Isn't She Great (2000)

An unsuccessful over-the-top actress becomes a successful over-the-top authoress in this biography of Jacqueline Susann, the famed writer of "The Valley Of The Dolls" and other trashy ... See full summary »

Director:

Andrew Bergman

Writers:

Michael Korda (article), Paul Rudnick (screenplay)

Stars:

Bette Midler, Nathan Lane, Stockard Channing

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bette Midler	...	Jacqueline Susann
Nathan Lane	...	Irving Mansfield
Stockard Channing	...	Florence Maybelle
David Hyde Pierce	...	Michael Hastings
John Cleese	...	Henry Marcus
John Larroquette	...	Maury Manning
Amanda Peet	...	Debbie
Terrence Ross	...	Radio actor
Jeffrey Ross	...	Shecky
Christopher McDonald	...	Brad Bradburn (as Christopher MacDonald)
Paul Benedict	...	Prof. Brainiac
Dina Waters	...	Bambi Madison (as Dina Spybey)
Pauline Little	...	Leslie Barnett
William Hill	...	Passerby
Mal Z. Lawrence	...	Mort

Storyline

An unsuccessful over-the-top actress becomes a successful over-the-top authoress in this biography of Jacqueline Susann, the famed writer of "The Valley Of The Dolls" and other trashy novels. Facing a failing career, Susann meets a successful promoter who becomes her husband. After several failures to place her in commercials and a TV quiz show, he hits upon the idea for her to become a writer. In the pre-60's, her books were looked upon as trash and non-printable. But then the sexual revolution hit and an audience was born for her books. The story shows the hidden behind the scenes story of Susan's life, including her autistic son and her continuing bout with cancer that she hid up to her death.

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Plot Keywords:

cancer | autistic son | son | autism | manhattan new york city | 

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Taglines:

Talent isn't everything.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Universal

Country:

USA UK Germany Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 January 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ela É Inesquecível

Filming Locations:

Hudson, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$36,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,368,705 (USA) (28 January 2000)

Gross:

$2,954,405 (USA) (18 February 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Lobell/Bergman Productions, Marubeni

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Jacqueline Susann watches people waiting in line at the Radio City Music Hall to see Once Is Not Enough. Susann died the year before this movie was released.

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Quotes

Jacqueline Susann: All I know about are people fucking their way to the movies, and popping pills and ending up in the gutter. All I know about are aging stars, hopeful whores, and cheap studs. All I know about are tits, ass, and the truth... and nobody writes books about that.

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Connections

Features The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)

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Soundtracks

"This Could Be The Start Of Something Big"
Written by Steve Allen
Performed by David Lawrence, Debbie Shapiro Gravitte and Bette Midler

User Reviews

Good Cast, Poor Writing

Sorry to say, I was disappointed by this film. When it ended, I had the feeling that I had just watched a TV movie, (an activity I try to avoid.) I rented the DVD, not because of any great admiration of Jacqueline Suzann, but because the cast looked great. Admittedly, the cast did not disappoint. David Hyde Pierce and John Cleese make for several enjoyable scenes. I like Nathan Lane. He's a genuinely engaging personality, with real warmth and charm. Nevertheless, it was his narration that pulled the quality down a few notches for me. It wasn't his delivery of the narration, but the writing itself that was at fault. It's cliché and sentimental to a fault. Burt Bacharach's musical direction only made matters worse. I admire Bacharach tremendously, and rank his scores for Casino Royal and What's New Pussycat among my favorites. But it just didn't work here. * out of ****