For the Boys - Hier, aujourd'hui et pour toujours

Production assistant Jeff Brooks (Arye Gross) tries to convince Dixie Leonhard (Bette Midler) to join Eddie Sparks (James Caan) on his TV special. Dixie is bitter and recounts her history with Eddie. During WWII, Dixie is overjoyed to sing with Eddie. On the other hand, he is dismissive at first and angry at her crude humor. Art Silver (George Segal) convinces them to be an entertainment duo. Dixie's husband gets killed in the war. During Korea, they get caught up in the fighting. Art is blacklisted and Eddie is forced to fire him. Dixie's son Danny starts rebelling and sees Eddie as a father figure. Danny joins the military for Vietnam and Dixie blames Eddie for his lost.

The construction is very flat and biopic-like. The problem is that it's not a biography and it doesn't have that extra appeal. There is very little intensity and the drama has no tension. The central conflict centers on Danny and yet he is no more than a prop. This movie should be mostly about the conflict between Eddie and Dixie over Danny. That's the only place where the drama has any tension.

Bette Midler proves that she can single-handedly make a film worth watching in FOR THE BOYS, an overlong but rewarding comedy-drama with music which chronicles the relationship between singer Dixie Leonard and comic Eddie Sparks (James Caan), a character clearly patterned after Bob Hope, which begins during a WWII USO tour and concludes in the present where the glamorously aging couple are being reunited for a television special. Bette received her second Best Actress Oscar nomination for her commanding performance here, She lights up the screen whether Dixie is upstaging Eddie in front of thousands of troops during WWII, cursing out sponsors during her and Eddie's television show, or tearing Eddie a new one when she thinks he is trying to steal her son away from her. As expected, she makes the most of her musical moments in the film with "Stuff Like that There" and "Come Rain or Come Shine" as standouts. Caan works hard in the role of Eddie Sparks, managing to make a pretty despicable character rather likable for the majority of the story. The only big mistake here was director Mark Rydell's casting of his real-life son, Christopher in the pivotal role of Dixie's adult son. Rydell's lifeless performance is a major detriment to an important part of the film, but for the most part, FOR THE BOYS is grand entertainment, thanks to the Divine Miss M.

The movie is based during two wars and the relationship between two USO singer. Midler and Caan do a wonderful job at entertaining and showing the colors of the characters. Although it can be very sappy at times, it still is a movie I think even men can enjoy. The soundtrack is quite a experience as well.

A wonderful epic on war, modern American history, entertainment, and music. There is hardly a subject it doesn't touch on, from the 1950s Blacklist, to the antiwar movement in the 1960s, to the exploitation of talent, and to betrayal of friendship in politics and in marriage. All the performances are superb: Midler is extraordinary--her singing, acting, dancing and characterization are peerless; James Caan in one of the finest roles in his post-Godfather career, conveys the talented smarmy-but-sentimental Eddie Sparks; George Segal in a finely nuanced role as Caan's writer, and Arye Gross, who sets the entire backdrop for the story, all are excellent. On top of a plot-line that never sags, we are treated to a musical feast: Many old standards and obscure songs with orchestrations and vocal arrangements that are all first-rate, and the performances are flawless. The dramatization and attention to detail in the various historical periods is accurate and fascinating. Some may find the film too sentimental or simplistic: but it is a film, not an historical study, and sentimentality is different from sentiment. And finally, a movie that not only offers great music, great comedy, a story on an epic scale with characters that are realistic and has you crying in three or four magnificently poignant scenes is truly rare.

"For The Boys" is the story of two people - the irrepressible Dixie Leonard (Bette Midler) and the instantly dislikable but ever popular Eddie Sparks (James Caan). Set against the backdrop of wars in which the United States has been involved, the film moves from station to station as the pair entertain the boys while they bicker and fight amongst themselves.

The film starts with an aged Midler telling a studio assistant (Arye Gross) her tale, starting in the forties with World War II, moving through the was in Korea and climaxing in Vietnam. Along the way, she gets to sing a few classic tunes, including "Stuff Like That There" and "P.S. I Love You, as part of the stage act of comedian Eddie Sparks.

Bette Midler delivers a fine performance as the embittered Dixie Leonard who has seen it all in fifty odd years in the business. She layers her performance with emotion after emotion and has the gift of bringing out that quality in her fellow actors. The highlight of this film is her understated performance of "In My Life" at the small Vietnamese camp - truly a moment when the world stops turning and we are graced with a glimpse of heaven. James Caan, playing a quintessential son of a bitch, is less comfortable in his role but has some fine moments opposite his dynamic co-star.

The purpose of this film is not to document the wars which form such an integral backdrop to the plot. It succeeds primarily as a story of people - their suffering and their joy is real and it affects the audience in no uncertain terms. You will either love or hate this movie. Either way, take the time to decide - its worth the screening even if only for the divine Miss M.