David Poland has written a frank recollection of the long, brutal, bruising relationship he had for years with the late Nikki Finke. It strikes me as one of the best columns he’s ever written.

And she wasn’t. But she was tough and tenacious, and she certainly left her journalistic mark in the ‘90s and aughts. Give the devil her due.

There’s more to the trials and tribulations of life than just being liked or disliked. Most people would dispute this, and I wouldn’t argue with them. Human warmth (friends, family, strangers) is worth its weight in gold, but a bit more credit is arguably due to to gifted hustlers, obstinate renegades, generals, pathfinders, pyramid builders, geniuses, inventors, etc.

That said, Finke was my idea of a very harsh and vindictive person. A serpent, a meanie. I’m not exaggerating.

“We’re here and then we’re not here. Somewhere else…maybe.” — Terrence Stamp’s “Willie Parker” in Stephen Frears The Hit (‘84).

Showbiz 411‘s Roger Friedman (filed at 12:54 pm):

East Coast Friendo: “My wife and I went to see Bros at our local multiplex; 4pm show on a weekday, so there were fewer than five other people. We thought it was very funny, smart and moving.

“As I was thinking about why it’s been such a box-office flop, I think the idea that it feels too woke and preachy misses the mark. When you get right down to it, it was so obviously gay that I understand why it didn’t find a mass audience.

“It’s one thing for Will & Grace, essentially the minstrel version of gay people, to be popular. But I don’t think most moviegoers are ready to watch men kissing, simulating sex and making jokes about ‘your gigantic penis and my tiny little anus.’ I laughed, but I think it would make many people in the flyover squirm.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a mainstream Hollywood film which included an explicit romantic sex scene w/men having face-to-face intercourse while lying down (something you see in hetero romcoms all the time). I’ve also never seen one in which the role of ‘the bottom’ is as explicitly laid out as it is here, where the top says, ‘I want you to fuck me tonight.’

“I would imagine there are a lot of people who are interested in the film but wouldn’t want to be seen attending it or even be known to have watched it. So maybe it will find its audience when it streams and moves to the other platforms.”

West Coast Friendo: “You don’t see much sex in romcoms either. That’s the point. They’re basically grown up fairy tales for heterosexual women. The genre is called ROMANTIC comedy, not sex romp. Thrillers tended to have more sex in them, although even that has been purged.

“No romcom would have Tom Hanks with his hands on Meg Ryan’s boobs or ass on the poster.

“Bros. should have been put on Streaming or HBO where it would have been devoured by its target demo.

“Why didn’t it debut on streaming? Because it’s a missionary movie — its aim is not entertainment but conversion.

“I couldn’t even get a black gay friend to see it with me. ‘It looks stupid,’ he said.”

HE to East Coast Friendo: “Ahh, the joys of gay sex! You brought up Bros sex so allow me to continue the thread…

“What about the fat gay guy telling Eichner that some guy peed on another guy? Did you find that bit amusing or even appealing?

“I rolled with the graphic sexual behavior depictions in Bros, but I can’t honestly say they were particularly welcome.

“Like I said in one of my riffs, at times the depictions almost approached the graphic levels of Frank Ripploh’s Taxi Zum Klo.

“40-plus years ago Eddie Murphy’s ‘Mr. T in a gay bar’ routine was hilarious FOR A REASON. Apart from Murphy’s unfortnate use of the “f” word, it’s still funny. And the funniest line? Mr. T growling ‘I want you to come on over here, and fuck me in the ass.’

Hilarious then, but if you so much as snicker at such a scenario now you’re probably a homophobe and (who knows?) a possible candidate for cancellation.

Robert S. Bader and Dick Cavett‘s Groucho & Cavett (PBS American Masters, 12.27) was shown yesterday or the day before at the Hamptons Int’l Film Festival.

Excerpt: “Cavett, a writer for Jack Parr on The Tonight Show, met Marx at the funeral of playwright George S. Kaufman in 1961. When Cavett made the transition from writer to comedian in 1965, he was encouraged and mentored by Marx. In 1968, Cavett became the host of his own talk show and Marx became a frequent guest, capturing what Cavett calls ‘the last of Groucho’s greatness.’

“Groucho & Cavett chronicles the pair’s relationship through new interviews with Cavett, footage from Marx’s visits to The Dick Cavett Show and other rare recordings.”

I’ve always heard about Groucho’s off-color and in some cases delightfully vulgar sense of humor, which he only shared in private or during commercial breaks on talk shows. Why do I have this feeling that Groucho & Cavett, obliged to defer to PBS decorum and gentility, won’t share any of this?

Start listening at the 6:20 mark…good goading between Maher and Christie…whether to offer an off-ramp option for Putin, or no off-ramp?

If you want to get on this injury-recovery train with Jennifer Lawrence and then write about what a great emotional release it is…fine. Go with God.

But I can see what this film is…a Jennifer Lawrence-bearing-the-weight-of-the-cross movie…her character is numb and banged-up and not very communicative, and then she gradually loosens up and responds to the Brian Tyree Henry love and so on. And at the risk of sounding heartless, I really don’t have a great interest in seeing this film. Sorry but what do you want me to do, lie?