A quarter of a century has passed since the teaming of two major divas of the past fifty years of cinema: Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine, playing fictional characters loosely based on Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Streep is a "B" movie actress struggling with various emotional issues which has lead her to become addicted to not only prescription medication, but illegal drugs such as cocaine as well. She's rushed to emergency after a bad day on the set where somehow she ended up in the bed of a stranger, took an overdose of pills, and he literally carries her out, straps her into his jeep and gets her to the emergency room, dropping her off as if he was returning a library book. She must then deal with getting her stomach pumped, going through withdrawal, and then finally going to rehab. And guess what, ladies and gentlemen. This is a comedy, all told through allegedly real life incidents by author Carrie Fisher, once Princess Leia, now a sardonic commentator on her own life and not even quite the "B" actress that Streep plays here.
Just as Streep deals with being introduced to her rehab group, she gets a visit from her overly made-up but still glamorous movie star mother (Shirley MacLaine), a legend of the golden age who is indeed still here. "My mother drew up the contracts, so I'm here!", she sings in an altered version of Stephen Sondheim's brilliant "I'm Still Here" from "Follies". Mom Shirley gave daughter Meryl sleeping pills as a kid, which Streep blames MacLaine for causing her drug addiction. Is it wishful thinking or wishful drinking on Streep's part, "Wishful Drinking" being the name of the very funny book which Carrie Fisher later did on Broadway and had filmed for cable T.V. as more comical observations about her life. Toss into the mix grandma Mary Wickes as MacLaine's own "monster" of a mother, lovable maybe to those who know her socially, but definitely somebody you'd think twice about as wanting for your mama. Conrad Bain ("Maude", "Different Strokes") simply retorts to Wickes' constant chattering with "Yap Yap Yap, That's all you do all the live long day". Their delightful two scene cameo is an enjoyable commentary on the issues of different generations. Just like Jennifer Lopez had to tolerate a nasty mother-in-law to be (Jane Fonda) in "Monster in Law", Fonda had to tolerate a former nasty mother-in-law (Elaine Stritch) who got revenge on her daughter in law by simply adoring Lopez from the moment she met her. Unlike "Monster in Law", however, "Postcards From the Edge" utilizes the issues of two daughters dealing with mother issues in a realistic and understanding way, rather than adding hate into the plot line simply for uncomfortable laughs.
While some of the script seems to focus on "the blame game", it is more about two women who are trying the best they can to understand the other, move on from bitter memories, and get past issues that have taken their life out of control. MacLaine's character has a bit of a drinking problem, gets into a car accident and like Streep, ends up in the hospital, minus wig and make-up, and looking like Elsa Lanchaster in "The Bride of Frankenstein" after being caught in a thunderstorm. The two actresses let it all bare out here, unafraid to go into places most actresses might be scared to go, especially of MacLaine's era. Streep's attempts to even get through the simplest of movie shoots proves futile, with director Gene Hackman laying into her with all the crassness that Hollywood has to offer. Cameos by Rob Reiner, Richard Dreyfeuss and Annette Benning add to the realistic issues of Streep's tumbling life, with Dennis Quaid giving a very good performance as the actor who seduces the unknowing Streep, pretends to be an old high school friend when she doesn't recognize him, and ultimately a heel after Streep finds out that he had also been sleeping with Benning. Streep deservedly got an Oscar Nomination, but in one of the worst examples of Academy Award criminology, MacLaine was overlooked, that being the biggest shocker of the year. Fisher, too, should have been honored for her screenplay, as should have been Mike Nichols for one of the best directing jobs he had done since "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?".
Streep gets to show off her excellent singing voice here, performing two songs (including one triumphant declaration of independence in the finale) while MacLaine bangs the heck out of "I'm Still Here" (in D-Flat) as she explores her own regrets. It's ironic that a decade later, MacLaine would work again with Carrie Fisher and the real deal of who she plays here (Debbie Reynolds) in the amusing but mediocre T.V. movie "These Old Broads". In both films, Fisher explores the adoration that "these old broads" receive from the gay community, as evidenced by an encounter that MacLaine has with a rehab patient who happens to do one of MacLaine's old movie characters (obviously based upon Reynolds' Oscar nominated "Molly Brown") in drag. In typical comically bitter fashion, MacLaine gets in a bitchy line ("You know how the queens love me", she tells Streep") while the gay man tells his lover how obvious MacLaine's plastic surgery is, although in a very affectionate but knowing manner. This film isn't perfect, and might strike some as a bitter attack on Hollywood's treatment to aging divas or has-beens, but if we got that with "Sunset Bouevard", why couldn't it be done 40 years after Norma Desmond got ready for her close-up?
