I wouldn't have bothered to watch this movie except (A) I read several positive viewer reviews on IMDb or Amazon, (B) I developed an appreciation for Bette Midler during the five episodes when her TV show was good and (C) I caught 15 minutes of "For the Boys" on broadcast TV and enjoyed what I saw.
Having seen the whole movie now I gave it a 6. This is not the first movie to mix uplifting with depressing, funny with serious, in an attempt to mirror real life. But the movie doesn't pull it off well. When Bette's character saw her son die in Vietnam I found it melodramatic and contrived rather than moving. An astute viewer would know the kid was going to die anyway, as Bette's character telegraphed it in a prior scene.
The ending was incredible in the sense that it defied credibility and put a happy ending on a movie that had been working toward the opposite outcome for two hours.
The Eddie Sparks character was underdeveloped in the sense that we never saw why he was such a popular entertainer. Although the audience was supposed to find that Eddie's good qualities balanced his boorishness and infidelity, James Caan didn't pull it off.
Still, I enjoyed the first 40 minutes of the movie. The scene when Bette performs for the first time on the USO tour is terrific. And George Segal is good as Uncle Art.
You might want to stop the tape after Bette leaves the stage at the bomber base, though.
Having seen the whole movie now I gave it a 6. This is not the first movie to mix uplifting with depressing, funny with serious, in an attempt to mirror real life. But the movie doesn't pull it off well. When Bette's character saw her son die in Vietnam I found it melodramatic and contrived rather than moving. An astute viewer would know the kid was going to die anyway, as Bette's character telegraphed it in a prior scene.
The ending was incredible in the sense that it defied credibility and put a happy ending on a movie that had been working toward the opposite outcome for two hours.
The Eddie Sparks character was underdeveloped in the sense that we never saw why he was such a popular entertainer. Although the audience was supposed to find that Eddie's good qualities balanced his boorishness and infidelity, James Caan didn't pull it off.
Still, I enjoyed the first 40 minutes of the movie. The scene when Bette performs for the first time on the USO tour is terrific. And George Segal is good as Uncle Art.
You might want to stop the tape after Bette leaves the stage at the bomber base, though.