Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story

I thought this movie was somewhat interesting, for one reason: Given the fact that to actually +portray+ Richard Burton himself is a task to daunt the bravest -- to be blunt, I'd have said it couldn't be done at all -- I was surprised to find that Angus MacFadyen turned in not so poor a performance in this role. His size and build appear to be similar to Burton's; though the face is not really the same, neither is it very wide of the mark. The real test, of course, is that famous voice -- and here, also, he does a creditable job of impersonation. MacFadyen, in this role, actually to some extent achieves the "suspension of disbelief" so necessary to a believable story.

An excellent tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, in which Ray Wise all but steals the show as Mike Todd, and Nigel Havers does a memorable portrayal of Michael Wilding. This movie may appear to some critics as overly sympathetic to Miss Taylor, but how could it do otherwise? Sherilyn Fenn is the only woman in her generation who could have portrayed Elizabeth Taylor so convincingly and so well.

While I found this film watchable and at times interesting, it jumped so quickly from year to year at some points, it was obvious that they glossed over things. Fenn's acting is credible but 'Richard Burton' made me cringe. His accent was affected and he sounded silly while trying to sound profound. I wish the film would have probed a bit more beyond the Hollywood cliche of the lonely star.

I tuned into this movie, hoping that it would maybe, just maybe make me LIKE Elizabeth Taylor. Boy was I wrong. Miss Taylor, as beautiful as she may have been on the outside, was not the same on the inside. She was an alcoholic and addicted to pain pills, not to mention she was addicted to men. As a huge Debbie Reynolds fan, this movie made me want to throw something at the screen when Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor began their affair together. Debbie and Elizabeth had been very good friends (Debbie and Eddie even named their second child Todd, after Elizabeth's husband Michael Todd who was supposedly Eddie's "best friend") and then Elizabeth and Eddie had to go off and sleep together after Mike's death. It totally lowered my respect for both of them. The only good thing I can say for Elizabeth Taylor is how she saved Montgomery Clift's life. That was truly wonderful. The movie was rather good, however... I do think that they could have gotten some better actors and actresses to play the part. (The girl playing Liz had a highly annoying voice and didn't remind me much of Ms. Taylor and the girl playing Debbie just maid Debbie look like TOO MUCH of a goody-goody/bumbling idiot.) Not the best, but a good movie... for Liz fans that is...

For the first half of the film, one is a bit sympathetic to Taylor. Her first husband appeared to be a beast. Her second husband was a bit better, but he was in the slow lane, while Liz was in the fast lane.

Her third husband, Michael Todd, seemed to be a perfect fit for her, but his premature demise, led to Liz losing all sense of propriety.

I found her affair and marriage to Eddie Fisher to be the zenith of her moral demise. There is nothing lower than a best friend who betrays their best friend.

At that point in the fim, I lost all sympathy for Taylor, and found her subsequent marriage to RIchard Burton to be a match of overactive egos with severe personal issues acting out of convenience. Taylor was just a spoiled Hollywood brat who thought that children were just necessary bi-products of a marriage.- A sad tale, actually.