Mike Nichols lends some comic structure to Carrie Fisher's best-selling confessional novel concerning a woman's struggles with drug addiction and mother-daughter rivalry (subjects Fisher admits to understanding all too well). Meryl Streep, in her most full-blown comic performance up to that point, plays Suzanne Vale, a popular movie actress well on her way to a Hollywood crack-up. Suzanne suffers from blackouts and memory lapses, and awakens in the beds of men she doesn't remember; she is a barely-functioning wreck on the set of her latest movie. When a coke dealer who delivers stops by her dressing room between takes, she swiftly finds herself being rushed to the hospital, suffering the effects of a narcotics bender. While in detox, Suzanne attempts to piece her life and career back together, but her confidence is shattered when her mother arrives at the rehab clinic -- Doris Mann, a famed film icon from the 1950s and 1960s (Shirley MacLaine). Doris is soon soaking up the adulation and applause of Suzanne's fellow recovering drug addicts. Upon Suzanne's release, she must compete with her mother for attention and fame as she tries to walk a thin line as a recovering drug abuser. Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Genre: Comedy Drama
- Category Domestic Comedy, Showbiz Comedy
- Theme: All Washed Up, Existential Crisis, Mothers and Daughters, Drug Addiction, Starting Over, Actor's Life
- Studio: Columbia TriStar
- Run Time: 01 hr 42 min
- Language: Portuguese, Spanish, French, English
- Subtitle Language: French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, English, Korean
- Picture Format: widescreen, pan_and_scan
- Release Date: May 1, 2001
- Lead Actor: Gene Hackman, Shirley MacLaine, Meryl Streep, Richard Dreyfuss, Dennis Quaid
- Supporting Actor: Natalia Nogulich, Neil Machlis, Robert Marshall, Evelina Fernandez, Barbara Garrick, Pepe Serna, Robin Bartlett, Dana Ivey, Gary Morton, Simon Callow, Annette Bening, Mary Wickes, Conrad Bain, Rob Reiner, Gloria Crayton, Shelley Kirk, Scott Frankel, Michael Byers, Steven Brill, Gary Matanky, George D. Wallace, James Deeth, Oliver Platt, Sheridan Leatherbury, Susan Forristal, Sidney Armus, Roy Helland, Rene Assa, R.M. Haley, Peter Onorati, Mark French, Marc Tubert, Jessica Z. Diamond, Jason Tomlins, Gary Jones, CCH Pounder, John Verea, Ken Gutstein, Jim Cuddy, Jane Galloway, J.D. Souther, Douglas Roberts, Bob Weiseman, Anthony Heald, Kathleen Gray, Mark Lowenthal, Michael Ontkean, Greg Keelor
- Director: Mike Nichols
awards
- Nominations: Academy Awards (2), Golden Globe Awards (3)
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Actress, 1990, Meryl Streep
- Nominee: Golden Globe Awards, Best Original Song, 1990, Shel Silverstein
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Song, 1990, Shel Silverstein
- Nominee: Golden Globe Awards, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Ro, 1990, Shirley MacLaine
- Nominee: Golden Globe Awards, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Pictur, 1990, Meryl Streep
