Soccer Dad

"Oedipus, Shmedipus, just as long as he loves his mother."

There's a Jewish joke about a woman who takes her son to the doctor. At the end of the appointment the doctor calls the mother into his office and says, "Mrs. Goldstein, I'm afraid that your son Barry has an Oedipus complex." To which Mrs. Goldstein replies, "Oedipus, Shmedipus, just as long as he loves his mother."

When I saw this item, I couldn't help thinking of that joke

Two-time Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes and longtime partner Francesca Annis have separated, lawyers for the actress said.

The announcement came after the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported that Fiennes had had an affair with a Romanian singer.

"Ms. Annis confirms today that she and Ralph Fiennes are to separate," said a statement issued Tuesday by her law firm, Schillings.

Fiennes, 43, and Annis, 61, met while starring in a 1995 stage production of "Hamlet," in which Fiennes played the title role and Annis played his mother.

She played Gertrude to his Hamlet. Not the usual pairing I would expect.

Of course here's a guy who's played a sadistic Nazi, a good guy opposite Uma Thurman in a movie he would never admit to being in, a Republican politician opposite the nifer half of Bennifer, and, most recently a previously disembodied, now reincarnated Dark Wizard.

Such a variety of roles could make someone look to a mother figure for comfort.

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