Review of The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) by David A — 18 Apr 2010

(from The Watermark 11/23/96).

In this delightfully intellectual romantic comedy, Bridges is a mathematics professor who finds he has fallen for one pretty face too many and has little fulfillment to show for it. So he places a personal ad for a companion, stating explicitly that looks are not important. Streisand is a romantic literature professor at the same university who is frumpy, overweight and unattractive, and is exactly what Bridges is looking for. They court, and eventually marry, even though Bridges clearly states that he does not want sex to be a part of their marriage. When Babs realizes that she can't settle for a relationship without physicality, she makes some changes to improve her appearance, and builds up the confidence to state her own demands of Bridges.

As the director of the film, Barbra's use of costume padding and almost no makeup on herself for most of the film should lay to rest the simple-minded assertion that she is vain, self-absorbed, and narcissistic. The screenplay by Richard LaGravanese (The Fisher King, The Bridges of Madison County) is witty and tightly-woven. Every small element is there for a reason, and eventually takes on greater importance as the film develops. Marry it with Streisand's meticulous direction, and the final product is irresistibly intelligent, charming and satisfying. The film is in no way a Cinderella story: it makes it clear that being the "pretty one" isn't all that it's cracked to be, but thinking yourself to be ugly is no better. And in another non-vain vein, Barbra doesn't hoard all of the film's best moments for herself: Bacall is a thorough delight as Streisand's catty old mother. She gets the smartest lines, and her sardonically regal performance as the beauty of by-gone years is Oscar-worthy.

Whatever anyone may say about Barbra, her talents as a director cannot be ignored. It may take a project that doesn't put her in front of the camera to prove it to everybody, but perhaps that is the next step after doing a musical (Yentl), an emotional drama (The Prince of Tides), and now, a lovely character study in which two smart people fight the age-old struggle between head and heart.