David Mamet and Male Friendship Arthur Holmberg

Professor of Dramatic Literature, Theater History, and Performance Theory, Brandeis University

Literary Director, American Repertory Theater, Harvard University

Previous Publications

David Mamet and American Macho (2012)

The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre, International Board of Editors, United States Editor, Six Volumes (1994–2000)

The Lively ART: Reflections on Twenty Years of the American Repertory Theatre, editor and author of twenty articles (1999)

The Theatre of Robert Wilson (1996) David Mamet and Male Friendship

Buddy Plays and Buddy Films

Arthur Holmberg d a v i d m a m e t a n d m a l e friendship Copyright © Arthur Holmberg, 2014. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-30518-3 All rights reserved. First published in 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-45476-1 ISBN 978-1-137-30519-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137305190 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Holmberg, Arthur. David Mamet and male friendship : buddy plays and buddy films / by Arthur Holmberg. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Mamet, David—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Male friendship in literature. 3. Male friendship in motion pictures. I. Title. PS3563.A4345Z65 2013 812.54—dc23 2013024080 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: March 2014 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Jan and Jeremy Geidt Contents

List of Figures ix Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1 1. Buddy Plays and Buddy Films: Speed-the-Plow 5 2. Buddy Cops: Homicide 17 3. Honor among Thieves? 35 4. The Cycle of Friendship: 57 5. Comrades in Competition: 75 6. Friends without Benefits: Sexual Perversity in Chicago 121 7. Is It Legal? Romance 149 8. The Dialog of Life: The Duck Variations 179 9. Climbing Plato’s Ladder: 189

Notes 205 Bibliography 233 Index 255 Figures

1.1 The arrival of a beautiful woman threatens the male bond in Speed-the-Plow 8 1.2 Rivals, Jim and Buzz fight for sexual access to the female in Rebel Without a Cause 9 1.3 In Speed-the-Plow, Bobby and Charlie bond through fist fights, striking deals, and goofing off 14 2.1 As Nick dies in The Rookie, he shares with a buddy cop a tender moment and a cigar 25 2.2 above The death of the comrade-in-arms is a key motif in and below epic tales. In the face of death, the friends can express openly an affection that must remain covert in life. In comparison with the (above) death scene from Wings, (below) the death scene from Homicide is restraint itself 26 2.3 Action films celebrate the male body. Coppers Tango and Cash never miss an opportunity to show off their pecs 31 3.1 In American Buffalo an outburst of violence leads Teach to a moment of reflection 45 3.2 After Teach trounces Bobby, Don comforts him like a mother hen a chick 48 3.3 “Action talks and bullshit walks.” Don gives Bobby a pep talk on how to be “a standup guy” 55 4.1 above Art imitates life, life imitates art. The tension between and below John and Robert in A Life in the Theatre plays out not only offstage but also onstage as the two actors meet, work together, and then go their separate ways 64 5.1 “First prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. . . . Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you’re fired.” In the film Glengarry, Blake embodies the mystique of coyote capitalism 80 x Figures

5.2 A good friend knows how to listen. By listening, Roma bucks up Levene in the 2005 Broadway revival of Glengarry 95 5.3 Roma defends Levene from Moss’s vituperation in the 2012 Broadway revival of Glengarry 96 5.4 In the national touring production of Glengarry (1986), Peter Falk and Joe Mantegna made the affection between Levene and Roma palpable 102 5.5 The end of Glengarry is grim 105 6.1 In Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Dan and Deb have great sex, but they do not know how to establish emotional intimacy 132 6.2 above In Carnal Knowledge Jonathan loves making love to and below female body parts, but his deepest emotional bond is with buddy Sandy 134 6.3 Elliot Ness and his buddies—engaged in the dangerous task of bringing down Capone—eat, drink, and smoke cigars to celebrate their brotherhood in The Untouchables 147 7.1 The Prosecutor, a vigilante dedicated to wiping out sexual depravity, keeps a boy toy closeted at home in Romance 166 7.2 Romance is a courtroom farce involving an alleged sexual offense. During the trial the Judge pops pills for his allergies. He becomes so groggy and horny that he must be restrained from casting off the dignity of the law with all his clothes 171 8.1 Sitting on a park bench kvetching, Emil and George keep death at bay in The Duck Variations 183 9.1 (Above) After telling his wife that she does not interest him spiritually or sexually, Edmond walks out. (Below) He then prowls around cathouses and peep shows for sex 191 9.2 In the end, Edmond finds friendship and peace in a prison cell 203 Acknowledgments

very book is a challenge, and challenges are best met with the help of friends. This book was difficult—life is filled with unexpected turns—and I want to thank everyone who made it possible for me Eto finish. I am indebted to Don B. Wilmeth for his sage advice over the long haul. I am also grateful to Robyn Curtis at Palgrave for her intelli- gence and patience. Ever since I was a student, Robert Brustein has been both mentor and friend, and I do not know how to repay him for his support. It is also a pleasure to thank my other colleagues at the American Repertory Theater, who have helped in countless ways: Diane Paulus, artistic director; Diane Borger, producer; Ryan McKittrick; Chris De Camillis; Kati Mitchell; and Julia Smeliansky. And without the literary interns at ART, I would still be buried under the stacks of Widener Library: Blythe Yee, Rima Brihi, Nora Long, Megan Deeley, Heidi Nelson, Grace Geller, and Sara Bookin- Weiner. These stalwart souls made countless trips to the library to fetch books and xerox articles. Alan Alda, Alec Baldwin, Kenneth Branagh, Matthew Broderick, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman, Joe Mantegna, Liev Schreiber—great actors give flesh and blood and muscle to words on a page. Their perfor- mances illuminate the characters they embody. Watching these actors on stage and screen is a joy, and I am grateful for their kindness in sharing their insights with me. Theater exists beyond the pages of a book. To enter the world of a play, it is advantageous to see the play in performance. Since theater tickets are not inexpensive, I appreciate the Norman Fund at Brandeis for having subsidized tickets to the productions I analyze. I am also grateful to Dean Susan Birren for her kind support. Her generosity made possible the pho- tographs that illustrate this book. Since visual communication in theater often trumps dialog, photographs are crucial. I would also like to thank the following friends for their advice: Professor Manfredi Piccolomini, Professor Antonio Cao, Professor Sarah Lamb, xii Acknowledgments

Professor Barbara Levy, Professor Richard Wrangham, Meryl Langbort, Gideon Lester, Sandra Levinson, and Francesca von Broembsen. Mark DeLello of the Getz Laboratory at Brandeis solved many technical glitches, and whenever I ran into a barricade, Harriet Voyt and Tom Cole made sure I jumped over it. I do not take generosity for granted, and I am both grateful for and humbled by the magnanimity of my colleagues and friends.