Product Details

• Actors: Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss
• Directors: Mike Nichols
• Writers: Carrie Fisher
• Producers: Mike Nichols, John Calley, Neil A. Machlis, Robert Greenhut, Susan MacNair
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: June 24, 1994
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302030919
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,072 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

As its title might suggest, this movie based on Carrie Fisher's Hollywood struggle works better as a snapshot than as a complete film. Meryl Streep plays Suzanne Vale, a successful actress who is lost in her addictions. Her episodes are never as bombastic as Clean and Sober or other antidrug movies of the 1990s, however. Vale's a more lovable person, and as with all lovable people in Hollywood, other Hollywood people care for her: an understanding director (Gene Hackman), a philandering boyfriend (Dennis Quaid), and a bemused doctor (Richard Dreyfuss). But if you are going to talk about Fisher, you are going to mention her mom, Debbie Reynolds. And here Vale's mom is the die-hard Doris Mann, played with appropriate virtuosity by Shirley MacLaine. The love-hate mother-daughter relationship takes over the film in an entertaining way, with Fisher's sharp comic writing coming into play. You nearly forgive Vale's troubles for having to live under a hurricane like Mann (who goes into her nightclub act at the drop of a hat). The film's sweetest pleasure is seeing Streep loose and modern, nary a drab outfit or an accent in sight. Streep and director Mike Nichols make a risky--and rewarding--finale (fueled by the Oscar-nominated "I'm Checking Out" by Shel Silverstein) work effortlessly. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "You're the realest person I've ever met in the abstract.", January 25, 2005

By 

D. Knouse (vancouver, washington United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Postcards from the Edge (DVD)

4.5 stars. The best thing about this DVD, besides the great script and fantastic cast of fine actors, is the price. Brand new, this DVD is under ten dollars?! I should write this review emphasizing that fact alone. As for the writing, it is excellent and witty and cerebral and dramatic, and it is all the more evident with all the incredible actors making the words their own. This exceptional cast includes former Oscar-winners Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Gene Hackman, and Richard Dreyfuss. Dennis Quaid, Rob Reiner, and Annette Bening also have good performances here and are worth mentioning. But the finest actor in this film is Meryl Streep, with yet another Oscar-nominated performance, this time showing great comedic timing with hilarious expressions and delivering her dialogue with impeccable precision. I'll stop now, before I wax rhapsodic. The script is sharp and intelligent, the acting is superb all around, and the price for this DVD is amazing! Thank you.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carrie Fisher's Magnum Opus, October 10, 2003

By 

Book 'Em, Danno "mljdjl26" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Postcards from the Edge (DVD)

What a revelation. I never knew what a movie could be until this film. Sweet, sentimental, dramatic, heart-wrenching and fall-down funny all in one movie. Meryl Streep shines and is more accessible than ever before. Shirley MacLaine is luminous as ever. Mary Wickes (Grandma) is hilarious and ended a wonderful career with this and "Sister Act," forever cementing herself as a 20th century fixture. Robin Bartlett (Aretha) is also a delight. A wonderfully written and awesomely acted story. Highest of recommendations for one and all, especially anyone who's interested in the "behind the scenes" aspect of Hollywood.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hollywood glitz, glamor, and worms, January 6, 2005

By 

Fruit Loop (Down South) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Postcards from the Edge (DVD)

Great cinematic rendition of Carrie Fisher's semi-autobiographical novel with wonderful performances from Shirley MacLaine as the aging screen queen and Meryl Streep as her star-druggie daughter. The cameos are wonderful...Richard Dreyfuss as the doc who pumps Streep's stomach?! Gene Hackman as Streep's suffering director...the list goes on. The "bad" thing is that we're left with one big unanswered question - when is Meryl Streep going to record a real album? Her voice is incredible! Fun, funny, and all too true - this one's a winner.