Hey, What About The Rest Of Those Jedi Knights?
FOR THE RECORD (May 17, 1997): Name incorrect: Memorial gifts for the late Vicki McNeill, former Spokane mayor, have been made to the Women Helping Women Endowment of Foundation Northwest. The fund was named incorrectly in a May 10 editorial.
Carrie Fisher’s male-bashing was over the top.
Low-power lunch of oddly bitter fare It was as though, on her way to middle age, Princess Leia took a wrong turn and got sucked into Darth Vader’s orbit.
Despite her obvious talent and wit, Carrie Fisher was so angry, so distressed, so darn dark, that she clearly wasn’t the best choice for the Women Helping Women Fund’s luncheon speaker Tuesday afternoon.
Her father, Eddie Fisher - that rat - left Debbie Reynolds, her mother, for Elizabeth Taylor 38 years ago. God knows, Carrie Fisher has a legitimate grievance. But slamming the rest of the men in the universe went too far.
The very best thing about Women Helping Women has been the way a group of powerful women can generate an infectious, triumphant energy. Male-bashing doesn’t help the cause.
On a spring afternoon in Spokane, Fisher was clearly an exotic bird from a strange, distant culture. Plucked out of her native habitat, Hollywood, where her mix of acerbic humor, dysfunction and personal confession would no doubt make perfect sense, she managed to simultaneously entertain, puzzle and even appall her Spokane audience.
But as Fisher left the 1,875 women at the luncheon talking, organizers began to compute the event’s stunning achievement: raising a record $223,000 in under two hours.
It’s an amazingly efficient way to tap the compassion and generosity of ‘90s women. This year their money will help homeless and disabled children, domestic violence victims and women moving off welfare.
The organization’s new Vicki McNeill Endowment Fund allows the legacy of that charming, powerful woman to grow and flourish. Yet the event seemed to be suffering growing pains this year. Missing from the cavernous convention center was that magic energy from years past.
The luncheon apparently was designed to appeal to the mainstream, to its detriment. It showcased a Hollywood actress and screenwriter airing pain, not empowerment.
Other odd moments included the emcee’s Christian message, which failed to acknowledge the crowd’s diverse range of beliefs, and, later, the extremely brief mention of the luncheon’s funding for tighter security at Planned Parenthood - bite into a Sun Chip and you missed it.
This year, it appeared that the Women Helping Women Fund luncheon and Carrie Fisher, both amazing and talented, were somewhat troubled.
May the Force be with them.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Jamie Tobias Neely/For the editorial board