Just as Streep deals with being introduced to her rehab group, she gets a visit from her overly made-up but still glamorous movie star mother (Shirley MacLaine), a legend of the golden age who is indeed still here. "My mother drew up the contracts, so I'm here!", she sings in an altered version of Stephen Sondheim's brilliant "I'm Still Here" from "Follies". Mom Shirley gave daughter Meryl sleeping pills as a kid, which Streep blames MacLaine for causing her drug addiction. Is it wishful thinking or wishful drinking on Streep's part, "Wishful Drinking" being the name of the very funny book which Carrie Fisher later did on Broadway and had filmed for cable T.V. as more comical observations about her life. Toss into the mix grandma Mary Wickes as MacLaine's own "monster" of a mother, lovable maybe to those who know her socially, but definitely somebody you'd think twice about as wanting for your mama. Conrad Bain ("Maude", "Different Strokes") simply retorts to Wickes' constant chattering with "Yap Yap Yap, That's all you do all the live long day". Their delightful two scene cameo is an enjoyable commentary on the issues of different generations. Just like Jennifer Lopez had to tolerate a nasty mother-in-law to be (Jane Fonda) in "Monster in Law", Fonda had to tolerate a former nasty mother-in-law (Elaine Stritch) who got revenge on her daughter in law by simply adoring Lopez from the moment she met her. Unlike "Monster in Law", however, "Postcards From the Edge" utilizes the issues of two daughters dealing with mother issues in a realistic and understanding way, rather than adding hate into the plot line simply for uncomfortable laughs.
While some of the script seems to focus on "the blame game", it is more about two women who are trying the best they can to understand the other, move on from bitter memories, and get past issues that have taken their life out of control. MacLaine's character has a bit of a drinking problem, gets into a car accident and like Streep, ends up in the hospital, minus wig and make-up, and looking like Elsa Lanchaster in "The Bride of Frankenstein" after being caught in a thunderstorm. The two actresses let it all bare out here, unafraid to go into places most actresses might be scared to go, especially of MacLaine's era. Streep's attempts to even get through the simplest of movie shoots proves futile, with director Gene Hackman laying into her with all the crassness that Hollywood has to offer. Cameos by Rob Reiner, Richard Dreyfeuss and Annette Benning add to the realistic issues of Streep's tumbling life, with Dennis Quaid giving a very good performance as the actor who seduces the unknowing Streep, pretends to be an old high school friend when she doesn't recognize him, and ultimately a heel after Streep finds out that he had also been sleeping with Benning. Streep deservedly got an Oscar Nomination, but in one of the worst examples of Academy Award criminology, MacLaine was overlooked, that being the biggest shocker of the year. Fisher, too, should have been honored for her screenplay, as should have been Mike Nichols for one of the best directing jobs he had done since "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?".
Streep gets to show off her excellent singing voice here, performing two songs (including one triumphant declaration of independence in the finale) while MacLaine bangs the heck out of "I'm Still Here" (in D-Flat) as she explores her own regrets. It's ironic that a decade later, MacLaine would work again with Carrie Fisher and the real deal of who she plays here (Debbie Reynolds) in the amusing but mediocre T.V. movie "These Old Broads". In both films, Fisher explores the adoration that "these old broads" receive from the gay community, as evidenced by an encounter that MacLaine has with a rehab patient who happens to do one of MacLaine's old movie characters (obviously based upon Reynolds' Oscar nominated "Molly Brown") in drag. In typical comically bitter fashion, MacLaine gets in a bitchy line ("You know how the queens love me", she tells Streep") while the gay man tells his lover how obvious MacLaine's plastic surgery is, although in a very affectionate but knowing manner. This film isn't perfect, and might strike some as a bitter attack on Hollywood's treatment to aging divas or has-beens, but if we got that with "Sunset Bouevard", why couldn't it be done 40 years after Norma Desmond got ready for her close-up?