Isn't She Great

What a screech that went up in heaven the day Jacqueline Susann heard that, in the movie version of her life, she was to be played by Bette Midler. Susann, best known for her sleazy novel Valley of the Dolls, always thought of herself as crashingly beautiful. Confronting the issue head on, the film is all about the gap between how we'd like to be seen and how others see us. But, based on an article 'Wasn't She Great' by Michael Korda, Paul Rudnick's script keeps staggering like a drunk towards sentimentality (an autistic son, breast cancer and a supportive husband get slobbered over at embarrassing length), only to sober up suddenly. Things work best when Jackie and pal Flo (Channing) get together. It's a reminder not only that Midler and Channing can act, but that vanity and a taste for Venus flytrap clothing don't necessarily blunt your powers of observation. Extolling the profundity of the superficial, there are lines here Wilde would appreciate. Visually, the costumes do all the time travel work, with director Bergman shooting in that '70s-lite haze which Midler drags into her films.