Postcards from the Edge (1990)

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writers (WGA):

Carrie Fisher (book)
Carrie Fisher (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Having a wonderful time, wish I were here.

Plot:

Substance-addicted Hollywood actress Suzanne Vale is on the skids. After a spell at a detox centre her...

Plot Keywords:

Mother | Actress | Daughter | Hollywood | Dysfunctional Family

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Meryl Streep	...	Suzanne Vale
Shirley MacLaine	...	Doris Mann
Dennis Quaid	...	Jack Faulkner
Gene Hackman	...	Lowell Kolchek
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Doctor Frankenthal
Rob Reiner	...	Joe Pierce
Mary Wickes	...	Grandma
Conrad Bain	...	Grandpa
Annette Bening	...	Evelyn Ames
Simon Callow	...	Simon Asquith
Gary Morton	...	Marty Wiener
CCH Pounder	...	Julie Marsden (as C.C.H. Pounder)
Sidney Armus	...	Sid Roth
Robin Bartlett	...	Aretha
Barbara Garrick	...	Carol

Runtime:

101 min | Canada:95 min (edited version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14A (Ontario - 2006) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG | Canada:A

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

At the request of Mike Nichols, Stephen Sondheim wrote special lyrics to his song "I'm Still Here" for Shirley MacLaine to perform.

Goofs:

Continuity: Shirley's head-scarf changes from loose to firmly fastened between shots at the hospital.

Quotes:

Bart: Excuse me, Suzanne, can I meet your mother?
Suzanne: Sure. Bart, this is my mom...
Bart: Oh, Miss Mann, I've loved you my whole life. Ever since I was seven, I wanted to be you.
Alan: Bart does you in his drag show.
Bart: Oh, this is my lover, Alan. Yes, I wear a costume exactly like the one you wore in "That Marvelous Mrs. Markham."
Doris: Oh, the one with the corset? That was so difficult to wear...
Suzanne: Mom?
Doris: Oh, I must go, sorry, boys. It was very nice to meet you.
[whispering to Suzanne]
Doris: Sorry, dear, but you know how much the queens love me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Meryl Streep (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

From This Moment On

Triumph For Fisher

Great performances by Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine. They are both hilarious and poignant in this Carrie Fisher story about a show business daughter coming through the process of working out emotional trauma and baggage in relation to her mother, upbringing and subsequent addiction problems. Also especially good is Gene Hackman in a small supporting role and a cameo by Rob Reiner. Streep and MacLaine carry this film with their talents and are very entertaining as they confront each other and themselves about personal flaws and foibles. What makes this work so well is the smart and oblique humor that is employed to address the internal pain of the main character. I also liked the little jabs at the movie industry itself as well as its nonchalant way of revealing some of it's visual tricks too.

One particular touching and bittersweet scene is between Hackman (as movie director) as he comforts Streep (an actress he's working with) with a sort of lighthearted understanding and encouragement to overcome her drug addiction as he builds her up with appreciation of her talent.

Considering the obvious autobiographical nature of this story for Fisher, it would appear to be sort of a catharsis for her. She does a good job in bringing painful personal issues to light with humor through her writing. Personal pain and demons often seem to be the source of great art and entertainment as well as amusement for many artists and through their art, for the rest of us as well. This is a case in point and definitely worth the time.