Isn't She Great
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''Isn't She Great'' is a 2000
biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
that presents a fictionalized biography of author Jacqueline Susann, played by
Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...
. An international co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan, the film was directed by
Andrew Bergman Andrew Bergman (born February 20, 1945) is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. His best-known films include ''Blazing Saddles'', '' The In-Laws'', '' The Freshman'' and '' Striptease''. Early life Born to a Jewish family, Ber ...
from a screenplay by
Paul Rudnick Paul Rudnick (born December 29, 1957) is an American writer. His plays have been produced both on and off Broadway and around the world. He is also known for having written the screenplays for several movies, including '' Sister Act'', ''Addams ...
based on a 1995 ''
New Yorker New Yorker or ''variant'' primarily refers to: * A resident of the State of New York ** Demographics of New York (state) * A resident of New York City ** List of people from New York City * ''The New Yorker'', a magazine founded in 1925 * '' The ...
'' profile by
Michael Korda Michael Korda (born 8 October 1933) is an English-born writer and novelist who was editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster in New York City. Early years Born in London, Michael Korda is the son of English actress Gertrude Musgrove and the Hungaria ...
. The film covers Susann's entire life, focusing on her early struggles as an aspiring actress relentlessly hungry for fame, her relationship with
press agent In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization (company, charity, etc.). It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often (but not alway ...
husband Irving Mansfield (
Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. In a career spanning over 40 years he has been seen on stage and screen in roles both comedic and dramatic. Lane has received numerous awards including three Tony Awards, ...
), with whom she had an institutionalized
autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
son, her success as the author of '' Valley of the Dolls'', and her battle with and subsequent death from
breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...
. In addition to Midler and Lane, the film stars
Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. She is known for playing Betty Rizzo in the film '' Grease'' (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series '' The West Wing'' ...
as Susann's "gal pal" Florence Maybelle,
David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and director of stage, film and television. He starred as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, and won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Scree ...
as book editor Michael Hastings, and
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
as publisher Henry Marcus.
John Larroquette John Bernard Larroquette (; born November 25, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the NBC military drama series '' Baa Baa Black Sheep'' (1976–1978), the NBC sitcom '' Night Court'' (1984–1992; for which he rec ...
,
Amanda Peet Amanda Peet (born January 11, 1972) is an American actress. She began her career with small parts on television, and made her feature film debut in '' Animal Room'' (1995). Her portrayal of Jill St. Claire in '' The Whole Nine Yards'' (2000) bro ...
,
Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American film, television, theatre and voice actor. McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy ''Happy Gilmore''. Other notable ...
, Debbie Shapiro, and Paul Benedict have supporting roles. Opening in 750 US theaters on January 28, 2000, it received negative reviews from critics and earned only $3 million at the box office, far less than its cost of $44 million. Midler was nominated for a Worst Actress
Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy ...
.


Cast

*
Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...
as Jacqueline Susann *
Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. In a career spanning over 40 years he has been seen on stage and screen in roles both comedic and dramatic. Lane has received numerous awards including three Tony Awards, ...
as Irving Mansfield *
Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. She is known for playing Betty Rizzo in the film '' Grease'' (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series '' The West Wing'' ...
as Florence Maybelle *
David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and director of stage, film and television. He starred as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, and won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Scree ...
as Michael Hastings *
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
as Henry Marcus *
Amanda Peet Amanda Peet (born January 11, 1972) is an American actress. She began her career with small parts on television, and made her feature film debut in '' Animal Room'' (1995). Her portrayal of Jill St. Claire in '' The Whole Nine Yards'' (2000) bro ...
as Debbie Klausman *
John Larroquette John Bernard Larroquette (; born November 25, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the NBC military drama series '' Baa Baa Black Sheep'' (1976–1978), the NBC sitcom '' Night Court'' (1984–1992; for which he rec ...
as Maury Manning *
Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American film, television, theatre and voice actor. McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy ''Happy Gilmore''. Other notable ...
as Brad Bradburn *
Dina Spybey Dina Spybey (born August 29, 1965) also known as Dina Waters and Dina Spybey-Waters is an American actress. She has appeared in more than 20 films, including ''John Q.'', '' subUrbia'' and ''The Haunted Mansion''. She is perhaps best known for ...
as Bambi Madison *
Larry Block Lawrence Joel "Larry" Block (October 30, 1942 – October 7, 2012) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. Early life and education Lawrence Joel Block was born in New York City, New York, the son of Sonia (née Kutcher), a tr ...
as Herbie *
Frank Vincent Frank Vincent Gattuso Jr. (April 15, 1937 – September 13, 2017) was an American actor. During a five-decade career, Vincent often portrayed mobsters. He was a frequent collaborator of filmmaker Martin Scorsese, appearing as Salvy in ''Raging B ...
as
Aristotle Onassis Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; el, Αριστοτέλης Ωνάσης, Aristotélis Onásis, ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975), was a Greek-Argentinian shipping magnate who amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and wa ...
* James Villemaire as
Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...
* Paul Benedict as Prof. Brainiac *Sam Street as
Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...


Production

The film was an international production, with the BBC, Lobell-Bergman Productions, Marbeni,
Mutual Film Corporation Mutual Film Corporation was an early American film conglomerate that produced some of Charlie Chaplin's greatest comedies. Founded in 1912, it was absorbed by Film Booking Offices of America, which evolved into RKO Pictures. Founding Mutual's ...
, Tele München,
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
and
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
contributing, making it an American-British-German-Japanese co-production. Despite the international production, the film was not released in Japan.


Reception

''Isn't She Great'' was panned by critics, as the film holds a 25% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
based on 61 reviews. The site's consensus states, "Bland material produces entirely forgettable comic performances."https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/isnt_she_great


Awards and nominations


Nominations

*
Razzie Awards The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...
: Worst Actress (Bette Midler)


Footnotes


References

* *


External links

*
New York Times reviewSan Francisco Chronicle reviewRoger Ebert reviewRotten Tomatoes
* {{Jacqueline Susann 2000 films 2000s English-language films English-language German films English-language Japanese films 2000 comedy-drama films American biographical films American comedy-drama films British biographical films British comedy-drama films German biographical films German comedy-drama films Japanese biographical films Japanese comedy-drama films Biographical films about writers Cultural depictions of Aristotle Onassis Cultural depictions of Jim Morrison Cultural depictions of Truman Capote Films based on newspaper and magazine articles Films directed by Andrew Bergman Films scored by Burt Bacharach Films with screenplays by Paul Rudnick Mutual Film Company films Universal Pictures films 2000s American films 2000s British films 2000s Japanese films 2000s German films Films about disability