Review of Soapdish (1991) by Donna S — 09 Aug 2009

Not the best film out there, but good for the cast.

Basically, it's about Celeste Talbert (Sally Field, who, for someone who is famous for her dramatic acting, is actually quite funny in this film), an aging and somewhat egotistical soap opera actress. Her best friend is one of the show's writers, Rose Schwartz (Whoopi Goldberg, who is fantastic as always). While many people associated with the show are trying to find a way to get Celeste off of the show - these people include an ambitious supporting actress on the show (Cathy Moriarty, who did alright), another supporting actress on the show (Teri Hatcher, who was quite funny), and the show's producer (Robert Downey, Jr., who does good but is far above roles liek this) - Celeste is reunited with her niece Lori (Elisabeth Shue, who gets progressively better throughout the film)... as a turn of events, those conspiring against Celeste decide to bring Jeffrey Anderson (Kevin Kline, who did pretty good), a past lover of Celeste's, back onto the show. And so the plot thickens...

One admirable thing about Soapdish is that it doesn't try to be something that it's not. It's a mild, light-humored comedy that pokes a little bit of fun at the television industry... mainly soaps. The performances are good and it's all worth watching I guess, but it's not anything I'd really urge someone to watch. It's a good movie for a Saturday afternoon when it's the only movie on TV.

Good, but not recommended.