Benny (Taye Diggs) talks to Roger and Mark in the film version of "Rent".

Benny Wasn't Any

I feel like we don’t talk enough about the rite of passage that is realizing that Benny isn’t actually the villain in Rent. We fell down a wormhole leading straight to the Cat Scratch Club in the ELLE.com Slack channel a few weeks back—much to chagrin of some site editors *cough Estelle Tang cough*—and it reminded me of the moment, a few years ago, when I realized that I’d been unfairly maligning Taye Diggs’ character for years. The word on the street in Rent is that Benny is this sellout who won’t let his friends live rent-free and has some sort of complicated relationship with Mimi. He’s definitely an antagonist. But, look, hon, Benny’s friends want to live rent-free, they loudly sing a song while Benny’s in the middle of a business meeting (why is he holding meetings at the Life Cafe after Maureen’s show? Unclear). As much as we love Angel (and we ALL love Angel), we have to reckon with the fact that Angel played the drums until Benny’s wife’s dog jumped out the window. I feel like there’s a lot of blame to go around here.

Looking back, I find it hilarious how much I identified with the hardscrabble bohemians when Rent first came out. Like, I was a junior at a private school in Baltimore. Could not relate to the vie boheme. Even after I went to college in New York, I didn’t spend my night standing on tables singing about Sontag and Sondheim. I should have, but I didn’t. Maybe I was just a Benny pretending to be a Roger (just kidding, I always knew I was Joanne). This is not to say that the deeply held convictions espoused by Mark, Maureen, et. al, don’t resonate anymore. Maybe Rent opens itself up more as you get older. Even though all of the characters are impossibly young (younger, I must admit, than I am now), its lessons change as your 525,600 minutes accumulate. That said, if I let you stay in my loft and you refuse to pay rent, I’m taking you on Judge Judy. You can sing your song in court!

Here’s a couple stories I didn’t write about this week that
we still need to discuss.

Free Aidy Bryant!

Kanye West continued his Loud and Wrong 2018 tour by appearing on the season premiere of SNL and holding the audience and cast members hostage as he gave a long, rambling speech about politics. What is this, a regional production of Network? Two and a half stars. At this point, I have to start reacting to news with the same bemusement and wonder that an older relative has when you try to tell them about your weekend plans. "Oh, Kanye West kidnapped some sketch comedians to talk about abolishing the 13th Amendment? Wow, sounds very dramatic. Hope everyone had a good time. XOXO, Meemaw."

Kanye West holding a microphone on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live

How To Win Friends & Influence Your Wallet

A GoFundMe for Brett Kavanaugh's family has reached half a million dollars. For what? A beer of the month club subscription? Civics question: is all government just a Ponzi scheme now? In any case, my new financial plan is to go on TV next week to yell about my high school pals for a while and just wait for the big bucks to trickle down. Feel free to fill that bank account, you due process-loving patriots.

Matt Damon in costume as Brett Kavanaugh.

Has Anyone Considered Pie?

The Masterpiece Cakeshop baker is in the news again after refusing to make a birthday cake for a trans customer. I’m beginning to think that this dude just doesn’t want to work. He has a religious objection to labor. He’s saying he’s principled but survey says: “just lazy”. Also, and this is very important, do we know if his cakes are any good? Can you imagine if we were doing all this fighting over bad cake? Now that’s a case for the Supreme Court.

Snack of the Week

Honeyyyy. Between Crazy Rich Asians and the excellent new movie Blake Lively Wears a Suit Murderously, Henry Golding is having a moment. How could he not be this week's Snack? Not only does this scrumptious sausage biscuit swagger his way through every single scene in the near-perfect romcom (frequently shirtless! PRAISE!) but he did it with basically no film experience prior. We stan for a preternaturally gifted morsel! Golding was working as a TV host and a hairdresser prior to CRA, now his image is covering every wall in my apartment, Teen Beat-style. The glow-up has been renamed the Gold-up. He'll next be seen in a romcom written by Emma Thompson based on a George Michael song which is basically a sentence that came straight from my dream journal. You can't tell me the Secret doesn't work. Casting agents of Hollywood, please remember Henry Golding, that delicious bowl of Cendol, for all your shirtless leading man needs.

I Love This!

I like to shop but I don’t frequently splurge. Much to the disdain of every salesperson ever, I’m a hemmer and a hawer; I talk myself out of a lot of things with the question “Do I really need this?” However, when I walked into a Michael Kors store and saw the Harrison leather briefcase hanging by its handles directly in my eyeline like a Golden Snitch in Harry Potter, I knew I had to snatch it up (snitch it up? No, no, that is too much.) My hardest decision wasn’t whether to buy it but just what color I needed. Camel? Would it get too dirty in my frequent coffee shop travels? Pale rose? Could I pull that off? Would I look like Sophia Petrillo carrying that bag? Wasn’t that the goal, actually? Because I work remotely, my bag is my office. I’ve had the same utilitarian bag for a couple of years and its served me well, carrying everything from chargers to books to cologne to a change of clothes, and, of course, my laptop. But, I decided I needed this briefcase not only because the old bag was showing its age but because my “office” could use an upgrade. When I walk into the coffee shop (purse first), this briefcase is a reminder that not only am I here to work, but I’m here to do it with style, substance, class, and some chic magnetic clasps.

Harrison Leather briefcase by Michael Kors

BUY IT HERE