La vie est un téléroman

Years ago I did follow a soap on TV. So I was curious about this movie, and I was so rewarded for finding it. It's a marvelous spoof of soaps, with jealousies, the usual actors' insecurities, and all sorts of lovely excesses. But more than anything - an amazing cast and an incredible script. How did someone get all those top-notch actors to play in such a silly sort of movie? And how did this little movie get writers to write the perfect lines? I never hear anyone talk about this movie or even admit hearing of it, but it's marvelous and I highly recommend seeing it. Sometimes I'll throw it on while doing housecleaning, and end up sitting on the couch, watching, laughing and thoroughly enjoying the whole wonderful thing. Many congrats to all who made it.

I swear you couldn't make this stuff up . . . and yet somebody did. That's "Soapdish", an off-the-rails comedy that features, well, pretty much everyone with a pulse in early '90s Hollywood. It's chock full of talent, cheerfully playing to the cheap seats (as Sally Field engages in one conniption after another; it's a joy).

There's almost something wholesome about the tawdry subject matter; and as dirty as these characters are playing, it somehow ends up being good clean fun.

7/10

This film takes place within a soap opera set and the plot here is a soap opera within a soap opera. I'm told by some that there are some truly pungent observations by those who created this film about show business. There are the talented ones whose egos constantly need feeding as we see with the actors on this soap opera. And there are the ones on the business side who are as devious and crafty as what you see here.

Sally Field is the lead character in a popular daytime soap opera and it looks like she could go on forever. But the villainess in this soap opera Cathy Moriarty wants to take her down in the worst way. She conspires with the show's producer Robert Downey, Jr. with all kinds of nefarious schemes to bring Field down.

Moriarty goes overboard in a part that calls for it. Watching her and Downey scheme and plan was like watching Wile E. Coyote keep trying to catch the Road Runner. With a bit Cruela DeVille in Moriarty's character as well.

As for Downey, in future editions of Webster's Dictionary when it comes to the definition of a weasel, you'll see a picture of Downey. The kind of friend who will always let you down when you need it if it suits him. He's got his libido in an uproar over Moriarty and the climax causes him some concern, but he gets over it.

Some other folks worthy of mention in Soapdish are Kevin Kline as an egotistical actor who Sally Field had some history with, Carrie Fisher as the hard as nails producer and Whoopi Goldberg as Field's writer and confidante.

And if Moriarty is Wile E. Coyote, Sally Field is our eternal Rad Runnerwho comes up smiling every time. For the public Field borrows a bit her early roles of Gidget and The Flying Nun. In private, especially in scenes with Goldberg Field really cut loose.

Not one word will you get concerning Soapdish's climax where Field bares all.. But i's worth the wait.

The review is dedicated to Steven Hubbard who is one big fan of this film.

Way back in 1955, the British made a comedy called Simon and Laura, with Peter Finch and the brilliant Kay Kendall. To this day, it stands as one of the finest examples of British comedy and, more particularly, about how television sitcoms become so popular. It was, and is, an excellent example also of self-referential cinema.

So also Soapdish, a film I'd never heard about until a few nights ago when I caught it on late TV. I was a bit dubious at first simply because comedy is so difficult to do well, as you know.

However, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to watch a very clever satire about daytime American TV. In fact, it's been a while since I laughed so heartily. So, if you like satire, I'd recommend you see it.

The main actors – Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Robert Downey and Cathy Moriarty – quite simply do an excellent job, revealing just how bitchy and shallow the business of acting is. As I watched it, I kept thinking to myself: just how much of this bitchiness carries over into real life? That is, if actors ever do have a real life? As you probably know, Peter Sellers, for example, was notorious for hiding his true persona behind a multitude of characters, so that nobody really knew the real person. So, as I watched Sally Field playing Celeste Talbot playing Maggie, I thought again about that earlier British film with Kay Kendall playing Laura playing a character in a TV sitcom opposite Peter Finch...

Is it any wonder that some actors have nervous breakdowns? And that feeling was crystallized when Celeste finally confronts her daughter (Lori, played by Elizabeth Shue) and, in an emotional moment, repeats the fictional lines she'd used, on a prior episode of her daytime soap, when confronting her fictional daughter in that show! Are you confused? Well, it's not all like that, but the dialog is stunning for originality, comedy, bitchiness, anger, depravity, duplicity, and even...love.

The story? Well, there are many stories in this film, all interwoven, and which all come together at the end (of course – but not like a Robert Altman film, okay!), and not all of them are resolved finally. Life's not like that anyway, right? The pace is almost frenetic, and you really do have to watch and listen carefully to catch all the sight gags and subtle jokes. Spend the 97 minutes from your life and watch it; you won't regret the time usage.

The rest of the cast all perform well, although I've never taken much to Whoopi Goldberg. Perhaps the funniest exchanges are between Robert Downey and Cathy Moriarty and, for my money, the latter steals so many scenes from others, she gets my vote as the outstanding player. I kid you not, she gives the term bitch an entirely new face...

'Soapdish' is one of the best, yet least well remembered comedies of the 1990's. The film revolves around the various off-camera drama's that occur behind the scenes of a cheaply produced Daytime Soap Opera. The first of the film's various impressive strengths is it's fantastic A-List cast. 'Soapdish' features some of the greatest actors and actresses of it's era.

The film is superbly led by Sally Field, as the neurotic ageing actress Celeste Talbert (She famously throws a tantrum when put in a costume that makes her look like "Gloria F*CKING Swanson!"). Her supporting cast reads like a who's-who of 90's Movie Greats! Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Downey Jr, Teri Hatcher, Kevin Kline and Kathy Najimy all elevate the film greatly. Goldberg is predictably excellent, whilst Downey Jr.'s and Hatcher's performances hint at the comedic excellence they would later achieve.

In terms of writing, the film is outstanding. There is a really modern edge to the script, which strays into the wonderfully bizarre on several occasions. There also several visual gags that are quite ahead of their time. In some ways, the film is reminiscent of Mel Brooks at his best and frequently reminded this reviewer of 'High Anxiety' (1977). Much of the film's humour hinges on it's often scathing, but pretty accurate, representations of daytime television and of neurotic and pretentious actors. For example, The extras casting session featuring the exploitative executive played by Carrie Fisher, is both hilarious and honest.

'Soapdish' is, for my money, one of the very best comedies Hollywood produced during the 1990's. It's excellent script and A-Class cast make it a must-see. It's hard not to love this film after it's kept you laughing for 90 minutes.