Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds

When Carrie Fisher passed away unexpectedly late last year, at that time knowing nothing about the health of her mother, Debbie Reynolds, only her age - 84 - I thought to myself, this kind of a shock could do a person in at that age. And the next day it did.

This documentary shows these two as much more than just mother and daughter, but fast friends. It is a great tribute to both ladies. It talks a little bit about Debbie's past problems - being abandoned by her husband with two small children, then marrying a guy she thought would bring her family some stability and security, but it didn't - he in fact bankrupted them with his compulsive gambling. And she faced all of this with dignity and was a fighter.

Debbie doesn't do that much talking for or about herself. In fact through most of the documentary it is mentioned how she is feeling just awful, but you'd never guess it. She is always dressed to the nines and smiling - something Carrie said she learned as a recruit in the old studio system at MGM. And then, feeling awful, Debbie books a Las Vegas show and brings her children into the act because she simply can't do the whole show. She just couldn't retire outright because she loved entertaining and loved the audiences.

Carrie does most of the talking. Like mom, she is a fighter, and also has quite a sense of humor. She fought her way back from a childhood in which she was abandoned by her dad, Eddie Fisher, in every way possible. It's like he just left them behind like they were part of a past life - until Carrie had some success and he came back asking for money. She fought her way back from drug addiction and her failed marriage to Paul Simon, who was much older than she, and during the documentary she is quite open about her battle with her weight as she tries to get the pounds off with the help of a trainer in preparation for the Star Wars film, "Episode 7". The trainer keeps trying to take her sodas away from her - which she keeps replenishing.

Carrie has a visit from old childhood chum Griffin Dunne, and they easily talk about their youth. After all of the awful stuff you have just learned about her dad, Eddie Fisher, and his parental negligence, Carrie goes to visit him, and he does look like death warmed over at this point, and Carrie tells him that she loves him and she seems to really mean it. It is revealed during the documentary that Eddie Fisher was a drug addict too, and I think having that common experience with her dad has made it easier for her to forgive him. What a classy lady. Eddie Fisher passed away in 2010, so obviously this part of the documentary was shot much earlier.

Todd, Carrie's younger brother, is in the documentary too, but he doesn't have much to say.

The documentary is not in "this is your life" style. It is more just following Debbie and Carrie around and showing the deep relationship and love they had for one another. Dance on in the afterlife classy ladies, you'll both be terribly missed. I miss you already.

Obviously, highly recommended.

I enjoyed this documentary very much, having been a huge fan of Debbie Reynolds my whole life. When I was young, my mother used to take me to see all of her movies, and the first time I was ever in a movie theater, I saw "Bundle of Joy", one of my favorites.

However, the most enjoyable part of this documentary for me was the opening credits (if I remember correctly) when they were playing a recording of Eddie Fisher, Carrie and Todd's father. I didn't recognize the song, but I was totally moved by his beautiful voice. Voices like that are very rare, and it just saddens me that with the usual fall into obscurity for performers, as Carrie Fisher points out, it made a more rapid decline in his case due to his personal life choices. Yet, for just a few moments, I could be enraptured and carried away by the sound of his beautiful voice and musicality.

"Bright Lights: Starring Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher" (2016 release; 95 min.) is a documentary about the complicated relationship between (mother) Debbie Reynold and (daughter) Carrie Fisher, with Carrie's brother Todd chipping in as well, and their dad, Eddie Fisher, looming in the background. As the movie opens, we see 8mm footage of the Fisher family as Debbie and Carrie comment. We then learn that they live right next to each other in a large compound in LA, with Carrie coming over frequently to her mom's to take care of her. When Debbie is getting ready to do a performance in Connecticut, Carrie expresses her concerns. "Inside her head she's the same person, but her body isn't", Carrie worries... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the 'plot' would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: it is important to note that Todd Fisher produced this, and was the main driving force behind it. It is of course also the only reason why we are given this astounding all-access, giving us a clear picture what the daily lives of these people actually look like. The documentary of course also goes back in time, reminding us of the "Hollywood royalty" that were Debbie and Eddie. There is a bunch of never before seen footage (from Todd's archives, presumably). There is also an incredible clip of Carrie singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" at one of Debbie's shows when Carrie was 15 (in 1971). The 2010 footage of Debbie with her dad Eddie (only months before his passing away) is sad and even uncomfortable. Let's be clear: the movie makers did not dodge the hard stuff, including Carrie's drug addiction (discussed in detail), and other family issues. The last 15-20 minutes of the documentary (which wrapped shooting in early 2015) are of course the most touching, and poignant, given that Debbie and Carrie would pass away at the tail end of 2016 within 24 hrs. of each other.

I happened to stumble on this in the HBO on Demand library, and really didn't know what to expect. As it turns out, "Bright Lights" is a delight and candid look at these two legends of Hollywood. May they rest in peace.

Bright Lights is an illuminating look inside the homes and lives of two legends. I love Carrie Fisher cooking a soufflé for her mother Debbie Reynolds and then walking out Carrie's backdoor across their shared backyard and into her Debbie's back door to share a meal with mom. They share more than that with us. It's like sitting on their living room couch and going thru the family album, warts and all. How were they able to live thru all their tribulations? Maybe that they learned to talk about it and deal with it instead of letting if fester and burst inside. And there was laughter, and stories about other celebrities and other heartaches. But what I liked most was their humanity towards each other and that unsinkable spirit that kept them going until all energy was gone from them. What I liked least about it was these two wonderful women should have know the damage drugs, alcohol and cigarettes would do and avoided them. I heard Carrie drank up to 16 Cokes a day and I wonder if the Coke connection with her father had something to do with her addiction to sodas. And Debbie could have had someone to stop her from performing until she was ready to drop. I know it was her choice but they both could have been saved from themselves by their friends. Thank you ladies for all that you gave and shared and God Bless Todd now alone

This documentary was released ahead of schedule after the deaths of Carrie Fisher and of her mother Debbie Reynolds, a day later.

Bright Lights is an intimate portrait of two Hollywood legends. It is Reynolds who due to age and ill health was making a farewell as a performer. Her career spanned 70 years including Singin in the Rain.

Whereas Carrie Fisher is seen in this documentary trying to get in shape for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, if only she can keep of the Coke, the drink that is.

Debbie's son Todd Reynolds comes across as the most normal even though he managed to shoot himself in the leg as a kid. He talks about how for decades he and his mother wanted to get a museum going that would house all the Hollywood memorabilia that Debbie Reynolds collected. It included a chair once used by Elizabeth Taylor, a woman who married Eddie Fisher, the children's father.

Bright Lights was meant to be a tribute to Debbie Reynolds, she is seen incoherent at times like when she goes to Hollywood to collect a lifetime achievement award. When she travels in a casino she needs a mobility scooter.

However it also became a tribute to Carrie Fisher after her sudden death. She was always more open with the demons in her life, her bipolar and use of drugs. Her father's absenteeism from her life after he left the family for Elizabeth Taylor.

Carrie Fisher also likens her appearances in Star Wars conventions to lap dancing. A quick photo and autograph for cash, it was lucrative.

The documentary was a let down in its editing to show both of them slightly out of whack. Both mother and daughter lived nearby which meant Carrie Fisher would regularly visit to take care of her mother. However once scene was cunningly edited to imply Carrie was tasting her dog's food.

It was also too scattered with footage spanning some years, so you see Carrie talking to her father who had died in 2010.