BEHIND THE CANDELABRA
R
120 Minutes
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writers: Richard LaGravenese, Alex Thorleifson, Scott Thorson
Matt Damon, Micheal Douglas, Scott Bakula
Mr. Sandman bring us a dream (Yes)
Give him a pair of eyes with a come-hither gleam
Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci
And lots of wavy hair like Liberace
MR SANDMAN, CHORDETTES
CAST
Matt Damon ... Scott Thorson
Michael Douglas ... Liberace
Rob Lowe ... Dr. Jack Startz
Scott Bakula ... Bob Black
There was one thing Liberace was always trying to hide from the public, which involves a social stigma: the fact that he was bald. He lived at a time when being bald was just plain weird. Back in the days of yore, not just anyone could pull off the Yule Brenner look.
Like Rock Hudson, Liberace has always been the butt of many gay jokes, if you'll pardon the pun.
Michael Douglas plays the Liberace character so perfect, you forget about the actor behind the mask. An eerily, true-to-life portrayal of a man. Kind of like the way Jim Carey played Andy Kaufman in MAN ON THE MOON.
Matt Damon played the Lee Liberace's, lover, man servant, and drug keeperawayer. You could tell he did a bit of research for his role. It seems as though he's taken notes from Katherine Zeta-Jones on how to pretend to love an old, wrinkly man, on the perpetual cusp of death.
The plastic surgeon is an interesting guy. Essentially, Rob Lowe takes his character from PARKS AND RECREATION, then, he adds a drug addiction, and a medical license. Becoming a real-life Dr. Nick from THE SIMPSONS.
I'm not one to be judgmental, and I try to keep an open mind. But I think making your boyfriend get plastic surgery, so he can look exactly like you, is a bit weird. Especially if you're a woman. But even if you're a man, like here, it still seems bizarre, and unhealthy. Things don't exactly turn out the way Liberace expected. As the plastic surgery progresses, things go horribly wrong. The boyfriend ends up looking like a modern-day Ray Liotta.
Scott Bakula is the only actor I wasn't surprised to see in this film. And it's not because he played the gay neighbor in AMERICAN BEAUTY, or the fact that he posed in PLAYGIRL. No, it's because Sam Beckett needs to take a 'Quantum Leap' back to the 70s, to prevent Liberace from getting AIDS, by means of dissuading him from continuing his homosexual lifestyle.
I don't have too many complaints . It's too long... the movie that is. Cut 20 to 30 minutes, and you're left with a more powerful film, that gets straight to the point.
Also, I'm going to have to subtract a few points. Here, in America, BEHIND THE CANDELABRA was on HBO. Which delayed the current GAME OF THRONES season by a week. But if you missed this film, you can visit another country. They are playing it in actual theaters.
Final Verdict: 84 out 100
