March 14, 2009
Interesting for the pop culture history but otherwise not so great.
Amanda Peet, Bette Midler, Christopher McDonald
Most people probably approached Isn't She Great looking for a screaming camp-fest, only to discover a surprisingly sincere love letter to trash-novelist Jacqueline Susann, author of Valley o...( read more
) and Once Is Not Enough. Bette Midler plays the brash, self-obsessed Susann, who started as a struggling actress yearning for fame and not too picky about what she was famous for. Fortunately, she catches the eye of personal manager Irving Mansfield (Nathan Lane), who seems to have no particular skills either but who is so passionately devoted to his client that he marries her. It's Irving who first suggests that Susann write a book about the sordid lives of celebrities and beautiful people, and Irving who pushes the book to publisher after publisher with dogged devotion. The movie lurches a bit in Susann's early life--it wants to approach the difficulties of Susann's life (an autistic son, breast cancer) with a mixture of sentimentality and irreverence, which doesn't always mesh--but once Valley of the Dolls finds a publisher, the movie finds its legs. The ever-dependable David Hyde Pierce plays the uptight WASP assigned to edit Susann's manuscript, and much mileage is gotten out of the conflict between Pierce's blue-blood manner and Midler's broad Jewish glitz. John Cleese and Stockard Channing also provide able support. Paul Rudnick's script shows a genuine affection for its heroine; Rudnick also wrote the screenplays for Addams Family Values and In and Out. --Bret Fetzer
DVD Release Date: July 18, 2000
Stats: 88 reviews
Your Rating
Flixster Reviews (88)
-
-
July 3, 2009one of the best comedies ive ever seen , its was soo good , and it was formed as a film almost like a drama , it was just great ... good job on Bette midler and Nathan lanes parts... good job :)
-
-
June 3, 2008Watched some clips and the trailer, and I can't wait to see the whole thing!
-
September 1, 2007based on the life of Jackie Susanne...wrote Valley Of the Dolls...I liked the part where (bette) was cussing out God for giving her cancer
-
-
-
June 29, 2007Could have been good, but seems they went more for a campy look instead of doing a real story.
-
Critic Reviews
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
January 1, 2000
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
Lane's sweetness, his naughty wiliness and his dapper charm all make his performance wonderful to watch. full review
Comments
-
July 28, 2008I really liked this movie. It is not a fall on the floor, laugh out loud movie, but it is still a good one. There are some funny parts and some parts that you should have a box of Kleenex handy. Bette Midler is great, and Nathan Lane is outstanding as always.
Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
All Rotten Tomatoes content is used under license from Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes, Certified Fresh, and the Tomatometer are the trademarks of Incfusion Corporation, d/b/a Rotten Tomatoes, a subsidiary of IGN Entertainment, Inc.
