For the Boys
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bette Midler, Christopher Rydell, George Segal, James Caan, Patrick O'NealBrand: MIDLER,BETTE
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 138 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-04-17
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of For the Boys
Movie Review: Not for everybody, but truly fantastic!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
For the Boys is truly an underrated gem. Spanning a period of 50 years and three different wars, the film tells the story of Dixie Leonard (the Divine Mrs. M), a singer who is plucked from semi-obscurity at the outset of World War II and given her big break: A USO tour of Europe with Eddie Sparks (James Caan), a song-and-dance man who's a famous star. Their first time on the stage together, Dixie steals the show, Eddie tries to fire her, and they're off and running. Through thick and thin - North Africa, the Korean war, television, McCarthyism, Vietnam - they fight and make up while the world applauds, and finally there's a climax on a live TV awards show, where Dixie and Eddie are seeing each other for the first time in years.
Bette Midler is truly fantastic in her role as Dixie. The first USO musical number is a great success, with Bette trading risque repartee with Caan and then belting out a loud number and a ballad. She has a beautiful voice, powerful and bursting with emotion. This part was written for Bette, no one else could have played Dixie quite like her. She was once again robbed at the Oscars that year, losing to non other than Jodie Foster for the terribly overrated Silence of the Lambs. Midler's performance was much more dramatic and real, and she deserved that statuette.
I am not a big fan of James Caan, but he was good in the film. He had a certain chemistry with Midler that made his character believable. Sparks isn't a particularly likeable soul, but Caan brings a certain charm to a role that's tailor-made for his talents. He's right at home with Eddie's emotional isolation and single-minded ambition, bringing to mind a used-car salesman who discovers that the marks are actually buying his manufactured sincerity. The script has no intention of guiding him down the road to redemption, but the occasional showdowns with his conscience add a human touch that allows us to tolerate (if not entirely enjoy) his company for the duration.
The film is full of cliches, yes, but seriously, what movie isn't. And are we really expected to believe these guys are so famous that 50 million people are going to tune in to their awards ceremony? Probably not, and yet, despite it all, there are moments when you might find yourself moved beyond reasonable expectation. The first 40 minutes are terrific, and while the rest of the film never quite manages to hold onto that unbdeniable magic, it remains an entertaining and touching experience.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the singing and dancing occupy a surprisingly brief portion of the 140 minute running time. There is a lot of story to tell and not much time to tell it. Encapsulating an entire life in a couple of hours is always a dicey proposition, but our innate awareness that the years are slipping by makes us naturally receptive to a film that follows its characters from the comparative optimism of early middle age to the long nights at the end of the line. The transitions are sweeping (fifteen years here, twenty-five there), sacrificing a coherent whole for a series of snapshots, but there's enough here to provide us with an investment in the outcome. Every misstep is matched by a finely tuned observation on the human condition and it works its way to a manipulative but undeniably emotional climax that could conceivably end in tears.
Summary of For the Boys
Bette Midler gives the brassiest, sassiest performance of her career as Dixie Leonard, a USO singer whose electrifying stage presence, and flair for outrageous comedy, captivates troops and civilians alike. Teamed up with America's beloved song and dance man, Eddie Sparks (James Caan), the whole world becomes Dixie's stage through three very different wars, and 50 years of music and memories, laughter and tears. All of it... FOR THE BOYS.For the Boys is a lumpy attempt to create an old-fashioned backstage drama, replete with classic showbiz feuds, breakups and make-ups, and the often inexplicable adoration of fictional fans toward characters with dubious star appeal. Released under a cloud of accusations that the story was ripped off from the life of USO stalwart Martha Raye (who had been attempting to get an autobiographical film project set up), For the Boys didn't improve its public relations by being, well, not very good. Bette Midler stars as Dixie Leonard, a singer plucked from obscurity by song-and-dance man Eddie Sparks (James Caan) while on a USO tour during World War II. Their bawdy chemistry before audiences makes them a durable act through many years and wars to come. The problem is that they don't like each other very much, and here's where director Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond) drops the ball: the film never develops sufficient story grounds or the emotional complexity necessary for a high degree of conflict in what is essentially a two-character drama. It doesn't help that the script requires Dixie and Eddie to be on nonspeaking terms for most of the 50 years they know one another, or that the story culminates in a horribly contrived reunion on television, with both actors buried under enough flesh-aging prosthetics and make-up to make them look like Dick Tracy villains. --Tom Keogh
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