Yesterday, as part of my ongoing struggle with insomnia, I watched the 1967 Hollywood expose, Valley of the Dolls.  This is one of the most legendary so-bad-it’s-good films of all time but I have to admit that the main reason I started watching it was because I had been told that the movie was also extremely dull.  I was hoping it might put me to sleep.

No such luck.

I am not ashamed to admit that I loved Valley of the Dolls in all of its over-the-top, ludicrous glory.  I’m also not ashamed to admit that I now have a new life’s ambition.  And that ambition is to play the iconic role of talented, neurotic, and unstable pill popper, Neely O’Hara in a modern-day remake of Valley of the Dolls (which, hopefully, will be directed by Arleigh who I’m sure could help me get in touch with my inner Neely). 

In the original Valley, Neely was played by Patty Duke who sang, screamed, and doped as if the world depended on it.  Below is my favorite scene of Neely mayhem, the one in which Neely gets into a catfight with an aging rival (played by Susan Hayward).

(Much like the rest of the movie, this scene starts out slow and requires a little bit of patience on the part of the viewer but, in the end, that patience will be rewarded.)