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'Soapdish' is one good laugh! An Entertaining Comedy, that ranks amongst the better films from the early 1990's. Its got the wit & the humor, working on its advantage.

'Soapdish' Synopsis: An ambitious TV soap actress connives with her producer to scuttle the career of the show's long-time star, but nothing works as they plan.

'Soapdish' is amusing, rib-tickling & arresting. The characters are absurd, but their journey together is graspingly funny. Robert Harling & Andrew Bergman's Screenplay balances humor & wit, commendably. Michael Hoffman's Direction is perfect. Cinematography is spacious. Editing is decent.

Performance-Wise: Kevin Kline is exceptional, as always. He's the scene-stealer! Sally Field is stupendous. A super act! Elisabeth Shue is extremely cute. Whoopi Goldberg is spunky, while Robert Downey, Jr. is another topper. Cathy Moriarty & Carrie Fisher are adequate.

On the whole, 'Soapdish' works.

Way back in 1955, the British made a comedy called Simon and Laura, with Peter Finch and the brilliant Kay Kendall. To this day, it stands as one of the finest examples of British comedy and, more particularly, about how television sitcoms become so popular. It was, and is, an excellent example also of self-referential cinema.

So also Soapdish, a film I'd never heard about until a few nights ago when I caught it on late TV. I was a bit dubious at first simply because comedy is so difficult to do well, as you know.

However, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to watch a very clever satire about daytime American TV. In fact, it's been a while since I laughed so heartily. So, if you like satire, I'd recommend you see it.

The main actors – Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Robert Downey and Cathy Moriarty – quite simply do an excellent job, revealing just how bitchy and shallow the business of acting is. As I watched it, I kept thinking to myself: just how much of this bitchiness carries over into real life? That is, if actors ever do have a real life? As you probably know, Peter Sellers, for example, was notorious for hiding his true persona behind a multitude of characters, so that nobody really knew the real person. So, as I watched Sally Field playing Celeste Talbot playing Maggie, I thought again about that earlier British film with Kay Kendall playing Laura playing a character in a TV sitcom opposite Peter Finch...

Is it any wonder that some actors have nervous breakdowns? And that feeling was crystallized when Celeste finally confronts her daughter (Lori, played by Elizabeth Shue) and, in an emotional moment, repeats the fictional lines she'd used, on a prior episode of her daytime soap, when confronting her fictional daughter in that show! Are you confused? Well, it's not all like that, but the dialog is stunning for originality, comedy, bitchiness, anger, depravity, duplicity, and even...love.

The story? Well, there are many stories in this film, all interwoven, and which all come together at the end (of course – but not like a Robert Altman film, okay!), and not all of them are resolved finally. Life's not like that anyway, right? The pace is almost frenetic, and you really do have to watch and listen carefully to catch all the sight gags and subtle jokes. Spend the 97 minutes from your life and watch it; you won't regret the time usage.

The rest of the cast all perform well, although I've never taken much to Whoopi Goldberg. Perhaps the funniest exchanges are between Robert Downey and Cathy Moriarty and, for my money, the latter steals so many scenes from others, she gets my vote as the outstanding player. I kid you not, she gives the term bitch an entirely new face...

This film takes place within a soap opera set and the plot here is a soap opera within a soap opera. I'm told by some that there are some truly pungent observations by those who created this film about show business. There are the talented ones whose egos constantly need feeding as we see with the actors on this soap opera. And there are the ones on the business side who are as devious and crafty as what you see here.

Sally Field is the lead character in a popular daytime soap opera and it looks like she could go on forever. But the villainess in this soap opera Cathy Moriarty wants to take her down in the worst way. She conspires with the show's producer Robert Downey, Jr. with all kinds of nefarious schemes to bring Field down.

Moriarty goes overboard in a part that calls for it. Watching her and Downey scheme and plan was like watching Wile E. Coyote keep trying to catch the Road Runner. With a bit Cruela DeVille in Moriarty's character as well.

As for Downey, in future editions of Webster's Dictionary when it comes to the definition of a weasel, you'll see a picture of Downey. The kind of friend who will always let you down when you need it if it suits him. He's got his libido in an uproar over Moriarty and the climax causes him some concern, but he gets over it.

Some other folks worthy of mention in Soapdish are Kevin Kline as an egotistical actor who Sally Field had some history with, Carrie Fisher as the hard as nails producer and Whoopi Goldberg as Field's writer and confidante.

And if Moriarty is Wile E. Coyote, Sally Field is our eternal Rad Runnerwho comes up smiling every time. For the public Field borrows a bit her early roles of Gidget and The Flying Nun. In private, especially in scenes with Goldberg Field really cut loose.

Not one word will you get concerning Soapdish's climax where Field bares all.. But i's worth the wait.

The review is dedicated to Steven Hubbard who is one big fan of this film.

It really is a shame that films like this never snag Best Picture nominations, because this one is simply a winner. This is by far the most consistently hilarious comedy I have ever seen. Its screenplay and design are impeccable, not to mention the incredible cast. I can quote this movie for hours on end. Watch it.

Soapdish may go down as one of the single most under-rated movies ever made.

A stellar, unselfish cast who understood exactly where the movie was going and the roles they played in it. While everyone hammed it up, there was no one-upmanship. Kline showed wit and great physical comedy, Goldberg and Downey knew how to carry on a funny conversation while someone else was talking, I could just go on.

Do not pass this movie by!