Soapdish.

Review #2533: Soapdish.

Cast: 

Sally Field (Celeste Talbert / "Maggie"), Kevin Kline (Jeffrey Anderson / "Dr. Rod Randall"), Robert Downey Jr (David Seton Barnes), Cathy Moriarty (Montana Moorehead / "Nurse Nan"), Elisabeth Shue (Lori Craven / "Angelique"), Whoopi Goldberg (Rose Schwartz), Teri Hatcher (Ariel Maloney / "Dr. Monica Demonico"), Garry Marshall (Edmund Edwards), Kathy Najimy (Tawny Miller), Arne Nannestad (Burton White), and Paul Johansson (Blair Brennan / "Bolt") Directed by Michael Hoffman.

Review: 

Who doesn't love a good soap opera? I vaguely remember seeing a bit of soap operas when I was younger (I'm told Passions had a town witch?) but parodies of soap operas have been around since what, Soap (the nighttime parody that ran in the late 1970s)? Apparently, the original impetus for what became Soapdish was formed during production of Steel Magnolias (1989), as writer Robert Harling had a handful of conversations with Sally Field and Alan Greisman, a producer and Field's husband at the time (apparently, Sigourney Weaver was at one point considered for the lead role before rejecting it, a move she regretted). Originally tabbed with Herbert Ross to direct at TriStar, it eventually shifted to Paramount, with a few other changes as well Andrew Bergman (who stated that he did not visit the set much) gave re-writes to the script. Of note is that Aaron Spelling served as a co-producer (yes, in between an executive producer on shows such as The Love Boat and Dynasty*, Spelling dabbed in producing, with this being his last one as a producer before being an executive producer for The Mod Squad [1999] and Charlie's Angels [2000]). This was the fifth feature film directed by Michael Hoffman who actually had studied at Boise State University before earning a Rhodes Scholarship that led to him studying Renaissance literature and eventually became involved in drama. Hoffman served as a co-founder of both the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and the Oxford University Film Foundation; his first feature was made at Oxford with Privileged (1982). Made on a budget of $25 million, the movie was a light success with audiences. Honestly, I had this film on the shelf as part of a three-pack (where it was somehow lapped in with Book Club [2018] and The First Wives Club [1996]) for a few years, so there's that.

 

Sure, it's a light farce that has a few garish colors with its outfitting at times (as designed by Nolan Miller of Dynasty fame that you can see in select shots here), and sure, it moves along with a quick pace at 97 minutes...and that's all good with me. It is a dazzling affair wrapped in the odd quirks that come with big stars and bigger egos that lends itself to plenty of humor from people who seem pretty game. At the helm is Field (already a bit familiar in comedy for those who watch, say, Smokey and the Bandit every year like I do*) in a role that lets her have a chance to play a goofy pampered oddball that is affectionately entertaining. She clearly had enjoyment at doing a slapsticky type of farce that could've just as easily been played as a pathetic clown but instead has a plucky type of charm to laugh along with in the wide variety of moments that come with being a name that ages by the Hollywood minute while real-life drama and soap drama really can just crash together. The best little scene might be with Goldberg and Field exchanging in a little game of egoboosting when the former pretends to recognize the latter at the mall to the surprised glee of a handful of fans (everyone loves a scene-chewer). Kline actually had a bit of experience with soaps via a brief run on Search for Tomorrow, so it probably makes sense that he said this role was akin to playing a "psychotic", which seems apt for someone basically given some room to play a neat little ham. Of course the real chewer of scenery in delightfulness is Moriarty, who clicks into place in ravenous conniving energy from the jump, one who takes (nearly*) everything in stride. There are highlights from rest of the cast in neat little quirks that come through, such as the brief dazzling nature of Hatcher*, the charmingly smarmy Downey Jr, the relatively normal charm of Shue, the all-too brief fun of seeing Marshall/Fisher riff on the usual privileged executive or the beleaguered Goldberg. It's a likable movie with plenty of goofy little moments of seeing people have fun with the inner workings of "the right shot", "the right script", "the right thing" all going to hell at the whims of basically who talked last or pulled rank the best. By the time the movie rumbles to its conclusion involving offbeat revelations and a plausible enough sell of life basically moving along to the next season of gossip and looking for the next thing to chase. As a whole, Soapdish is a charmer that dishes out enough little moments of amusement to keep the viewer soaped up for a fun time.

 

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*I was going to mention 7th Heaven in the "hey, remember this show?" but I feel that mentioning the show starring an actual pervert seems a bit much.

*I know Field is a two-time Academy Award winner and all that, but, yeah, Smokey is the one I think about when I think of Field first, which I probably should rectify. At least I don't think of her as a flying nun.

