Soapdish (1991)

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

As a student of daytime soap history, I went into this with great anticipation, and did not come out unhappy with the results. Sally Field is Celeste Talbert, a daytime diva of Susan Lucci proportions that actually has an Emmy (or four) and comes off closer to Erika Slezak's "One Life to Live" character as "the queen of misery" as daytime network head Gary Marshall describes her as. She's as melodramatic off the set as she is on, and when a former leading man (Kevin Kline) returns to the show, she's ripe for ripping as secrets from her past prepare to turn her own world upside down, turning off her guiding light as she moves into her own edge of night.She's surrounded by a series of wacko characters-producer Robert Downey Jr., his "friend with benefits" and jealous supporting player Cathy Moriarty (who has secrets of her own, revealed through her hatred of practically everybody around her), sardonic writer Whoopie Goldberg, and nervous costume designer Kathy Najimy who creates outrageous hats for the cast that threaten to make Celeste look like "Gloria F'in Swanson!" and new cast member Elizabeth Shue resemble Tweetie Bird.You have to go into this film realizing that this soap opera parody isn't necessarily reflective of early 1990's soap opera. The sets are too glamorous for most soaps of this time (at the time, only "The Bold and the Beautiful" and "Santa Barbara" were really close to as lavish as this was) and some of the plot lines even inside the soaps reek of dialog far worse than anything heard on daytime. But to watch it for Field's tour-de-force performance (she parodies her infamous Oscar speech as Celeste picks up her umpteenth daytime Emmy) is to find delight in seeing Field out of her usual comfort zone set with her more dramatic films. Even her early sitcom appearances were far from outrageous, and she proves herself to be a good sport as she hams it up deliciously.Second to Field in overall performance is Moriarty, perfectly cast as an Amazon-like woman whose frizzed hair and overly short nurses' uniform are only overshadowed by her Elaine Stritch like raspy voice. Moriarty is obviously an actress who decided that with her bigger-than-life qualities in real life, she'd never make it as an ingénue, and just went all out to camp up. Kline, too, is very funny, screaming "Don't call me Mr. Loman!" when his Florida dinner theater performance of "Death of a Salesman" is preparing for its curtain rise for its Geritol-guzzling audience. This is a film meant mainly for fun, not only for soap fans, but for those who just simply want to laugh at the ridiculousness of the drama of life and see their own problems in perspective.

Comedies like "Soapdish", even though were made more than 20 years ago, are such a standout from what's going on with the genre nowadays that we keep wondering what happened with movies like this? It's nice to see things like this now to see how good those movies were back in days, yet with some sadness since it wasn't much of a hit back in the days but now it might be a little more popular because of the cast involved, people really track down those flicks and now "Soapdish" is a Broadway musical. The soap opera world musn't be ashamed of "Soapdish". Its portrayal of TV divas, the craziness, the egos and the jealous among stars, all the rivalry and all the mess involving the behind the scenes of a soap opera is fairly and hilariously presented in the film that knows how present some realism of what happens in those shows. It's all about real drama recreating fictional drama and the crowds love them...as long it's on the screen with actors playing in both, the drama of their lives and the drama of the characters they play. Here we follow the many attempts of supporting player Montana Moorehead (Cathy Moriarty) in to convince TV producer David Barnes (Robert Downey Jr.) to find ways of replacing America's Sweetheart Celeste Talbert (Sally Field, in her most comical role since "Punchlines") from the leading role of a huge hit that gained her several Daytime Awards. But those attempts keeps failing again and again. One of the latest involves bringing back to TV an old lover of Celeste (both on TV and in real life) that now is a decadent performer of Willy Loman on a poor theater, the charming Jeffrey Anderson (Kevin Kline) that now is on his way to finally resurrect his career. There's the show's writer (Whoopi Goldberg) who not only tries to help Celeste, her best friend, during her crisis, but also has to deal with the constant changes on her creation ("The man's dead. He was decapitated, I checked. How am I supposed to bring him back on the show?). And there's Talbert's niece (Elisabeth Shue) who decides to join in the steps of her famous aunt and becomes an actress in a instant. There's some secrets involving her that are best to not present them here for obvious reasons. Confusion is set up and lots of laughs as well. With first rate humor, an energetically funny soundtrack composed of mambo themes by Alan Silvestri, "Soapdish" gives a curious and detailed look into the TV world, the people behind it, their lives and their personal dramas and how those gets easily intertwined yet it's a movie filled with laughs. And there's time for a sensitive moment when Whoopi's character cheers the mood of her friend who was in a complete wrecked mood. That moment, the shopping mall scene, is a good reminder that comedy not always must go for the laughters, thoughtful special sequences like those must be encouraged, they make the film memorable. Humor of best quality is reserved to absurdest parts like the one that involves the last chapter of the show broadcast live with the actors reading their lines from teleprompter (Jeffrey barely manages to read his already confuse lines) and often actors confuse the plot and the characters with their real self; or Barnes attempts to put his hands on Montana; the scene at the hotel with Celeste spying on Jeffrey has to be one of the best parts ever. Performances were amazing, the script was fabulous and very well written. It's quite an shock to understand why this hasn't got the bigger audience it deserves and the awards it should've gotten. Rare times that I laughed so hard with a movie. "Soapdish" is a truly must-see. 10/10

This is an absolutely entertaining film from open to close. Fine for your 12 and up kids, hilarious, and oh so charming. It is a classic at our house! Kevin Kline and Sally Field are magic together. The film's premise, characters, script, and direction are simply delightful.This is the kind of movie that SHOULD have been nominated for some Academy Awards, but wasn't. You can watch it time after time and laugh again, and share it with new friends and family members.If you enjoy comedy, and if you've ever seen even five minutes of a real daytime soap opera, you'll enjoy this funny, sweet comedy. It's one of our favorites.

Very funny comedy from director Michael Hoffman and writer Robert Harling about a group of people whose 'soap opera' lives are more dramatic and interesting than the ones they portray in their daytime TV show, "The Sun Also Sets".The whole huge cast, including Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Elisabeth Shue, Robert Downey Jnr, Carrie Fisher, Teri Hatcher, Garry Marshall, Kathy Najimy and Cathy Moriarty, play off each other well, producing some very funny moments, while Whoopi Goldberg is delightful. Not of the great script select, however "Soapdish" is all good fun as it sends up that institution of daytime T.V., soap opera!Friday, October 18, 1991 - Knox District Centre