic need to be 'beautiful,' , or has a 'stage mother,' who's (usually morbidly obese), who tries to live trough them, and turn them into some 'beauty queen.'See this, because true beauty can only come from within oneself.I won't say anything more about this woman's life, than how touched I was - still am - how this woman I never had the privilege of meeting touched me. I know I'm not alone, as the simple fact this wonderful story was told, and all the people who helped - either by participating, or helping fund it, this is a very rare incidence of someone truly special.Wherever you are now, Susan, thank you, you've had such an impact on so many., I know you're gentle twilight dream dust, which pass into many of us who see you, in so many wonderful ways. I always knew - even when I was a very little boy, you were a very special person, and I'm glad I at least still get to share seeing your on my screen.

Just saw this film on Amazon. Well worth the watch for anyone old enough to remember the days of "The Big Three" network television, where the guest stars were almost as regular as the series stars.That said? I got the sense Ms Oliver never quite 'fit in' to whatever task, professional or otherwise, she was pursuing. The possible exception being her early theater days.She obviously was a very bright woman with plenty of talent, never mind the devastating good looks. And while most of the interviewee's recall a very vivacious and positive spirit, with a good nature? I just got the sense she always wanted to be somewhere else, deep down inside.I was very saddened by the manner of her passing, in which it seemed she was really tired of fighting, and or living.And I'm not being critical of her here. This was just how I interpreted this film.The doc itself really hadn't hooked me at first. It almost seemed like a bland old "A&E" bio from the 80's, without the high production values.But in the last half hour, a sudden abundance in attention to her deeper personal life grabbed me. Her relationship to her mother, lack of a long term relationship, childless, and eventually the manner of her death was just? Sad. There is no other way to describe it, for me.I'm glad the doc was made, as Susan's is a story worth telling.Things may have been much different for her, in terms of her aspirations, had she been born 10-15 years later.Again, for those from this era, I'd recommend this.

I just finished watching this film. It's amazing! And that's not just because of how it tell's Susan Oliver's story (in great detail with love, respect, and honesty) but how it shows us how Hollywood worked during that time period... and the effect this had on people, especially someone who was her own person first and not willing to play by the rules every step of the way.Susan Oliver left a large body of work... only some of which I've seen. I own the "Route 66" series DVDs, so I think I'll start with her multiple appearances there. As this film shows, she could play many different types of characters. I look forward to seeing many more of those performances.This film made me both want to see her at work more and wish she had lived to benefit from the chance to meet her fans today. She's be a huge hit at the celebrity autograph shows! Susan Oliver was only 58 when she died... truly gone too soon.

A true revelation in celebrity documentaries, told with love, respect, earnestness and compassion. The amazing part is that this film could be as emotionally compelling as it is, given that the subject - actress Susan Oliver - was so hard to pin down as an individual. Part mystery, part enigma, and gifted beyond compare, her legacy is thoughtfully preserved in The Green Girl. You don't have to be a fan of Susan to enjoy this film. You don't even have to know who she was. You'll be drawn in, and find yourself wanting to discover her works. Great job by the director and editor. An obvious labor of love for all involved, meticulously researched and presented.