Featured Audience Ratings

• Cassie H

  
  A fairly good take at the life of the 60s but I didn't care for it very much.

• Randy T

  
  <i>Valley of the Dolls</i> follows the lives of three young women as they struggle to succeed in the cutthroat world of show business. Along the way they contend with drug abuse, alcoholism, adultery, abortion, Huntington's disease, suicide and Susan Hayward. In… More
  <i>Valley of the Dolls</i> follows the lives of three young women as they struggle to succeed in the cutthroat world of show business. Along the way they contend with drug abuse, alcoholism, adultery, abortion, Huntington's disease, suicide and Susan Hayward. In 1967 it's racy, risqué and controversial. In 2011 it seems exaggerated, sensationalized and preachy.

• AJ V

  
  Maybe it's a bit slow and we've seen this theme often, but this movie has something, it's very timely for the late sixties, and the cast is great. It's a good drama, even though some people think of it as campy now, I still like it.

• Drew S

  
  This is campy in a gentler way that most fans of camp are probably accustomed to, but the ridiculousness crackling beneath the surface is impossible to deny. The cast's incredible conviction in their material, all of them oblivious to how roundly awful it actually is, is what… More
  This is campy in a gentler way that most fans of camp are probably accustomed to, but the ridiculousness crackling beneath the surface is impossible to deny. The cast's incredible conviction in their material, all of them oblivious to how roundly awful it actually is, is what truly sells Valley of the Dolls. Patty Duke in particular is a delight; never in a million years would you believe that this ham beyond hams was an Oscar winner, hollering her name at the top of her lungs in a filthy alley and clamoring feverishly for her "dolls." You have to commend her dedication, because she truly does embody the character. Unfortunately, that character is less an actress on the fringes of self-destruction as she thinks it is, and mostly just a ridiculous woman with a pill problem. Sharon Tate offers us a woman who the film is trying to tell us, against all visual and inscribed evidence, is not mentally retarded; the challenge we have believing it is its other exciting bit of characterization. The plot is ordinary and sort of tired, honestly, but the excitement comes out in how the little details interface with the big picture. I kind of love its woozy tightroping between luridity and prudishness. The film's total chagrin at nudity, breasts and sex in general (the total disdain for the French "nudie flick") seems kind of hilarious when it's exploiting feminine suffering in just about every other way possible. It's like, don't pretend you're too good to whip out some hoots every now and then. The movie's not misogynist, necessarily, inasmuch as any film with a female character encountering difficulty is, but its portraits aren't particularly flattering either. The only stable female character is a numbingly boring one, as if to suggest that a career-minded, anhedonistic woman is the only kind that can be successful. Gender politics aside, I don't really know if Valley of the Dolls was a very incisive look at Hollywood back in 1967, but I think its relative toothlessness in this day and age is pretty apparent. There's no doubt in my mind that shit like this still occurs, but the problems here feel endemic and our heroines are so chronically up against the wall that these people aren't really relatable. Poor Jennifer North runs across one of the most brutal streaks of bad luck ever committed to celluloid, but when you step back and look at it, it just reads as exploitative. And that's what I love about Valley of the Dolls: despite its delusions of grandeur, it isn't afraid to treat its characters like complete shit for no real reason. All this said, I still prefer Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. All the verve, twice the bizarreness.

• Jennifer X

  
  The more I watched the campier it got. Patty Duke's theatrics are hysterical; she always always reminds me of Helen Keller no matter how old she gets. Watching Sharon Tate makes me sad about her murder. Barbara Perkins' hair has a life of its own. But my goodness are all of… More
  The more I watched the campier it got. Patty Duke's theatrics are hysterical; she always always reminds me of Helen Keller no matter how old she gets. Watching Sharon Tate makes me sad about her murder. Barbara Perkins' hair has a life of its own. But my goodness are all of them gorgeous or what. This is...not a great movie by any shakes of the word but I really liked it anyhow. Although it IS sad how phenomenal the book was and how not phenomenal this film version is.

• Ginny  

  
  <center><i>"You've got to climb Mount Everest to reach the Valley of the Dolls. Its a brutal climb to reach that peak."</i><br><br><img… More
  <center><i>"You've got to climb Mount Everest to reach the Valley of the Dolls. Its a brutal climb to reach that peak."</i><br><br><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Tn3huAudp2U/Sdgx-xwm6OI/AAAAAAAACGQ/Oj7WnSBRrZU/S1600-R/ValleyOfTheDolls.jpg" width=190></center><br>Valley of the Dolls is the story of 3 women working in the different sectors of show business. It shows the glitz, the glamour, and the seedy underbelly of Broadway and the film industry, and oh.. ofcourse! Prescription drugs.<br><br>Well, for a 1967 film, I thought it was quite interesting. I thought a lot of Hollywood actors should re-watch this film to get their heads unclogged from their pill popping habits. <br><br>Patty Duke delivers a powerful, show stealling performance as Neely O'Harra. <br><br>Sharon Tate was so mezmerizing in this film, even the little flicker of her hands in the pool was so lovely to watch. <br><br>Barbara Parkins, I cant really say much of her film presence, I just thought that she was a plain beauty. I love her hairdo in this film! :P'<br><br><font size=1>Other Movie Info: Nominated for 5 awards, including a Satellite Award in 2006 for the Best Classic DVD.<br><br><font size=2><b>Genre: Classic, Drama<br>Director: Mark Robson</b>

• jay n

  
  Susan Hayward is great, tough as nails, Sharon Tate is touching, Lee Grant is fine in a small role, everything and everybody else is a mess. that can be very good or very bad depending on your mood.

• Lafe F

  
  Very much a product of its time. This movie is stuck in the 1960's and feels very soap-opera'ish; interesting for that element alone. The styles and fashions date it. The ladies' performances and situations are to be witnessed.

• Michael G

  
  Really sad but I loved it.

• Leanna E

  
  So bad, it's good! I love this tacky trash. The book is one of my all time favourites. I've always wanted a remake of this with Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears in the lead roles. How much fun would that be!

• Sarah P

  
  Pretty boring for the most part - it just didn't interest me in the least.

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