Reviews

This is actually a sparkling little gem, with a lot of wit. The score is terrific, and Cyril Ritchard hams it up wonderfully. Liza Minnelli exudes charisma, and her musical numbers are often electrifying. For a 1965 TV special, it holds up very well.

I finally obtained a copy of this extremely witty, wonderfully performed installment of Shelley Duvall's "Faerie Tale Theatre" series. It's great for kids and adults should enjoy it as well. Liza looks dynamite in the period costumes.

Originally a Broadway play with Katharine Hepburn and Dorothy Loudon, "West Side Waltz" is one of those projects that should have remained on the stage. However, Liza Minnelli is wonderfully cast against type as a reserved, albeit needy, 50ish type longing for companionship. She is the only reason to see this movie, as MacLaine is a bore and Jennifer Grey is simply annoying.

I really enjoyed this offbeat, meandering but usually always interesting experimental film, which was almost totally improvised by a dazzling cast. Standouts: Dudley Moore, Lindsay Crouse, and (I admit a bias) a beautifully modulated turn by Liza Minnelli, who deserved at least an Emmy nomination for this performance.

This was/is a terrific concert. Of course, one of the biggest and best surprises has been revealed--namely, the appearance of Mercury's favorite singer Liza Minnelli at the end to close the show (as I'm a Liza fan, I was stunned and delighted when this was aired live). She does a fab version of "We Are The Champions". You go, girl.

Paramount didn't know how to market this breezily enjoyable mixture of "Rocky" and "A Chorus Line," and it remains Liza Minnelli's last feature (to date--hope springs enternal). She's terrific as a never-was hoofer whipping a (mostly hilarious) group of would-be tap dancers into shape for a charity show. Nora Dunn steals her scenes as a haughty society dame, while there's also good moments from Andrea Martin, Ellen Greene and the show-stopping Julie Walters ("Canes to me, please, canes to me...."). Liza has a great production number at the end.

Didja know that, contrary to popular belief (and the Razzies), Liza-with-a-Z actually received rave reviews from Variety and the NEW YORK TIMES (!) for her performance in this otherwise utterly ordinary cop thriller. She's actually very funny in it, and Reynolds has his moments as well. There is an absolutely hysterical scene near the beginning with Burt as a security guard disguised as Santa in a department store, bantering with his new boss, an overly officious matron yammering about his failure to scrutinize his "policy manual."

I'd see Liza in anything, but "Arthur" was really a project that did NOT need a sequel. Everything fresh and amusing in the original seems tired and even desperate here, although the cast is game and there are a few funny lines sprinkled throughout. Overall, however, the script is a plodding, mannered bore.

Minnelli is devastatingly on-target and utterly convincing as a suburban mother caring for her terminally ill son (Corey Haim, excellent in the best role of his career). Originally (and more appropriately) titled "Intensive Care", this project will remind you Liza Minnelli began work in films as a dramatic actress, not a musical comedy star. It's a pity she doesn't do more work of this nature, as she is a powerhouse here.

I must have seen "Arthur" 20 or so times with my college buds. We couldn't get enough of John Gielgud ("Steal something casual"). Or Dudley ("Are you SURE you want to be a nightclub comic?). Or Liza ("Nice place. I like a living room you can land a plane in.") One of my favorite comedies.

I saw this multiple times in 1977 on its first release and even more in 1981 when it was re-issued with Liza's fab 12-minute production number "Happy Endings" (the complete 163-minute version is thankfully the one on video). Both stars were robbed of Oscar noms, especially DeNiro. Those expecting a frothy musical comedy will be disappointed, but if you're attuned to Scorsese's sensibilities, this is a fascinating brew.

Ingrid Bergman is excellent in this unfortunate misfire, gruesomely "re-edited" by the clueless American-International studio. Vincente Minnelli disowned the finished project, and other directors (such as Martin Scorsese) took out ads in Variety protesting the re-cutting of the project. Liza's performance is all over the place, although she does have a few affecting moments. Overall, an intriguing mess.

I've always had a soft spot for this overly maligned production, the "Ishtar" of its day. It's an oft-kilter mix, to be sure, with some great low comedy bits jarringly interrupted by graphic violence. But it's always fun, and the star trio (especially Reynolds, in a very overlooked performance) seem to be having a ball. Liza Minnelli's production number, "Get While The Gettin' Is Good", is absolutely terrific; she is at her wittiest. Stanley Donen just a few years ago proclaimed he was proud of "Lucky Lady", and I'm hoping eventually this movie will find some type of audience other than Liza Minnelli completists. Hey, Fox, put it on video!

Everybody has one: the movie that, the first time you laid eyes on it, kinda changed your life, or at least your perceptions of it. "Cabaret" is mine. It absolutely knocked me out in 1972 when I was a 12 year old boy in Tennessee. I had never seen anything like it. Ran out to buy the soundtrack, saw it again multiple times, raved about it to anyone who would listen, etc. etc. I became an instant Liza Minnelli fanatic, and I had NEVER had any interest in her. Had to see all her old stuff. Barely knew she was Judy's daughter. Frankly, I was a fan of Liza before I was a fan of Judy's. Saw "Cabaret" many times over the years, and just recently, it was revived here in NYC at a benefit screening, attended by Liza, Kander and Ebb, Marisa Berenson, and other people associated with the film. I will tell you that you could hear a pin drop in the audience as the lights went down. It was like being in church. "Cabaret" has lost NONE of it power since 1972; it is better than ever. The standing ovation at the end was sustained and LOUD. It is a crime that "Cabaret" is not on the AFI Top 100 list, and a result of that, that list has absolutely no relevance to me. (BTW, where is it on the IMDB top 250? It used to be there.) Anyway, if you haven't seen it, you're in for a revelatory experience. It is one of a kind. Thank you Bob, Thank you Liza, Thank you Joel, Thanks for a great flick!

I'm a big Liza fan, and this is certainly an unusual departure for her, but I find "Junie Moon" hard to take seriously. My first exposure to it was on The Late Show; I thought then it was a camp classic right up there with "Valley of the Dolls". It has not aged well; Preminger's direction is ham-handed and obvious, and most of the performances are waaay over-the-top. Still, there are delights: Kay Thompson (way waaaaaaaay over-the-top in her last movie), Fred Williamson as a gigolo, Julie Bovasso "pantsing" Ken Howard and of course, Miss Minnelli, probably miscast but giving it her all. Here's another potential cult item languishing in Paramount's vaults that really should be released on video--my video store guy told me this is one of the most requested titles of movies not yet available. Who knew?

Liza Minnelli and Wendell Burton--in letter-perfect performances--made indelible impressions on me when I first saw this in the early seventies (it was re-released to capitalize on Liza's success in "Cabaret"). I still think it is one of the most successful cinematic representations of the ups and downs of young romance.

"Charlie Bubbles" actually won Billie Whitelaw a Best Supporting Actress award from the New York Film Critics circle back in 1968, but it is mostly remembered today as Liza Minnelli's film debut. She's in it for about a third of the running time, and it's an assured comic performance, quite different from her later screen personas. Albert Finney's direction and performance are fresh and intriguing, and Whitelaw deserved her accolade--she walks off with the last third of the film. You'll either love or hate the ending.