Isn't She Great

In my opinion, this movie was just "ok". There was something about the acting that just wasn't right. I can't put my finger on it. Perhaps it was the roles that Midler and Lane played. They seemed very superficial. I wasn't convinced that they were the characters. I did like the actor from "Frasier". Although it was not a total "bomb", I would not watch this movie again.

I wasn't a fan of Jackie Susann's books and didn't care for the movies based on them. But I LOVED this movie. It was done in a comedy format rather than totally serious, but it was wonderful. I loved her going to the park and facing up into the sky/tree to talk to God. And the bubbly Miss M brought a lot of excitement and energy to the role. As a wanna be writer, myself, I was impressed with Miss Susann's life story especially starting her writing career later in life and making herself into a best-seller and celebrity (with her husband's and publishers' help.) I am glad that she was able to get her books published and have the fame she craved. Everyone should be able to do that in whatever field they prefer. It is a very good book for writers to watch for education on marketing and publicity for your own books. Watch it. It would be a good movie even if it were based loosely on a real person and life.

This movie is supposedly about Jacqueline Susann (Bette Midler) and husband Irving Mansfield (Nathan Lane). It chronicles how they met, fell in love and how she got "Valley of the Dolls" published. But this movie is a mess...and completely inaccurate.

For starters, Midler doesn't even remotely look like Susann or act like her. I've read at least 3 books on Susann as well as various articles - she was an ambitious, intelligent, driven woman. As Midler portrays her she is stupid, obnoxious, VERY loud and foul-mouthed. I'm no prude but there's way too much swearing from her in this--I have my doubts that Susann ever talked like that. Also they take actual events from Susann's life and fictionalizes them. When she is told in the movie to edit her book she acts like an idiot and refuses to help. In real life, Susann agreed to help make the book better with no fuss. And, Susann had a "Wishing Hill" (as she called it) in Central Park. It was basically a huge pile of rocks where she sat to clear her mind and relax. Here it's turned into a giant tree (????) and we have sequences with Lane and Midler talking, yelling and swearing at it. It's a wonder that those two managed to pull it off without looking like idiots.

As you can see, this is a bad film--but just so much FUN to watch! The incredible costumes and set design are just great--colorful and very true to the period. Some of the lines are actually very funny. Nathan Lane is great as Mansfield and Stockard Channing (as her best friend) and David Hyde Pierce (as her publisher) are hysterical and offer strong support. And Christopher McDonald and John Larroquette throw in cameos. Also John Cleese is on hand but he's wasted. Then there's Midler....she's AWFUL! Loud, shrill and thoroughly unlikable. When she was dying at the end I could have cared less. If she had toned down her performance and not played every scene at full tilt this might have worked. But she doesn't. However, she is fun to watch--a textbook example of how NOT to play a role.

The studio (understandably) threw this film away. It came and went VERY quickly and was a commercial disaster. Still, I'm giving it a 7--it's so incredibly bad that it's fun to watch! A must-see on that level.

There is a disclaimer near the end of the credits on this film that explain that the facts and characters present in this version of Jacquline Susann's life have been altered somewhat. That said, forget about the inaccuracies and have a good time with the campy dialog and beautiful 60s trappings that this film is wrapped in. No, this isn't the definitive biography of the authoress, but it does entertain. When Bette Midler is on the screen it is pretty hard to look away, and she is the whole show in this. She looks like Bette Midler going trick-or-treating as Jackie here, but never you mind. Bette always entertains. I defy you to have a dry eye after seeing the tearful finale. It seems that the makers were consciously trying to make this film look and sound like Valley Of The Dolls, right down to the candy-colors and Dionne Warwick singing the title tune! This film will getcha if you let it!

I can't claim to be a fan of Bette Midler, and I bought this DVD solely because of David Hyde Pierce being in it. So I didn't have too high expectations for it. But the movie actually turned out to be quite alright.

The story is about Jacqueline (played by Bette Midler) whose acting career is at a slump when she marries Irving (played by Nathan Lane) and her luck is about to change as he persists to push her forward to achieve more.

What makes the movie good is the combination of good cast, the acting and the storyline. It is a nice warm story that does have some really good moments. And I am glad that there was more focus on the storytelling and the characters than it was on having Bette Midler perform various songs, show tunes and dances.

Now, I said that I bought this movie simply because of David Hyde Pierce, and he delivered the goods. His character was fun and he performed with such elegance and grace. Just a shame that his role wasn't a bigger part in the movie. David Hyde Pierce is just a charming guy and has some impressive on-screen magnetism.

I think that fans of Bette Midler will enjoy this movie tremendously and might actually say "isn't she great" while watching it.

"Isn't She Great", however, is not the type of movie that really warrants more than a single viewing. In my opinion, it just doesn't have the contents to manage more than a single viewing from the audience. But again, if you are a Bette Midler fan, who knows, it might just be able to do so.