*I don't understand the criticism of the transgender character being revealed to be the villain. What, are transgender people supposed to be saints in every film ever? 

*And as we all know from Seinfeld, "they're real...and they're spectacular." I will say that if I had to consider watching slowly watching a TV show from start to end from the 2000s, Desperate Housewives would be on the shortlist. No, really.

A League of their Own.

Review #1500: A League of their Own.

Cast: 
Tom Hanks (Jimmy Dugan), Geena Davis (Dorothy "Dottie" Hinson), Lori Petty (Kit Keller), Madonna (Mae Mordabito), Rosie O'Donnell (Doris Murphy), Jon Lovitz (Ernie Capadino), David Strathairn (Ira Lowenstein), Garry Marshall (Walter Harvey), Bill Pullman (Bob Hinson), Anne Ramsay (Helen Haley), Megan Cavanagh (Marla Hooch), Freddie Simpson (Ellen Sue Gotlander), Tracy Reiner (Betty "Spaghetti" Horn), Bitty Schram (Evelyn Gardner), Renée Coleman (Alice "Skeeter" Gaspers), and Ann Cusack (Shirley Baker) Directed by Penny Marshall.

Review:
"I hadn't worked with so many women before. I thought it was something I should do. But I wasn't doing it just to do a women's picture. The problems as they're presented in the movie apply to both men and women. It's about, "Don't be ashamed of your talents." It's a universal thing."

It should figure that at least one good comedy is featured here involving the Marshall family. Older brother Garry rose from joke writer to television that morphed into developing television programs, with such shows as The Odd Couple, Happy Days, and Laverne & Shirley before going into film direction. As for Penny, she had grown from a childhood of tap dancing to small parts on film and television before being given substantial work with Garry's teleivision series, with the most prominent being her starring role on Laverne & Shirley that ran from 1976 to 1983. Encouragement from her brother led to an interest in directing (starting with an episode of Working Stiffs along with a few episodes of her own show). Her first feature Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) was a mixed hit, but Big (1988) proved a major critical and audience hit. Marshall was inspired by a 1987 documentary she had seen about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which she had not heard of before. She sought out the creators of the work - Kim Wilson and Kelly Candaele (whose mother Helen Callaghan played for five years in the league) in developing the story while Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz (responsible for scripts such as Splash and City Slickers) developed the screenplay.

Technically speaking, this is not a straight historical film about the AAGPBL, which went by various names that started with referring to it as softball (since the league was trying to draw on the popularity of women's softball, since both used underhand pitching) before adding and then removing professional from the title for a league that ultimately lasted from 1943 to 1954, which really did have the players play in short outfits along with tight restrictions on what they could do socially (imagine giving an athlete ettiquite classes today), with the famed Wrigley Field indeed serving as the initial tryout location in real life. True, there would be a sale by its head to an entrepenur who felt he could do just as well in operating the league as he did with advertising Philip K. Wrigley's products along with the league - Arthur Meyerhoff. Obviously the winner of the championship did not result from something as silly as a plate collision  - in fact, Racine won the title the first year over Kenosha in a sweep. The "induction" scene at the end involving the Baseball Hall of Fame is tricky - it wasn't so much an induction but just a permanent exhibit featuring players. Of course we aren't here to talk about history, the reason I had interest in the film is simple - my love of baseball, the definitive American sport for everyone, featuring actors that had to have at least some talent in baseball to participate in the film (injuries still happened from mishaps on the field, as one could expect). Where the film clicks best is in getting some laughs within its baseball trappings, which shine gradually over a film that while admittedly lengthy at just a bit over two hours is still a crowdpleaser. Hanks grabs the attention once the baseball action slides into the first quarter, and he does a pretty good job in lending tempered amusement with his natural treating of the dialogue (the crying in baseball one is the easiest to cite becuase of how catchy it is). Anyone who can lend a decent hand in acting and playing a decent game of baseball gets a nod in my book, so it figures Davis does the best job in that regard, confident and entertaining whether on the diamond or away from it that makes for spiriting/sparring moments with others like Petty or Hanks. As for Petty, she does well with the material, resoundant and interesting to see among others with brimming rivalry that she handles fine. Others in the cast prove fine with their moments, like a quirky Madonna and her pal O'Donnell or a solid bit from Lovitzl or resourcefulness from Strathairn and Marshall. It generally works best when dealing with building its baseball action with quirky lines about trying to play and live with these folks along with the rules that go with it, with the interpersonal stuff proving fine - we are talking about a fictionalized story with a real league, after all. As long as it generates interest in the true AAGPBL, it can do what it pleases. On the whole, it isn't a surprise that this proved a hit nearly three decades ago, as it proves diverting with humor and heart to generate a fine mix of fact and fiction that serves any audience well in good entertainment.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.