Spanning 50 years, 1991's FOR THE BOYS was one of the most ambitious films of Bette Midler's career. One of the first female producers at the time and wrestling a huge early nineties $40 million budget, Midler won a Golden Globe and was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role, but was devastated when the film flopped in theatres.
Midler stars as 40's lounge singer Dixie Leonard. She gains stardom when she's handpicked to join superstar wartime entertainer Eddie Sparks on his US tour.
Sparks (think Bob Hope in the guise of James Caan) is a callous, egotistical nightmare off the stage, but after a very rough start, he and Dixie bond.
The film follows them across numerous wars, marriages and endless personal battles. While not a musical, it also gives Midler numerous chances to perform on stage and those are the moments where the film hits its stride.
Tamara and I saw Bette Midler live in the 90's and were struck by how hilarious she was, with her show balancing to half comedy and half singing. Raucous, dirty and funny, Midler owned the stage. She does the same here in those moments, but the rest of the movie pales in comparison.
Caan is okay, but never very likable in the role. George Segal (A Touch of Class) fares much better as Dixie's uncle and comedy writer for Sparks.
Writer Marshall Brickman (Annie Hall, Manhattan) delivers some great one liners, but the framing device that he uses is clunky, with a 90 year old Dixie getting ready to go to an Award show and telling her and Eddie's life story to a young man who has arrived to pick her up.
The old age makeup is pretty convincing too, but Midler and Caan look about 105, not 90 when they finally meet up in the film's final moments.
Caan has said in many interviews since that working with Midler was "a complete nightmare". In reality, he feels odd in the role and you wonder what the film would have felt like with song and dance man George Segal in the role of Eddie. Caan's okay, but no one will every accuse him of being a singer.
Ambitious but flawed, FOR THE BOYS shines whenever Midler's on screen and not in that old lady make up. Her first stage appearance in London during Eddie's show for the troops is terrific. Alas, the movie that surrounds it only gets a C.
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