Let me just start off by saying this movie does NOT deserve the rating and reviews it has gotten. I was skeptical going in because of the low rating and how lost it had become in the endless sea of romance movies but I found myself in tears when I finished!
Barbra Streisand is a master, no doubt about it. Everything was carefully crafted from the pacing of the story to the complexities of the characters. You found yourself drawn into the storyline and the personalities of the characters. Jeff Bridges, Lauren Bacall and the rest did a fantastic job in selling the believability of their respective characters. There was glorious tension between the characters and you could see the shift in tone and emotions for them which is ESSENTIAL to creating a successful romance movie.
Now where I begin to disagree with the other reviews on this movie is the whole makeover part of the movie. I know we have been beaten to death with the terrible trope of the ugly duckling getting a makeover and suddenly becoming desirable and therefore equating worth to beauty. However, I dont think that's what's happening here. I think a lot of people miss that because what Barbra Streisand is doing is relating to a very specific sort of woman. The sort of woman who, admittedly, is not conventionally attractive and doesnt take care of herself but still is certainly not HIDEOUS. The sort of woman who has been brainwashed by her parents and society ever since childhood to believe she is ugly and not worthy and has in some cases lived in the shadow of a more beautiful sibling or mother. At that point, it doesnt matter whether you're actually ugly or not, what matters is what you've been led to believe. And so Rose's low self esteem and her firm belief that shes not attractive is very very realistic, especially when Gregory recoils away from her when she tries to seduce him and he even TELLS HER that he doesn't find her physically attractive even if we, the audience, dont necessarily agree. It's all about PERCEPTION. That scene and her reaction was painfully authentic. Not only that, but Barbra makes damn sure to mention that this isnt one of those terrible makeover tropes when she rejects Alex because she realizes he didnt find her worthy when she was her original self. And she tells him that hes not good enough for her because not only does she have the added bonus of being pretty now BUT she also loves herself and accepts who she is and WAS before the makeover. She sees that picture of herself as a child and realizes, by God I AM pretty naturally, there was nothing wrong with me as I had been led to believe.
I'm so glad I found this hidden gem, definitely worth the watch!
Barbra Streisand is a master, no doubt about it. Everything was carefully crafted from the pacing of the story to the complexities of the characters. You found yourself drawn into the storyline and the personalities of the characters. Jeff Bridges, Lauren Bacall and the rest did a fantastic job in selling the believability of their respective characters. There was glorious tension between the characters and you could see the shift in tone and emotions for them which is ESSENTIAL to creating a successful romance movie.
Now where I begin to disagree with the other reviews on this movie is the whole makeover part of the movie. I know we have been beaten to death with the terrible trope of the ugly duckling getting a makeover and suddenly becoming desirable and therefore equating worth to beauty. However, I dont think that's what's happening here. I think a lot of people miss that because what Barbra Streisand is doing is relating to a very specific sort of woman. The sort of woman who, admittedly, is not conventionally attractive and doesnt take care of herself but still is certainly not HIDEOUS. The sort of woman who has been brainwashed by her parents and society ever since childhood to believe she is ugly and not worthy and has in some cases lived in the shadow of a more beautiful sibling or mother. At that point, it doesnt matter whether you're actually ugly or not, what matters is what you've been led to believe. And so Rose's low self esteem and her firm belief that shes not attractive is very very realistic, especially when Gregory recoils away from her when she tries to seduce him and he even TELLS HER that he doesn't find her physically attractive even if we, the audience, dont necessarily agree. It's all about PERCEPTION. That scene and her reaction was painfully authentic. Not only that, but Barbra makes damn sure to mention that this isnt one of those terrible makeover tropes when she rejects Alex because she realizes he didnt find her worthy when she was her original self. And she tells him that hes not good enough for her because not only does she have the added bonus of being pretty now BUT she also loves herself and accepts who she is and WAS before the makeover. She sees that picture of herself as a child and realizes, by God I AM pretty naturally, there was nothing wrong with me as I had been led to believe.
I'm so glad I found this hidden gem, definitely worth the watch!