Andrew Garfield's Grief Tour
And some personal experience in that so-called arena
A year ago this week, my Grandad passed. He was my mom’s dad, the man whose quiet care and clear eye has shaped so many of us exuberant and cacophonous Gautreau Girls through our lives.
The day after he passed in 2023, my mom had a stem cell transplant, giving her a new chance at life. But that also meant she couldn’t be with him at the very end — or with us at his funeral, as her body sat in that hospital room, knitting itself back together.
As my Gran said on this one-year anniversary of that seismic week, “A life taken from me and then a life given to me in my daughter.”
The timing was terrible, the grief profound, the hope shimmering.
This weekend, I got to be with my parents to commemorate and celebrate life — Grandad’s and mom’s. It has been so meaningful, beyond words.
"Keep looking up." -Grandad
No pop culture today — except for several references, since pop culture is the filter through which I view all reality — just a personal update and reflection. [*cue the energy of a room where someone has just said, “Before we start, I’d like to share a brief devotional.”*]
SO: Because I’ve mostly been very present with my family this week, it’s a bit of a different thing today! Despite the fact I’m physiologically incapable of spontaneously bringing up my sadness in front of another human being, we’re talking about someone who is highly skilled at that very thing — and has perhaps turned it into an art form.
Let’s get into it.
The Andrew Garfield Press Charm Tour
I have been emotionally and spiritually vacuuming in every crumb of Andrew Garfield’s press tour for his new film with Florence Pugh, We Live in Time.
I would say he schooled up on the Hot Priest From Fleabag script for “How to Be a Cheeky Lad Who is Stunningly Profound at the Same Time,” but let’s be serious: Andrew Garfield co-wrote that guidebook.
Now he’s in a movie with Florence Pugh [who, coincidentally, ALSO co-wrote the “Cheeky-But-Stunningly-Profound” guidebook] where they’re two people who fall in love and then one of them falls terminally ill. That’s not a spoiler, you find out right away. I’m going to be very careful — for all the reasons stated in the opening of this post — about when/where/how I watch it.
But I’m not here to talk about the film! I’m here to talk about the Emotional World Domination Tour that Andrew Garfield is currently advancing on our collective psyches.
If he’s not flirting beautifully and nonthreateningly with his costar FloPugh or Amelia Dimoldenberg (more on that momentarily) or his audience, he is waxing deeply poetic on the experience of grief.
And so I give you….
A few clips of Andrew Garfield being the internet’s therapist a warm cozy blanket for anyone who has ever been grief-stricken
^With Elmo (the best one, because how could it not be)
^with Anderson Cooper
^ With Josh Horowitz for the podcast HAPPY SAD CONFUSED (starting at 51:31)
^Even with TheSkimm!! [They really are doing it all over there.]
A few clips of Andrew Garfield being the internet’s empath boyfriend
Nearly every person on the internet who is attracted to men is IN LOVE with Andrew Garfield right now.
I unfortunately cannot include myself in that group because of a personal problem where I can’t look people directly in the eyes when they’re being sincere. And ALL HE DOES is be sincere or at least give sincerity his best shot. Unsettling! My motto is, “Dissembling through life!”
Anyways. I may not have butterflies, but I love what he is bringing into the world. The moment that people were waiting for, and that really went viral this week, was his long-anticipated appearance as a guest on Amelia Dimoldenberg’s FANTASTIC show “Chicken Shop Date” where she interviews celebrities in a chicken shop as if they’re on a date.
They’d had some magically awkward red carpet encounters that had the girls [gender-neutral] in a tizzy like Mrs. Bennet when Netherfield Park was let at last.
This article by The Guardian does the best job of explaining their unique brand of flirtatious tension: “‘English flirting’: Dimoldenberg v Garfield is real magic.” These were those first two encounters if you’re curious:
Very charming. So anyways, he finally came on her show and everyone went ballistic.
Again, FOR ME it is filled with too much intentionality and altruistic effortfulness for me to look directly into anyone’s eyes or believe in any of it, but I think Amelia in particular did a stupendous job navigating the pressures and expectations weighing on this encounter.
And bless them for taking a big swing and giving fans what they hoped for. This is the Olympics of press tours in the sense it’s all-out, all heart, all for the people.
So: Do you believe in love? Or are you like me, a person who gave Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce five months back in October of 2023?
More in the news
Liam Payne, a member of One Direction and solo artist in his own right, passed away this week. 😢 Harry Styles wrote a lovely post. So sad, he leaves behind so many friends and family, including a son named Bear. No easy way to transition from that…
Taylor Swift is becoming a book publisher as she continues her journey of world domination. Good for her.
Fans recreated the Wicked movie poster to look more like the musical poster by making Elphaba’s hat cover her eyes and Cynthia Erivo, the star playing Elphaba, was EXTREMELY offended, which is her right! But also seems like a wild thing to care about, but who am I to say!?
Jane Fonda is going to get a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award in February. Her exercise videos are some of the earliest TV I can remember. What an icon.
A Whitney Houston live concert is being remastered and released in theaters!
