It's Been Wonderful
by John Patrick

THE STORY: Married to a successful stockbroker and comfortably ensconced in a lavish Long Island mansion, Paula Reid is nevertheless bored—until the success of her novel suddenly catapults her to celebrity status.

Her very sexy book also attracts Hollywood's interest and leads to a weekend party at her estate attended by, among others, a successful producer (whom, it turns out, Paula had known years ago before he changed his name); his sharp-tongued wife; a faltering English film director of uncertain sexual leanings; and a famous movie queen whose notorious behavior has earned international notice.

The action centers on the producer's desire to do the film version of the novel (while changing it totally) and the film star's determination to play the lead part (although it calls for an actress of half her years).

Also on hand, to join in the increasingly tangled developments, are Paula's long-suffering husband, her wise-cracking younger brother, and the film star's pretty young secretary who, ironically, is just the right age to play the novel's leading character.

Amid the bitchy, glittering dialogue things begin to fall apart with hilarious ease only, and happily, to fall back in place again when the inevitable “moment of truth” arrives—an event which, in its sobering honesty, provides some very real and valuable lessons for them all.