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Sunset Blvd: An Ode to Joe Gillis
The #16 Best Movie of All Time
2 min readMay 29, 2024
(warning: spoilers ahead)
Ode to Joe Gillis
Joe’s dead in the pool
We know from the start
A voice from the grave
Says he can’t make his art
A Hollywood scribe
Chased by car repossessors
Joe stumbles on Norma
His brand-new oppressor
“I’m grand and important”
(though her house is decayed)
“Move in with me now
And write my screenplay”
So Joe tries to help
Pulled tight in her claws
He becomes her kept man
While she dreams of applause
Norma’s maze of delirium
Soon traps our friend Joe
He falls hard for Betty
Who brings out his flow
