Bette Midler's new movie, "Isn't She Great," hits mostly wrong notes. It can't decide whether it's a comedy, a biography (of novelist Jacqueline Susann), a tear-jerker, or a camp opus. One can't deny that there are a couple of laughs here. A movie with Bette, Nathan Lane and Stockard Channing can't be all bad. The best scene is shown over and over again in the TV and theatre ads. The cleaning woman is describing her opinion of Susann's first novel, "Valley of the Dolls," as filthy and salacious. Then when someone says "Oh! You hated it!", she replies, "no, it's the best book I ever read!" In a later scene, as Susann (Midler) watches the premiere of the "Valley" movie, she slinks down in her seat and says, "I hate this movie." She probably said the same thing to herself at the premiere of this one. Too bad, because "Bette is great!", just not here. Bette will do better next time.
Review of Isn't She Great
