These Old Broads

The "Old Broads" were playing themselves of course (or at least their public image) and a fabulous sendup it is. I thought it all hilarious and cheers to the ladies for their sense of humor. Maybe Liz was rather much with her obviously phony Brooklyn accent but it fit in with the camp sensibility.

I can't imagine why anyone finds the scene in the gay bar objectionable since it's no more "real" than the rest of the movie and fits in with the plot IMHO.

It's not Shakespeare but who cares?

January 20, 2017: In view of the events surrounding the recent day-apart deaths of Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds, I think it's time to put out a deluxe DVD reissue of this TV movie.

When you have stars of this caliber, who needs a real plot? They do terrific send ups of themselves and the result is a funny, funny film. The fact that Reynolds and Taylor got together on screen makes the experience even more memorable.

Don't go in expecting Shakespeare ... but sit back and enjoy the inside jokes and the incredible talent of four of the living legends of Hollywood.

And whatever you do, ignore the snide comments of the adolescent male critics who panned this as a "geriatric" outing. These guys can't stand the idea of having older women who aren't ashamed of their bodies -- they'd prefer them all to go hide away so the young nubile and witless wonders can fill the screen.

I stumbled upon the 2001 movie "These Old Broads" by random chance in 2022, and seeing that the movie had such an impressive cast list, of course I had to sit down and watch it. And honestly, then I hadn't even ever heard about this movie from writers Carrie Fisher and Elaine Pope prior to watching it.

And I will say that "These Old Broads", from director Matthew Diamond, was actually a rather enjoyable movie. Its storyline was pretty straight forward and somewhat on the upbeat side. So yeah, "These Old Broads" was a rather uplifting and positive movie that will put you in a good mood.

It should be said that the cast ensemble in "These Old Broads" was amazing. The fact that they had these impressive talents from yester year together was just downright impressive. I mean, with the likes of Shirley MacLaine, Debbie Reynolds, Joan Collins and Elizabeth Taylor then you really have an ensemble of the greatest of movie divas ever to grace the screen. And the movie also had the likes of Jonathan Silverman, Nestor Carbonell, Peter Graves and Pat Crawford Brown on the cast list. So there is a lot of talents here. And it was fun to see Carrie Fisher show up, even if just for a mere ten seconds or so.

I was genuinely entertained by "These Old Broads" and I found it to be a nice surprise of a movie. If you haven't already seen "These Old Broads", then you certainly should do so if you get the chance.

My rating of "These Old Broads" lands on a six out of ten stars.

If you're fed up to the back teeth with pretty young things with silicone enhanced breasts and un-enhanced talent, this is the movie for you! The team of Collins, Reynolds, and McClaine are a laugh riot in their roles as mature actresses with less-than mature mentalities, libidinous tendecies, and old grudges. And speaking of mature...well...let's just say that most of the humor is a bit too hot for children. (Especially when Collins' Mobster boyfriend...Nah, I'm not givin' it away!)

Of the four female icons in the cast of These Old Broads only one so far at least has chosen this to be her last film. It could and should be the coda for the careers of Shirley MacLaine, Debbie Reynolds, Joan Collins, and Elizabeth Taylor.

The first three play aging film stars who co-starred in a musical that has become a cult item and has just had a smash hit re-release. What better than a nice television special reuniting the three.

Only problem is that they all can't stand each other. It's going to take someone of the skills of a Mideast peace negotiator to bring them all together. The catalyst might be Jonathan Silverman who is MacLaine's estranged, adopted son. Of course it turns out to be their agent, Elizabeth Taylor who deals from a financial point of view.

MacLaine, Collins, and Reynolds must have really been great sports about this female version of The Sunshine Boys. All the roles that Reynolds daughter Carrie Fisher wrote were such dead-on satires of each one of them. The three look like they're having a great old time spoofing themselves, it's positively infectious for the audience.

Of course the real highlight is at the beginning when Reynolds goes to see Taylor about the reunion. Today's audience cannot possibly appreciate all the innuendo because they weren't around in the Fifties when the Elizabeth Taylor-Eddie Fisher-Debbie Reynolds triangle was the number one news story in the nation. President Eisenhower was having trouble getting as much ink as the most famous movie love triangle ever. And that was only until the Richard Burton-Elizabeth Taylor-Eddie Fisher triangle topped that one.

You could never have imagined over 40 years later seeing Taylor and Reynolds on the screen together. Older, wiser, and sadder, they definitely came to a meeting of the minds about Eddie Fisher.

Collins and MacLaine don't lack for good material either, all of them are just fabulous. These Old Broads is an old stargazer's dream.