Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2016)

An intimate portrait of actress Debbie Reynolds and her relationship with her beloved children, Carrie Fisher and Todd Fisher.

Directors:

Alexis Bloom, Fisher Stevens

Stars:

Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, Todd Fisher

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Debbie Reynolds	...	Herself
Carrie Fisher	...	Herself
Todd Fisher	...	Himself
Catherine Hickland	...	Herself
Constance Freiberg	...	Herself
Griffin Dunne	...	Himself
Eddie Fisher	...	Himself (archive footage)
Maxine Reynolds	...	Herself (archive footage)

Storyline

Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds star in a tender portrait of Hollywood royalty in all its eccentricity. From the red carpet to the back alleys behind it, the documentary is about the bonds of family love, which are beautifully bitter-sweet.

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Taglines:

A different kind of Hollywood love story.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Cannes title link InsurgentMedia [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 January 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bright Lights

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bloomfish Pictures,HBO Documentary Films,Insurgent Docs

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Debbie Reynolds' last name is misspelled in one of the film's posters (it reads "Renyolds").

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Quotes

Carrie Fisher: Family-wise, we didn't grow up with each other, we grew up around each other. You know, like trees.

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Connections

References Camille (1936)

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Soundtracks

Aba Daba Honeymoon
(from Two Weeks with Love (1950)) (uncredited)
Music by Walter Donovan
Lyrics by Arthur Fields
Performed by Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter

User Reviews

A Great Look at the Reynolds Family

Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2016)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

It's funny how events that happen before a movie's release can change the way you view it. A great example is THE CROW where Brandon Lee was killed during the production and this left a rather morbid atmosphere over an already dark movie. When you view BRIGHT LIGHTS, the documentary about the relationship between Debbie Reynolds and her daughter Carrie Fisher, you can't help but know the tragic turn of events that happened before this aired on HBO. It's even more uncanny when one of the earliest moments in the film has Carrie asking her mom about her will.

With that said, this is an extremely good and very entertaining documentary that traces both ladies rise in Hollywood. We learn about Reynolds career, how she got involved in Eddie Fisher, the birth of their two children and of course what followed. With Fisher we learn about her relationship with her parents, her rise in STAR WARS and of course the drug addiction and depression. From here we also get to meet Todd Fisher and get some wonderful moments with him and, in one of the film's highlights, his poster collection, which he uses to tell his life story.

BRIGHT LIGHTS is certainly a film that fans of the there are going to enjoy as there are some terrific moments captured. There are some great stories told as well as quite a bit of archival footage showing Carrie and Todd when they were children. We also get to see inside the homes of the three, which is a great movie all by itself. Reynolds movie memorabilia collection is also looked at and discussed and we also get some footage of some of her final moments on a stage.

With that said, there's no question that there's a lingering sadness that surrounds the film. There are some uncanny moments that will certainly make you think to the events that happened towards the end of Carrie and Debbie's lives. In a weird way, what happened to Debbie is a lot more understandable once you see this film and see how close the two of them were.