Isn't She Great


Isn't She Great is a 2000 biographical comedy-drama film that presents a fictionalized biography of author Jacqueline Susann, played by Bette Midler. An international co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan, the film was directed by Andrew Bergman from a screenplay by Paul Rudnick based on a 1995 New Yorker profile by Michael Korda. The film covers Susann's entire life, focusing on her early struggles as an aspiring actress relentlessly hungry for fame, her relationship with press agent husband Irving Mansfield, with whom she had an institutionalized autistic son, her success as the author of Valley of the Dolls, and her battle with and subsequent death from breast cancer. In addition to Midler and Lane, the film stars Stockard Channing as Susann's "gal pal" Florence Maybelle, David Hyde Pierce as book editor Michael Hastings, and John Cleese as publisher Henry Marcus. John Larroquette, Amanda Peet, Christopher McDonald, Debbie Shapiro, and Paul Benedict have supporting roles.
Opening in 750 US theaters on January 28, 2000, it was assaulted by critics and shunned by the public, and earned only $3 million at the box office, far less than its cost of $44 million. Midler was nominated for a Worst Actress Golden Raspberry Award.

Cast

The film was an international production, with the BBC, Lobell-Bergman Productions, Marbeni, Mutual Film Corporation, Tele-Munchen, Toho and Universal Pictures contributing, making it an American-British-German-Japanese co-production. Despite the international production, the film was not released in Japan.

Reception

Isn't She Great was panned by critics, as the film holds a 25% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 61 reviews.

Awards and nominations

Nominations