Soapdish (1991)

Though this movie did decent box-office business, it was never as funny as it should have been or as clever as it thought it was. The film is set behind the scenes at The Sun Also Sets, a soap opera starring Sally Field that is suffering a ratings slump. To lure the audience back, the producers resurrect a dead character, played by Kevin Kline, with whom Field was once a lover of but is now at odds (and helped exile to dinner theater, where he is first glimpsed playing Willy Loman). Written by Andrew Bergman and Robert Harling, the script has its funny moments but never manages to string them together, despite a cast that includes Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Downey Jr., Cathy Moriarty, and Carrie Fisher. --Marshall Fine Amazon.com essential video

One of the great romantic comedies

Comedy is a dicey business. For some, it isn't funny unless it's current and political. To others it's all about how people get along together. Luckily, this movie gives everyone a chance to laugh. While this is a romantic comedy, with all of the usual "boy meets/rejects/gets rejected by/reunites with girl" plots, it is also a timeless look at the business of television, soap operas in particular. The only indication that this movie might not be current is the over-the-top 80s wardrobe.

Also, the cast certainly contributes to the experience. Just watching Robert Downey Jr., Sally Field, Carrie Fisher, Kevin Kline, Elizabeth Shue, Terry Hatcher, Whoopie Goldberg, Garry Marshall and Cathy Moriarty tear up the scenery is a complete treat.

You won't regret owning this one. November 18, 2008

Just a really funny movie!

So silly, so funny -- the near-sighted Kevin Kline trying to read his cue cards (bran flavor? brake fluid? brain fever!), Whoopie Goldberg's exasperated writer (what do you mean bring him back? He was de-capitated! How am I going to write for someone without a head?!). Great cast, funny funny movie. October 9, 2008

Life imitating soap imitating life...

Don't listen to the naysayer's and haters out there; `Soapdish' is hysterical from start to finish. Yes, this is a golden comedy that works so often you forgive its small faults and minor missteps for the big picture is perfectly satisfying.

Okay, so, let's get down to it. The film tells the story of Celeste Talbert, a huge star on a Soap Opera that has seriously been running for years. Her co-star Montana Moorehead is dying for a larger role, so much so that she would de anything to get Celeste off the show. This would include tempting the shows producer David Seton Barnes with her goodies (um, goodies?). When Talbert's niece winds up as an extra on the show things look like they are always falling in Celeste's favor, but when the show rewrites in her ex-lover Jeffery Anderson everything starts to unravel.

This film is an actor's goldmine, littered with comedic performances that are brilliantly fleshed out and inspired. At the helm of this ship is Sally Field, who in my opinion delivers one of the greatest performances of her career. What is so awesome about each performance, Field's in particular, is that they perfectly fit in that mode of acting so that their real life persona is almost as ridiculous as their Soap-star persona. Filed marvelously portrays all of Celeste's idiosyncrasies with reckless abandon and draws her too us. Kevin Kline is a gem as Jeffrey, and Robert Downey Jr. is hilarious (just love this guy) as the overzealous Barnes. The film belongs to Cathy Moriarty though. She manages to make Montana the most villainous yet intriguing character in the film (not to mention her all too obvious secret that dares to reveal itself at the wrong moments). Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Shue also deliver nice supporting performances too, Goldberg owning each scene like she always does.

The real winner here is the script, which pits real life against the Soap world, which is really imitating life to the extreme, and what works is that `Soapdish' makes it's `real life' moments so much more interesting than it's `Soap Opera' moments. As the actor's lives start to unravel in front of the camera we see them going in and out of character and we see the thin line between reality and fiction.

In the end I strongly recommend this film. It has a few faults, sure, but the sum of its parts creates one hugely refreshing and entertaining film that is sure to keep you laughing and have you begging for more. Field and Moriarty are pure laugh-riots, and the rest of the cast stay right in toe to create a surefire crowd pleaser. September 15, 2008

Thumbs Down

I like the idea of this movie more than the movie itself. The idea here is sort of soap opera within a soap opera parody. The problem is that it's a one joke movie and once you get the joke - that the personal lives of cast and crew of a soap opera began to parallel the characters they play on television - the joke is then repeated endlessly until it is no longer funny. We are supposed to find it amusing to hear the annoying cast and crew of the soap lie, cheat and yell and scream at each other to the point where it's nauseating. Sally Fields overacts in her role as over the hill actress, Celeste Talbert, whose on screen characters are known for being tragedy queens, when her real live isn't much better. Celeste recalls having a daughter from 20 years earlier by an actor who was written off the show and out of her life at that time as well. His character is resurrected, (literally) on the show. He re-enters her life and after a while it's hard to tell where the characters end on screen and where the off screen lives of these people take over. It's also hard to care. I realize that the idea was to parody the ridiculous story lines of real life soaps, but an hour and a half of this is too much for anybody to have to sit through. The cast and crew yelling and screaming at each other both on and off the screen is more annoying than funny. The movie is just not funny and even though it has it's moments, Sally Field, Whoopi Goldberg and the other big name cast are wasted here as this could have been done better and funnier by the cast and crew of Saturday Night Live. Thumbs down for me. September 3, 2008

A Must Watch

Great romantic Comedy. Great plot, a little dark at times, which you'll love. What a cast! Really, you need to see this flick! June 24, 2008

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