Customer Reviews

Lily Tomlin: The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the masterpiece of the Tomlin and Wagner team. Jane Wagner the writer and Lily Tomlin the amazingly versatile performer. I'm a mega Lily fan ten times over and this movie is why. For those unfamiliar with "Search" you should know that this is a filmed version of a one-woman show originally produced on Broadway in 1985. On stage Lily used NO costumes or props WHATSOEVER. She appeared as you see her in just a simple blouse and slacks. For this film they incorporated Lily in costume for some parts so the viewer gets the best of both worlds; to see it as it was performed live on stage and also to take advantage of seeing what the characters look like were Lily performing for a film. It is really neat to watch.
But the main reason for watching this film is for the performance and the material itself which is thought provoking, funny, touching, intelligent, interwoven, philisophical and brilliant. Lily won a Tony award as Best Actress In A Play in 1986 for her performance. She deserved it.

Watch this film and be knocked out.

This is a profound, hilarious, frank, compassionate and loving look at human beings and our strange relationship with normalcy and the absurd. Lily Tomlin's performance has to be seen to be believed--and you will believe! And Jane Wagner's words are a privilege to hear. Wonderful insights, and some witty quips you'll be eager to repeat.

Tomlin's act, in which she portrays 12 separate characters, is pulled off without technical wizardry or extensive props. She is able, quite remarkably, to convince the viewer that she IS all of these women and that she inhabits their worlds. This is easily one of the funniest and most sophisticated skits I've ever seen. Watch it and you'll never view life (or Post-It notes, for that matter) in quite the same way.

I had the great opportunity and fortune to see Lily Tomlin perform live, where she brought some of the wonderfully spicy characters from this film (which was originally a very successful, long-running play) to the stage. This film is really hard to describe. It is truly like no movie I have ever seen, and definitely not at all Hollywood. (i.e. no burning buildings, car crashes, obligatory sex scenes, pimps, or drug dealers....though, there are a couple of hookers as featured characters) This film is all Lily--literally. She is every character from the Midwestern farmwife, to the fifteen year old punk rocker, to the aerobics instructor, to three very diverse feminists taking a look back at the last twenty years as times change, and so do political views. A friend of mine in theatre who had a colleague who worked with Lily when she toured with this show told me she would spend hours literally staring at the black staircase and bare set, planning the choreography of every movement, expression and retort. Also, she required that the staircase be repainted every night....though, this may sound a little obsessive, after you see the film you will see how much she must have worn out the stage! Just the floor alone gets a real workout with all of her dancing, prancing, jumping, and pacing. It also really makes you think. Are there signs of intelligent life in the universe, or are we all just kidding ourselves?

Jane Wagner and Lily Tomlin are geniuses . my partner and I got the movie version of their place, "The Search For Signs Of Intelligent Life In The Universe" , and we were simply struck by it. We had read the play before, but Lily Tomlin's masterful performance truly brings everything together. The play is beautiful and intelligent, and it should definitely be considered one of the most significative plays of the last half of the 20th century. When Trudy delivers her final monologue, it is a hard man who does not feel anything at those last words.

If you buy a movie in the next few months, make this one your movie.

If you walk away with anything from this play, it should be the knowledge to distinguish between Soup and Art.

And what do I mean by that? Well, you'll just have to see the play now, won't you?

...Before this Tomlin and Wagner did a series of Off-broadway productions and TV sketch like scenarios that led to this great number. Poigant, intelligent and verrry funny, you wish for Tomlin's "In Search..." showcase to never end and you find yourself quoting lines..about fearing that drugs have made us more creative than we really are, that certain businesses ae so big they really don't care about Joe or Joanne Customer...or recalling some offbeat, but true wisdom spewed by Trudy the Bag Lady. One of the greatest one-woman shows ever done. See it and be amazed and entertained.

This is a really interesting film version of the Broadway show.. although to be honest the live aspect of the show makes it a little more impressive..... most of the tape is live but there are occassionally cut aways to her as the costumed version of the characters she is playing.... overall it is a pretty good version of a live theatre experience.

The live production of Tomlin and Wagner's "Intelligent Life" in the mid 1980's was a masterpiece, a work of genius, a joy to behold, an exhausting and awe-inspiring theatrical experience. I saw it twice and was mesmerized.

What you experienced on the stage was an actress bringing a vast variety of characters and environments fully to life with no sets, no costume changes, stark lighting and minimal sound effects if any. Tomlin, through Wagner's brilliant script, brought everything to life just through the power of her words and movement. A truly amazing performance for which she deservedly won a Tony Award.

To bring this to the screen with sets, wigs, costumes and sound effect gags (rendered oh so cheaply) is a shock to the sensibilities of anyone who was fortunate enough to see the live version. The lack of an audience leaves Tomlin's performance flat at most points - the play now feels totally disjointed - the entire feel of the original is all but lost.

The obligatory DVD extras (why two discs?) are short and worthless beyond a couple of minutes of outtakes from a very early run through of the original - shot on what looks like sound synced 8MM - all neither funny or illuminating.

If you saw "Intelligent Life" live, avoid this disc at all costs or your cherished memory of the original may be heartily diminished. If you didn't, you may be left wondering what all the fuss and acclaim has been about for the past two decades. Read the play instead - as I said it's a masterpiece. Sadly the DVD is the opposite.

Recently I saw her performing the piece in New York again and she is fabulous! The video does capture her energy and incredible talent. This video was long shot, but time is not a matter for Lily, she is always fabulous: the way she looks, the way she acts, dance, speaks,...

This play has been available for a number of years on VHS/DVD -- and I finally added it to my library.

Anyone who enjoys/ed Tomlin's characters will be amused.

Anyone who wants to open an evening of serious but fun discussion, has a great asset.

Anyone who wants non-sensical comedy should make another choice. This is for thinkers who enjoy humour.