Nuits secrètes

My wife has been been talking for the last 10 years about this TV-show and finally we got a chance to see it. To my surprise it turned out far less a chick-flick then I assumed (Thornbirds was a memory-lane disaster for the both of us). The story has nice twists, is nicely built and could stand any comparison to modern dramas. Sure, 1984 filming standards and some (few) bad acting parts make you want to laugh out loud but otherwise the show is most entertaining and easily watchable even on 21k-standards. On the other hand, the innocence in the way the show was filmed make it more attractive. A modern version would most likely destroy some of that particular touch. Lace is not built on intelligent dialogs however tells a story of failed promises and friendships in a way that makes you want to watch until the end.

"Lace" is an American mini-series from 1984, directed by Billy Hale and based on the popular novel by Shirley Conran.

Judy Hale, Pagan Trelowney and Maxine Pascal used to be best friends in the sixties, while attending the same boarding school in the Swiss Alps. Twenty years later, a glamorous movie star named Lili, summons the three women to her hotel, asking them: "Which one of you bitches it my mother?"

I first saw "Lace" as a kid, when the series was rerun on Swedish television in the nineties. I was so impressed by the powerful women, exotic locations and over-the-top story lines. A couple of years later, after my fascination with the eighties had begun, "Lace" was rerun yet again. This time around, I was old enough to fully enjoy this wonderful series.

I'm a big fan of trashy mini-series, especially from the eighties. But even though some parts of "Lace" could be considered trashy, it's a lot better than people give it credit! The acting is solid. Bess Armstrong, Brooke Adams and Arielle Dombasle all play their parts as glamorous and powerful women beautifully.

But my personal favourite is of course the amazing Phoebe Cates, known from eighties classics "Gremlins" and "Fast Times At Ridgemont High". She plays the strong, yet vulnerable Lili perfectly, bringing both sexiness and innocence to the complexed character.

Worth mentioning is that Angela Lansbury, of "Murder, She Wrote" fame, plays a small part as Maxine's aunt Hortense. She has the worst French accent in the history of fake accents, but who cares? It's Angela Lansbury for God's sake!

Also worth mentioning is the amazing soundtrack composed by Nick Bicât. Hearing the iconic theme song gives me goosebumps every time. The soundtrack finally available to buy digitally and physically from the composer's official website. It also includes the beautiful Deniece Williams track "No More Lies" from the sequel "Lace II".

"Lace" can be considered trashy and campy, but it's a lot better than most mini-series from the era. It's definitely one of my personal favourites. If you enjoy soap operas such as "Dynasty" and "Falcon Crest", I'm sure you'll love "Lace"!

"Lace" is available as a print-on-demand DVD from Amazon US. However, an official DVD have been released here in Scandinavia, and this edition can be imported from Amazon UK.

This mini-series was great,I hope that one day I will be able to buy it on video or on d.v.d. All the acting was fantastic. If you have read the book you will still enjoy this, and then go on to read and watch lace2 the sequel.

Phoebe Cates (wife of Kevin Kline) was a perfect choice to play Lili as she is both beautiful and very very talented. You will be wondering who is Lili's mother and when you find out you will then be wanting to find out who is Lili's father is. The other actresses in the show portraying the potential mothers of Lili played their parts fantastically.

Go ahead hire this one and enjoy.

Campy, trashy mini-series from the early 80s that received a lot of publicity for Lili's query that ends part one: "Which one of you bitches is my mother?" This five hour mini-series was inspired by Shirley Conran's popular novel, but isn't very similar. Phoebe Cates plays Lili, an orphan who grows from a child in a prison camp to hooker to porn star to legitimate actress to global phenom in flashbacks. Lili is glamorous and beautiful, but not very likeable or even sympathetic, and Cates' nonspecific Eurotrash accent must be heard to be believed. Lili eventually traces her roots back to a trio of students who attended a Swiss finishing school together, one of whom gave birth to her using the pseudonym Lucinda Lace. Each of their lives is examined in flashback as well, as the soap opera-style drama of each of their lives progresses. By the time Lili finds out which "bitch" is her mother, it doesn't really matter. But the glamorous 80s-style costumes and beautiful international locations alone make this worth spending an afternoon watching. NOTE: sometimes a truncated 180 minute version of this airs on TV. See the complete version if you can.

I agree with others that the movie did run for a long time but hey, when you have nothing to do on a rainy day or a slow day it is actually quite enjoyable. My biggest problem was with Phoebe Cates' acting. The accent was a little much and besides, in Lace II didn't her accent like, not exist anymore? Of course that's a whole different comment for that movie. Either way I enjoyed watching the three girls lives form with their romances and careers more so than I did with Lily's life. You could have skipped on that part altogether. Lily was abandoned, grows up and wants to know who her mother is. Simple. End there. Either way it's fun to watch if you have nothing else to do and some parts will have you interested.