What is the WORST Bette Midler Movie? — Page 3

I like Stella, Outrageous Fortune and Gypsy best. I think she was a stellar Rose.

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Am I the only one who finds The Rose overwrought and histrionic?

No, but I think that's deliberate and much of what makes the performance brilliant! Midler is playing a character who is, in symbolic terms, simply so much larger than life she can't exist for long in this world.

I think it's a breath-taking (and absolutely fearless) performance. Unfortunately, there haven't been more leading roles like that for Midler.

I'd say her second-best film is OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE, a movie I really enjoy, but hardly in the same class as THE ROSE.

But let's be fair - We're talking about Bette Midler. Do you really want to see a film where she plays a polite society woman in 1890's New York or a rom com where she's a boring housewife who finds love with the mailman? No. When you see a Bette movie, you expect to see BETTE in there an that's not a bad thing at all. It's much different than saying "Ugh, all I could see in that movie was Lindsay Lohan trying to play a character".

No. When you see a Bette movie, you expect to see BETTE

That's what I meant about her bag of tricks. She's always gonna do that thing where she bugs her eyes; she'll always also bug her eyes and do that sneer where she kind of bucks her teeth a little bit. If she's singing, at some point, she'll shuffle her feet close together as she raises her hands skyward, almost in prayer, or more like she's drying her nails.

Whether or she ever could do a role without all that seems pretty beside the point, because it's clear she never well. But like Jordan said, when you go to see Bette Midler in something you are going to see Bette Midler in something. That's not necessarily a bad thing; as her hits show, when she's got at the top of her game, she's great. I just think looking back on her career shows she's pretty much recycled the same performance over and over.

'No, but I think that's deliberate and much of what makes the performance brilliant!'

Gaveston...I didn't just mean her performance...I meant the entire film. It's just never resonated with me in any real way...so I never truly bought what it was selling.

I would say Bette Midler is a great star, but a middling actress. When she's right, she's a hoot. But I think her palette is generally limited, if vivid in color.

A Jewish Dolly?! That would never work.

All Bette Midler movies are bad.

Bette's Inside the Actor's Studio ep

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I'm puzzled by that remark Gaveston- the Rose was quite obviously based on Janis Joplin (who died at age 27) but "ROCK AND ROLL" is littered with stars who lived hard and died young. That is obviously the story they wanted to tell- what's wrong with telling it?

"Am I the only one who finds The Rose overwrought and histrionic? "

No... I think Midler is a knock out in the role, but I find it so manipulative (something I have issue with in most of her movies) and hard to love. And, yes, I hate the song.

My capital Letters were meant post-ironically, in a tribute to belle Poitrine.

LOL We had a crazy teacher in grade 4 who was obsessed with Bette. He made us do countless, no doubt awful performances of The Rose and From a Distance at EVERY school function. I'm sure that plays a BIG part. (The Rose is used beautifully, in Japanese, for the touching final scene of the studio Ghibli "coming to terms with your childhood" anime, Only Yesterday http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T66vkmH8iEY )