Postcards from the Edge (B+ or 3/4 stars)
Powerhouses Meryl Streep & Shirley MacLaine star in director Mike Nichols's 'Postcards from the Edge' - a Hollywood celebrity memoirs comedy/drama from 1990 written by actress Carrie Fisher {about her own relationship with star mother, Debbie Reynolds}. Suzanne Vale (Streep) is a stressed, self-doubting actress forced to enter a drug rehab after overdosing on Percodan. While being treated, she shows herself to be a spoiled, selfish woman whose quick, acerbic wit is used as a defense mechanism. Following her release, Suzanne discovers that the insurers of her next film have a requirement.
Their decree: she must to live with an accountable person during the shooting. And so, she moves in with her boozy, domineering mother, Doris Mann (MacLaine), a musical comedy star of the 1950s/60s. This movie is right-on with its scathing portrait of Hollywood's addictions. At one point Suzanne even admits, "I don't want life to imitate reality -- I want life to be art". Although the plot takes jabs at trifling producers, immoral business managers, & cheesy movie-makers, the true emotional ardor of the film comes from its distinct & potent portrait of a difficult mother/daughter relationship.
Meryl Streep gives a multi-textured performance as Suzanne, a woman whose biggest struggle is to accept her immense acting talent & to step-out from the shadow of her suffocating movie star mother. And Shirley MacLaine is captivating as basket-case Doris, the glamorous, but aging Hollywood survivor who must finally face-up to her alcoholism, her physical degeneration, & learn to take a step back so that her daughter Suzanne - whom she loves very much - can shine. MacLaine's highlight scene occurs when she absolutely tears into a rendition of Stephen Sondheim's "I'm Still Here". I'd have nominated her for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and, was surprised when she ultimately missed the cut. Tough year, though.
Meryl Streep would get nominated, as would Shel Silverstein for his fun Oscar-nominated original song, "I'm Checkin' Out"; which Streep would sing. Also excellent is Carly Simon's music score. And I believe that Carrie Fisher deserved an Oscar nod for her screenplay which is directly based on her semi-autobiographical memoirs. Others stars in the vast cast include: Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Rob Reiner, Mary Wickes, Richard Dreyfuss, Annette Bening, Conrad Bain, Simon Callow, CCH Pounder, Michael Ontkean, Oliver Platt & more. 'Postcards from the Edge' is funny, touching, sharp, insightful, and goes to show that it is never too late for mothers & daughters to accept each other's flaws & redeem their relationship.
Their decree: she must to live with an accountable person during the shooting. And so, she moves in with her boozy, domineering mother, Doris Mann (MacLaine), a musical comedy star of the 1950s/60s. This movie is right-on with its scathing portrait of Hollywood's addictions. At one point Suzanne even admits, "I don't want life to imitate reality -- I want life to be art". Although the plot takes jabs at trifling producers, immoral business managers, & cheesy movie-makers, the true emotional ardor of the film comes from its distinct & potent portrait of a difficult mother/daughter relationship.
Meryl Streep gives a multi-textured performance as Suzanne, a woman whose biggest struggle is to accept her immense acting talent & to step-out from the shadow of her suffocating movie star mother. And Shirley MacLaine is captivating as basket-case Doris, the glamorous, but aging Hollywood survivor who must finally face-up to her alcoholism, her physical degeneration, & learn to take a step back so that her daughter Suzanne - whom she loves very much - can shine. MacLaine's highlight scene occurs when she absolutely tears into a rendition of Stephen Sondheim's "I'm Still Here". I'd have nominated her for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and, was surprised when she ultimately missed the cut. Tough year, though.
Meryl Streep would get nominated, as would Shel Silverstein for his fun Oscar-nominated original song, "I'm Checkin' Out"; which Streep would sing. Also excellent is Carly Simon's music score. And I believe that Carrie Fisher deserved an Oscar nod for her screenplay which is directly based on her semi-autobiographical memoirs. Others stars in the vast cast include: Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Rob Reiner, Mary Wickes, Richard Dreyfuss, Annette Bening, Conrad Bain, Simon Callow, CCH Pounder, Michael Ontkean, Oliver Platt & more. 'Postcards from the Edge' is funny, touching, sharp, insightful, and goes to show that it is never too late for mothers & daughters to accept each other's flaws & redeem their relationship.