Malice in Wonderland (1985) (TV)

Director:

Gus Trikonis

Writers:

George Eells (novel)
Jacqueline Feather (writer)

Release Date:

12 May 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Struggling actress Hedda Hopper can't get a break in Hollywood, even though an acquaintence of hers...

Plot Keywords:

Hollywood | Film Making | Film Industry | Docudrama | Gossip Columnist

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor	...	Louella Parsons
Jane Alexander	...	Hedda Hopper
Richard Dysart	...	Louis B. Mayer
Joyce Van Patten	...	Dema Harshbarger
Jon Cypher	...	Dr. Harry 'Docky' Martin
Leslie Ackerman	...	Harriet Parsons
Bonnie Bartlett	...	Ida Koverman
Thomas Byrd	...	William Hopper
Joel Colodner	...	Andy Kenderson
Rick Lenz	...	Iceman
Mary McCusker	...	Dot
John Pleshette	...	Tommy Gallep
Eric Purcell	...	Orson Welles
Tim Robbins	...	Joseph Cotten
Mark L. Taylor	...	Howard Strickling

Also Known As:

The Rumor Mill

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Trivia:

Jane Alexander replaced Lauren Bacall who left before filming.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: As the camera pans down the street, on the curb is the painted number of either a house or building. They didn't paint number signs on the curbs back then.

Quotes:

Louis B. Mayer: I haven't destroyed a monster, I've created two.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Charmed: Malice in Wonderland (#8.2)" (2005)

Funny but not THAT funny...

The movie is a mildly funny comedy which you will laugh-out-laugh at but will forget the day after. A movie about the two Tinseltown 'divas' Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons could have been far better when its comedy source is the Hollywood 'Golden Age' struggle for who gets the better star gossip...

In short, Elizabeth Taylor(Louella) and Jane Alexander(Hedda)are rivals in the showbusiness gossip business both on the radio and in the written press. While Louella has always exploited the ones around her and has flourished by sinking to the lowest level of slime, Hedda has a ruff time getting a job as a serious actress and is forced by financial constraints to go into Louella's territory. The two become archrivals and compete for the same men who eventually become ex-husbands of both. The comedy is provided by a lot of crazy hats, food fights and a few polished dialogues which give a hint of the movie's unexplored comic potential.

Elizabeth Taylor cannot play comedy. Her performance is far-fetched and over the top with shouted lines and evil glares at Hedda. Her character remains one dimensional(vengefull forty year old seeking cat-fights) with just a faint hint at her feelings for her child. Jane Alexander on the other hand delivers a rich performance going from drama to comedy without being ridiculous. She is perfectly transformed from middle-aged actress with good moral values that keep her hungry to gossip columnist/gold-digger/Louella, the ultimate Hollywood product: someone with no spine what so ever. Yet both women manage to keep away from the ultimate state of "She'd eat her young for an extra dime!". The writers go a bit too far with the whole ‘family is sacred' idea almost trying to force upon us a moral message that the reason these two women are unhappy is because they have undermined the importance of family, of ‘women shouldn't leave the kitchen' ideas of the fifties.

The subplots are quite funny and the writer manages to slip a good dialogue from time to time. Don't get me wrong: the movie is a good comedy but not the best it could have been. Its other strongpoints (besides Alexander's performance) include the presence of a lot of Hollywood famous people of the time(1940s-1950s), a small role played by young Tim Robbins and some witty irony pointed at the big studios.

BOTTOM LINE: Don't go out of your way to see this movie (especially if you are a Liz Taylor fan...) because the are thousands of better movies you could be watching. But if you stumble over it on T.V. on a lazy afternoon you'll have a good time and it will leave you with a sweet aftertaste...