What"s Next On My List? Soapdish

 This year there was not much to see at the movies, as everything has been closed since February. I was looking forward to some things coming out, but instead I want back to some that deserve another look. Either because they are good or because they did not age well at all... let's see where this one falls, shall we?

Soapdish (1991)

Montana Moorehead (Cathy Moriarty) wants to become the main star of the soap opera that she was a role in, so she teams up with producer David Barnes (Robert Downey Jr.) to make the life of the leading actress Celeste Talbert (Sally Field) a living hell. They cast her former partner Jeffrey Anderson (Kevin Kline) as well as her niece Lori (Elisabeth Shue), both of whom she did not want on the show. As events unfold, turns out that real life is juicier than the plot of the soap...

I saw this movie a long time ago, on TV, and already then I was shocked by all the famous people they got in this cast, with young Teri Hatcher and Paul Johansson, followed by veteran successful actresses like Whoopi Goldberg and Carrie Fisher, to mention a few, aside from the leads I wrote about in the summary. I have a tendency to be scared about movies that collect big names, because they always end up in a plot-less disaster. Thankfully, not everyone was as famous as they are now in this movie, but looking at it now, it is an all-star cast. That said, story-wise I loved the twists and turns and how, really, it was all just a big soap opera. It was funny and ridiculous, a perfectly fine 90s comedy. In terms of aging... I think this movie deserves a second watch, because it did age well. The story is unique in its exection and in the world in tries to portray. It is both a parody of telenovela soap operas, as well as a parody of the life of big stars. Just because someone has money and awards, it does not make them happy. And the movie also has a silly moral lesson of teaching everyone to stop lying and be honest to one another. 

Watch it? Yes, because you are bound to beat everyone the next time you play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, as he stared with Elisabeth Shue, and you can now link her to the Avengers as well as the Star Wars universe.  It is a harmless entertaining movie with a great cast, fun story and a couple of twists. It aged well and it is definitely going to stay a favorite of mine, as each time I watch it I discover something new.

Until the next item on my list!