Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Rated R – 1991 -

This is by far one of my favorite movies ever. It has a little bit of everything, making you laugh and cry at the same time. A masterpiece!

The Story:

Dixie Leonard (Bette Midler) is a struggling back-up singer. She is the wife of a soldier battling in WWII and the mother of a young son. She gets her big break when she is asked to perform with the famous Eddie “Sparks” (James Caan). Eddie is a famous performer. He is most known for performing for the troops overseas at war. When he first meets Dixie he does not think very highly of her. He tells her she has a trashy mouth and has no part in performing with him and for the troops being sent off to die. But then everyone witnesses her woo the crowd and the soldiers cannot get enough of her. This is just the beginning for Dixie and Eddie.

Dixie and Eddie next do a TV show back in the US. Their popularity is at it’s highest but they feel they must still perform for the troops. The next troops they entertain are the ones in Vietnam. We see the lives of Dixie and Eddie through Dixie’s eyes. She is looking back on her memories, both the bad and the good. She remembers how life doesn’t work out exactly as it is planned.

About the Movie:

Neal Jimenez and Lindy Laub wrote this fascinating story and Mark Rydell directed it. Like I said already, this movie had everything in it. To even just imagine what the people who lived from WWII until the present day have seen and known amazes me. The story was very well written and touched on all aspects of the US during these times.

Bette Midler was sensational! It should have been an Oscar winning performance. Besides all the singing and dancing she does in this film; boy oh boy can she act! I saw this movie when it first came out in 1991, and still it makes me laugh and cry today! James Caan plays an excellent Eddie. Eddie is selfish and arrogant, yet somehow he does care. That type of a character is hard to play, but he does it beautifully.

The supporting cast also adds a great deal to the movie. George Segal (from TV’s “Just Shoot Me”) is fantastic as Dixie and Eddie’s writer, Norman Fell as the producer, Rosemary Murphy as a gossip columnist and a few actors that are now famous, but were not back then, such as Billy Bob Thornton and Andy Dick.

If you have never seen this movie, I most certainly recommend you do so. In this time of war and change a movie like this helps put everything in perspective. That is why I wanted to write this review now! So, rent it or catch it on cable . . . it’s well worth it!

Enjoy!

©2001 SM


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age