[sparky]

Originally Posted by dissention

I've never seen another movie dripping with so much self-love and ego in my life. Every frame is laboriously set up to make her, a frumpy Jewish woman under the impression that she's a walking goddess, appear as if she's the most glamorous of movie stars; as if the heavens parted just so that a ray of light could shoot down upon her being, illuminating her for the world to see. The gauze shots are enough to make one think that they downed a few bottles of heavy liquor that they never actually did, and the heavy-handed treatment of the subject matter coupled with her insatiable quest for mass adoration make one feel as if they're being conned, emotionally and aesthetically.

Never mind that Nick Nolte was anally raped as a child, no, she doesn't care about any of that; it is not essential to the story being told. The only thing that she wants to get across, and does she ever hammer into your head, is that she's a complicated character. Yes, Babs is complicated. She has enormous wealth, a fabulous career, and Elliot Gould's spawn. Of course, we already know what a complicated character she is, anyway. We're simply confused about which character while we're watching it: Barbra Streisand or the one she's playing in the movie?

Pauline Kael did NOT retire. She lives in Boston. She is masquerading as a young interior designer who calls himself Josh.