ISN'T SHE GREAT

Year: 2000
USA: Universal Pictures
UK: UIP
Cast: Bette Midler, Nathan Lane, Amanda Peet, Stockard Channing, David Hyde Pierce, John Cleese, John Larroquette, Jason Fuchs, Bret Gillen, Richard McConomy, Rebekah Mintzer, Lisa Bronwyn Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dina Spybey, Sam Street, Frank Vincent
Director: Andrew Bergman
Country: USA
UK: 95 mins
USA Rated: R for language
UK Certificate: 15 for strong language and sex references
USA Release Date: 28 January 2000
UK Release Date: 23 June 2000


Synopsis

From the very beginning, best-selling novelist Jacqueline Susann (Bette Midler) simply wanted her place in the spotlight. With no agent and no one calling for auditions, she scraped by with residuals from the occasional radio jingle, television commercial and game show appearance. Still, with every failure -and there were plenty- she remained undeterred in her quest for fame. A friend once told her that "talent wasn't everything," and for no person was this more true. Manager and publicist Irving Mansfield (Nathan Lane) knew he was the one who could make Jackie's dreams come true. He also knew that he was in love with the flamboyant actress.

Irving hit upon a crazy idea, which just might make Jacqueline Susann a household name. She would write a book. Never mind the fact that she had never written before. She would write about what she knew: the crazy, steamy lives of drug-addicted, sex-craved movie stars. With her best friend Florence (Stockard Channing) by her side for inspiration and Irving at her side for advice, encouragement and deliveries of hot Pastrami, Jackie put pen to paper, with a passion that was all-consuming... and a vocabulary that would shock a sailor. The result was Valley of the Dolls, an inside look at the high's and low's of showbiz as told by someone who had experienced it first-hand. According to Irving, it was "like Gone With The Wind, only filthy."