Product Description

AN OUTRAGEOUS COMEDY ABOUT AN AMBITIOUS WOMAN OF DUBIOUS TALENT WHO WRITES A SEXY BEST-SELLING NOVEL AND TAKES THE WORLD BY STORM. SPECIAL FEATURES: CAST AND FILMMAKERS, PRODUCTION NOTES, THEATRICAL TRAILER, UNIVERSAL SHOWCASE, AND UNIVERSAL WEB LINK.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44436 in DVD
• Brand: UNI DIST CORP. (MCA)
• Released on: 2000-07-18
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.com
Most people probably approached Isn't She Great looking for a screaming camp-fest, only to discover a surprisingly sincere love letter to trash-novelist Jacqueline Susann, author of Valley of the Dolls and Once Is Not Enough. Bette Midler plays the brash, self-obsessed Susann, who started as a struggling actress yearning for fame and not too picky about what she was famous for. Fortunately, she catches the eye of personal manager Irving Mansfield (Nathan Lane), who seems to have no particular skills either but who is so passionately devoted to his client that he marries her. It's Irving who first suggests that Susann write a book about the sordid lives of celebrities and beautiful people, and Irving who pushes the book to publisher after publisher with dogged devotion. The movie lurches a bit in Susann's early life--it wants to approach the difficulties of Susann's life (an autistic son, breast cancer) with a mixture of sentimentality and irreverence, which doesn't always mesh--but once Valley of the Dolls finds a publisher, the movie finds its legs. The ever-dependable David Hyde Pierce plays the uptight WASP assigned to edit Susann's manuscript, and much mileage is gotten out of the conflict between Pierce's blue-blood manner and Midler's broad Jewish glitz. John Cleese and Stockard Channing also provide able support. Paul Rudnick's script shows a genuine affection for its heroine; Rudnick also wrote the screenplays for Addams Family Values and In and Out. --Bret Fetzer

From The New Yorker
Not in this version. The movie is a thoroughly tawdry and entirely pointless attempt to turn the publicity-fuelled rise of author Jacqueline Susann (Bette Midler) into a low-camp celebration, and it manages to both lionize Susann as a brass-balled media revolutionary and patronize her as an idiot. Nathan Lane plays Jackie's devoted press-agent husband, Irving Mansfield. Paul Rudnick wrote the screenplay; Andrew Bergman directs, without style or wit. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

The Critics Are WRONG
I went with a friend to see this movie, mentioning to him that the "critics" thought the movie wasn't very good. WE LOVED IT! Bette is at her best portraying Jackie Susann. We recommend that EVERYONE go see this tribute to a great fiction writer.

Nope, she's Divine!
The hilarious Miss M does it again! Her timing is fab and she nails the delivery. Nobody can tell off God quite like Bette as trash novelist, Jackie Susann. While the movie was not a knock-your-socks-off hit, the critics are wrong. With perfectly cast supporting players, a super-ditzy 70s-style score by none other than Burt Bacharach, and wonderful costuming and sets, the film was very enjoyable and I recommend it to those who actually have a sense of humor.

Stockard Channing (who really shines in over-the-top roles) is incomparable and a perfect match to Bette. Her best lines are second only to Bette's conversations with God and her editor. Master of the stage, Nathan Lane, delivers his usual outstanding performance as the endearing, funny, supportive husband and handler of Bette's wacky, exceedingly self-centered Susann. Bette and Nathan are like cream and sugar. David Hyde Pierce brings Niles' charm and wonderful sensitivity to his character as Bette's editor. John Cleese, always a very funny guy, doesn't get nearly enough screen time or lines, but makes the very best of it anyway.

So what if the bio wasn't accurate, it never is. And the acting was not overdone at all, it was meant to be flamboyant! Will I see it again? You bet! If only just to listen Bette tell it like it is. Way to go, Miss M!

Okay, so it's not art.
If you are looking for deep cinema that will change your life, or for an accurate biography of Ms. Susann, keep looking. If you are looking for a witty, feel-good movie with Miss M at her most divine, a star-studded cast, mostly believable human interactions, and great period settings, this is it.