Review of Soapdish (1991) by Edith N — 08 Sep 2006
This is, in fact, a genuinely [i]awful[/i] movie, plotwise. It's ridiculous. It's unbelievable. It's hopelessly cliched.
But, of course, it's [i]supposed[/i] to be. It is its own parody. It's a parody of soap operas, and you can't parody that without a really, really dumb plot.
Sally Field as "America's Sweetheart" is clearly bipolar. Carrie Fisher is equally clearly a nymphomaniac. Kevin Kline is, well, Kevin Kline. And then there's Teri Hatcher, not merely pre-[i]Desperate Housewives[/i] but pre-[i]Lois and Clark[/i], in a [i]very[/i] small role. Whoopi Goldberg as the most stable person having anything to do with the production. And then there's Cathy Moriarty as Montana Morehead . . . sort of.
Oh, this is ridiculous and overblown and improbable. But it's [i]hugely[/i] funny. Sally Field leaks from the eyes about every five minutes--less, if you only count the moments she's actually onscreen. I have nothing but hope for Robert Downey Jr.'s character, but he's so messed up by Montana that I doubt it.
I have to say, Celeste's (Sally Field's) form of therapy is actually not that bad. I mean, yeah, she needs real therapy, too, but being surrounded by her fans can't hurt her self esteem, either. I figure half the reason Rose (Whoopi Goldberg) goes for it is that it makes Celeste easier to deal with after, and that's not a bad thing at all.
Oh, yeah--and Ben Stein gets a bit part, too. Like who [i]isn't[/i] in this?
This review of Soapdish (1991) was written by Edith N on 08 Sep 2006.
Soapdish has generally received positive reviews.
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