Soapdish

Starring:Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Robert Downey Jr., Cathy Moriarty, Elisabeth Shue, Teri Hatcher, Whoopi Goldberg, Garry Marshall, Kathy Najimy, Arne Nannestad, Paul Johansson, Sheila Kelley, Carrie Fisher, Michael Berkowitz, David Byron, Rob Camilletti, Tim Choate, Nico De Silva, Willie Garson, Mary Pat Gleason
Director: Michael Hoffman
Studio: Paramount
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Though this movie did decent box-office business, it was never as funny as it should have been or as clever as it thought it was. The film is set behind the scenes at The Sun Also Sets, a soap opera starring Sally Field that is suffering a ratings slump. To lure the audience back, the producers resurrect a dead character, played by Kevin Kline, with whom Field was once a lover of but is now at odds (and helped exile to dinner theater, where he is first glimpsed playing Willy Loman). Written by Andrew Bergman and Robert Harling, the script has its funny moments but never manages to string them together, despite a cast that includes Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Downey Jr., Cathy Moriarty, and Carrie Fisher. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

Mr. Fine is SO WRONG.......2007-05-12

I remember when this movie was released, my friends and I had to see it three times in the theatre because the audience was laughing so loudly we couldn't hear all the dialogue. And the dialogue is priceless. Incisively written scenario, from the double-stab at daytime dramas and Hernest Hemingway ("The Sun Also Rises") to the soap opera character names ("Bolt", or 'dumb as a lugnut hunk in spandex married to much older woman', but it's "believable")! As other reviewers have commented, there are so many brilliant lines, it takes several viewings to catch them all.

The characters are portrayed by a dream cast, including up-and-coming actors Kathy Najimy (a true delight as the eager new costumer, Tawny Miller, suffering from both a Tammy Fae Baker AND a Gloria Swanson fixation); Teri Hatcher (by the way, as an aside to other reviewers, her hair was even big for late '80's / early '90's standards, that was the soap-opera-star joke of it), her entrance is memorable; and Elizabeth Shue (the outfit really does make her look like tweety bird). Veteran Hollywood players include: Carrie Fisher (her part should have been larger, a neat spin on the legendary "hollywood casting couch"); Gary Marshall (the dumbfounded executive muttering "she's a boy, she's a boy"); Sally Field (killing her ex-lover's plants with bleach while swigging vodka straight from the bottle -- Susan Lucci must have been pissed); Kevin Kline (the scene where he's standing under the chinese lantern trying to deliver serious lines with a tassle on his forehead is wonderful); Robert Downey Jr.'s spin on the slimey producer profiting from his plans backfires; and Ben Stein as a 'nitwit executive' (his one line still stands out: "look at the hooters on that one") all add to the delirious delight of this crazy high-strung movie.

I must say that the actor who steals every scene is Kathy Moriarty. She is delicious as Montana Morehead/Nurse Nan (just another hilarious reference to the world of soap opera stardom), the VENOMOUS rival for Sally Fields' soap opera supremacy. She is brilliant in every scene she's in ("Do you want to hear about my childood? I had no friends, I wore too much makeup, the other kids thought I was evil."), and her "reveal" at the end of the film had people standing in the theatre aisles SCREAMING LAUGHING. The scene where she chases Robert Downey Jr. around his office with a wiffle ball bat is just plain wonderful.

Basically, it comes down to this: if you thrilled in Bette Midler's telephone scene with Danny DeVito in "Ruthless People" ("You scum sucking pig!), you'll love this movie. The entire movie matches that hysterically vicious tone.

I wish the studio would re-release the DVD with actor's commentary and more insider information. If there's any "behind-the-scenes" video, especially outtakes (everyone must have broken up continuously during the filming), it would be fantastic to see.

If not, a cast reunion with commentary would be a lot of fun to watch!

Overacting is what makes this great........2007-04-03

Ever wanted to see someone spoof the myriad of soap operas on the daytime television lineup? Here's a great option for you. The characters in this movie are overacting soap stars on the screen and in their real lives. Subplots are not limited to the on air drama either. I was most impressed with the stars ability to over-act like daytime soap stars but still show how good they truly are. Kevin Kline and Sally Field are amazing and Robert Downey Jr. plays my favorite character of his to date.
Definitely worth a watch.

still a hoot after all these years.......2007-01-12

This is still a fun movie and a very funny concept, not to mention an excellent cast. They will remake this some day, seeing they seem to be remaking everything nowadays. And like all remakes, the original will still stand out. It's good to have in the DVD library, especially on some cold rainy sunday with a warm beverage and your dog curled by your side. (how pathetically single am I sounding right now!!!) More ensemble comedies like this are needed in the world.

SOAPDISH.......2007-01-04

Kevin Kline, Sally Field, Whoopi Goldberg, Terri Hatcher, Robert Downey Jr., Elizabeth Shue, and Cathy Moriority all get together to make this one of the FUNNIEST movies I have ever seen. WE LOVE THIS MOVIE - so it was only natural that we buy the DVD to have waiting under the tree this Christmas. WHAT A HIT!!! If you've never seen this one - BUY IT!!

five stars for laughs alone.......2006-10-27

This film is not a gorgeous epic or an oscar-contender. It is a soap-opera spoof and the fun it has with the whole soap-opera genre is nothing short of hilarious. The writing, unlike that of soaps, is clever, and the comedy is subtle in places and then appropriately over the top. Kevin Kline's teleprompter scene is one that could pop anyone out of the deepest depressive mood. I love funny movies, and this one gets the laugh-out-loud prize.

Average customer rating:

Mr. Fine is SO WRONG
Overacting is what makes this great.
still a hoot after all these years
SOAPDISH
five stars for laughs alone

Soapdish [Region 2]
Starring: Sally Field , Kevin Kline , Robert Downey Jr. , Cathy Moriarty , and Elisabeth Shue
Director: Michael Hoffman
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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