Movie Review: Postcards From The Edge (1990)

Genre: Dramedy  

Director: Mike Nichols  

Starring: Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Gene Hackman, Dennis Quaid, Richard Dreyfuss  

Running Time: 101 minutes  

Synopsis: Movie actress Suzanne Vale (Meryl Streep) is abusing drugs, and is eventually checked into rehab by her mother, Hollywood legend Doris Mann (Shirley MacLaine). After recovering, Suzanne moves in with her mother as an insurance requirement as she tries to rebuild her career with an unbecoming role in a low-budget film. She has to deal with her mother's alcoholic narcissism and a deceptive suitor (Dennis Quaid), but finds support from a caring director (Gene Hackman) and an emergency room surgeon (Richard Dreyfuss).

What Works Well: This adaptation of Carrie Fisher's semi-autobiographical book features two reliably excellent performances from Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine. The focus is on stardom-induced self-absorption translating into unintentional pressure passed down from mother to daughter, amplifying dysfunction in both generations. While the dramatic moments are genuine, director Mike Nichols also has fun portraying quirky on-set dynamics as Suzanne navigates the idiosyncrasies of directors and producers.

What Does Not Work As Well: A nonchalant attitude results in frivolous treatment of important topics, including addiction, parenting, workplace toxicity, and exploitive men. The absence of meaningful secondary characters and glorified cameos from Gene Hackman and Richard Dreyfus add to an overall sense of dismissiveness. Some bizarre narrative choices result in three songs being performed in full, betraying a lack of conviction in the core strength of the material.

Key Quote:

Doris: I was such an awful mother... what if you had a mother like Joan Crawford or Lana Turner?

Suzanne: These are the options? You, Joan, or Lana?

All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.