Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds

This documentary was released ahead of schedule after the deaths of Carrie Fisher and of her mother Debbie Reynolds, a day later.

Bright Lights is an intimate portrait of two Hollywood legends. It is Reynolds who due to age and ill health was making a farewell as a performer. Her career spanned 70 years including Singin in the Rain.

Whereas Carrie Fisher is seen in this documentary trying to get in shape for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, if only she can keep of the Coke, the drink that is.

Debbie's son Todd Reynolds comes across as the most normal even though he managed to shoot himself in the leg as a kid. He talks about how for decades he and his mother wanted to get a museum going that would house all the Hollywood memorabilia that Debbie Reynolds collected. It included a chair once used by Elizabeth Taylor, a woman who married Eddie Fisher, the children's father.

Bright Lights was meant to be a tribute to Debbie Reynolds, she is seen incoherent at times like when she goes to Hollywood to collect a lifetime achievement award. When she travels in a casino she needs a mobility scooter.

However it also became a tribute to Carrie Fisher after her sudden death. She was always more open with the demons in her life, her bipolar and use of drugs. Her father's absenteeism from her life after he left the family for Elizabeth Taylor.

Carrie Fisher also likens her appearances in Star Wars conventions to lap dancing. A quick photo and autograph for cash, it was lucrative.

The documentary was a let down in its editing to show both of them slightly out of whack. Both mother and daughter lived nearby which meant Carrie Fisher would regularly visit to take care of her mother. However once scene was cunningly edited to imply Carrie was tasting her dog's food.

It was also too scattered with footage spanning some years, so you see Carrie talking to her father who had died in 2010.

Bright Lights is an illuminating look inside the homes and lives of two legends. I love Carrie Fisher cooking a soufflé for her mother Debbie Reynolds and then walking out Carrie's backdoor across their shared backyard and into her Debbie's back door to share a meal with mom. They share more than that with us. It's like sitting on their living room couch and going thru the family album, warts and all. How were they able to live thru all their tribulations? Maybe that they learned to talk about it and deal with it instead of letting if fester and burst inside. And there was laughter, and stories about other celebrities and other heartaches. But what I liked most was their humanity towards each other and that unsinkable spirit that kept them going until all energy was gone from them. What I liked least about it was these two wonderful women should have know the damage drugs, alcohol and cigarettes would do and avoided them. I heard Carrie drank up to 16 Cokes a day and I wonder if the Coke connection with her father had something to do with her addiction to sodas. And Debbie could have had someone to stop her from performing until she was ready to drop. I know it was her choice but they both could have been saved from themselves by their friends. Thank you ladies for all that you gave and shared and God Bless Todd now alone

Why does no one mention this fine documentary of both Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, that played on HBO and AFI 2016. I found it so moving and informative about their very close relationship. I'm hoping the film will be distributed widely following Carrie's premature death. What's wrong with those obit writers who don't seem to be aware of this film? An important revelation to this viewer was the musical talent Carrie exhibited. Her singing voice reflected the gifts she inherited from both Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. There may have been downsides to being the child of such celebrated parents, but she was certainly up to the task. In addition, her wry observations of herself and others was right on. Kitty A postscript following the death of Debbie Reynolds. Bright Lights gives an answer to why the symbiosis of this relationship could lead to the second death.

The HBO documentary Bright Lights about the relationship of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher came out after both women passed away. The film also touches on Reynolds relationship with her son Todd Fisher and briefly mentions Carrie Fisher's daughter Billie Lord.

The documentary captures several intimate moments between mother and daughter and several zany comedic moments as well. These two ladies will be greatly missed and this was a lovely portrait of them both.

I enjoyed this documentary very much, having been a huge fan of Debbie Reynolds my whole life. When I was young, my mother used to take me to see all of her movies, and the first time I was ever in a movie theater, I saw "Bundle of Joy", one of my favorites.

However, the most enjoyable part of this documentary for me was the opening credits (if I remember correctly) when they were playing a recording of Eddie Fisher, Carrie and Todd's father. I didn't recognize the song, but I was totally moved by his beautiful voice. Voices like that are very rare, and it just saddens me that with the usual fall into obscurity for performers, as Carrie Fisher points out, it made a more rapid decline in his case due to his personal life choices. Yet, for just a few moments, I could be enraptured and carried away by the sound of his beautiful voice and musicality.