Soapdish (1991) - Movie Review
Soap operas have been around for years and some of them are very popular even though they tend to have wild and outlandish plots. Over the years, a few movies have featured characters that were somehow connected to a soap opera. Soapdish delved into the world of one fictional soap opera.
Celeste Talbert had been on the soap opera The Sun Also Sets for many years as Maggie. She was on the verge of a breakdown after her married lover left her to go back to his wife. Another actress on the show, Montana Moorehead, was plotting with producer David to get her character of Nurse Nan to replace Maggie as the main female character on the show. He came up with the idea of bring back Rod Randall as a doctor despite the objections of Rose, the head writer and Celeste’s best friend. Rod had been killed off on the show twenty years before after Celeste had Jeffrey Anderson fired when their relationship fell apart. David hired Jeffrey to return as Rod because he knew it would irritate Celeste.
Celeste was shocked to see her niece Lori one day on the set as a mute homeless person. Lori had dropped out of college because she wanted to be an actress even though Celeste didn’t approve of that. Lori’s character Angelique ended up becoming a regular which really infuriated Montana, especially when Angelique became more popular than her own character. Things got even more complicated with Montana putting more pressure on David and Celeste feeling like she had to share a secret.
It was clear very early into Soapdish that the movie was going to be poking fun at soap operas and the actors who appear on them with the crazy antics going on around the set. Most soap operas have had some story lines that were a bit out there and pushed the lines of believability. I don’t think any real soap has had any stories that were as off the wall as what was happening in the stories on The Sun Also Sets or even in the lives of the cast. It has become common on soaps for characters to return from the dead, but I don’t think a character that had been decapitated has ever returned like Rod did in the movie. There were times when the things going on in the movie were a bit campy, but that worked with what was going on. Celeste’s private life ended up being more outlandish than anything happening on the show.
Most of Soapdish took place around the set where The Sun Also Sets was filmed. There was a lot going on behind the scenes of the show with all the plotting and backstabbing. That did help keep things interesting and made the movie very entertaining. The planning for some future stories was shown, usually when David and Montana were plotting things that would lead to Celeste leaving the show. The filming of some scenes for the show was included, including fits that some of the cast had over story lines. During those scenes, the characters did seem to be overacting. I thought that fit with the movie. The Sun Also Set took place in the Caribbean and it seemed like homeless people were everywhere from how often they were featured in stories.
I thought this was a very funny movie. Most of the humor came from things that were done to poke fun at soap operas. Celeste frequently acted like a diva on the set, having fits over everything from her costumes - she really hated it when she had to wear a turban - to scripts. Her fits and what she said in them were very funny. The things that Montana came up with to try to get Celeste off the show were very funny as well. David was more subdued, but his reactions, especially to one thing late in the movie, added a lot of humor. Jeffrey also said and did several things that made me laugh. The humor was consistent throughout the movie and it is worth watching for people in the mood for a comedy.
Sex scenes have played an important part in soap operas for years, so it was no surprise that there were some sexual situations in Soapdish. When I recently watched the movie again, it was on television and had been edited. It has been long enough since I had rented the movie that I can’t remember for sure if there were any sex scenes in it that had been edited out for television. The fact that Montana promised David sex in the future if he did what she wanted was brought up more than once. A few different characters were shown kissing, either as part of a scene on the show or in the private lives of the cast members. There really were only a few sexual situations, though parents probably wouldn’t want their children to see the movie.
Soapdish had a very large cast, so most of the characters weren’t fleshed out or developed much at all. Celeste turned up in the most scenes and was connected to the different plots, so she was probably the most developed in the movie. She had been on the soap for many years and was worried about that her character would be replaced by one played by a younger woman as the main character on the show. She ended up having to deal with a lot of things throughout the movie and did seem to be unbalanced at times with the way she reacted and dealt with things. Sally Field was wonderful in the part. Rose had been Celeste’s best friend and a writer on the show for many years. Rose wasn’t really in many scenes, so Whoopi Goldberg didn’t have a lot to do.
Montana was obsessed with becoming more popular on the show and was plotting how to get rid of Celeste. Montana was willing to do just about anything to reach her goal and she didn’t mind stringing David along. He just couldn’t seem to think straight when Montana was around tempting him with her promises. Cathy Moriarty and Robert Downey Jr were great in the parts. Carrie Fisher turned up in a few short scenes as a casting director who liked to make the young men auditioning take off their shirts. Terri Hatcher played Ariel, another actress on the show who seemed to resent Celeste. Kathy Najimy was around in the background of some scenes as the costume designer that couldn’t seem to please Celeste. Gary Marshall was in a couple of scenes as either the executive producer or an executive with the network.
Jeffrey had high ambitions for his acting career that really went nowhere after Celeste had him fired from the show. When he was offered the chance to return, he was doing dinner theater in a restaurant frequented by retired people who couldn’t care less about the play going on. He jumped at the chance to return to the show and irritate Celeste. I think this was one of Kevin Kline’s funniest performances and I loved him in the part. Lori had a very close relationship with her aunt. That didn’t stop her from going against Celeste’s wishes and dropping out of college to become an actress. Her character was made a regular and became popular, which did cause her to start acting like a diva. Elisabeth Shue was good in the part.
Soapdish was a very funny, entertaining movie. It was a bit silly at times in spoofing soap operas, but it all worked to make the movie enjoyable. It is worth watching for people in the mood for a good comedy.