For the Boys

Seemingly suggested by a combination of Bob Hope's legendary USO tours and the toxic relationship that sometimes develops between comedy team partners (with the likes of Martin and Lewis a case in point), FOR THE BOYS gives us the story of Dixie Leonard (Midler), a rough and tough singer with a naughty sense of humor, and Eddie Sparks (James Caan), a secretly sexist comic. When the two meet on a World War II USO tour, it's loathing at first sight--but their audiences adore the combination. Trouble is, you can't imagine why. Both Midler and Caan are expert performers, but they have remarkably little on-screen chemistry, and although they score points individually they never quite seem to be working in tandem. To make matters worse, while the dialogue is often witty, the plot is leaden, and it promptly goes off into a host of predictable directions as it drags its characters from World War II to Vietnam in order to make a series of well-intended but extremely obvious and over-worked comments about changing times and the wastefulness of war. The supporting cast is strong, but like the leads they seem to be pulling in different directions throughout the film, and when all is said and done this rather lengthy film feels quite a bit longer than it actually is. Midler's songs are the only real highlight, and the thing is indeed watchable... but only just. The DVD package isn't anything to write home about either, consisting of a handful of trailers and television spots. For hardcore Midler fans only. Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

For quite a few years, Bette Midler-who had originally wowed audiences with her singing and joking on stage before Johnny Carson got her national exposure on TV-was in hit movie after hit movie. So she formed her own production company of which the first hit from that was Beaches. This one she really wanted to make as it cast her as a singer-comedienne paired with a hot comic during World War II. James Caan played that comic who seemed partially based on Bob Hope. The Devine Miss M's character also had a husband who's a soldier and a son who became one during Vietnam. I'll stop there and just say there's both comedy and drama and plenty of singing from Miss M. She does her best with the material which is overwrought on some places. Mr. Caan isn't bad, either. There's also a nice turn by George Segal as Miss Midler's uncle and Caan's head writer. It's too bad it didn't do well, box office-wise but of you're a Midler fan, For the Boys is highly recommended.

Both brash and plastic, Mark Rydell's "For The Boys" isn't ever convincing, but with so much talent on-hand it is seldom dull. Playing the star-duo of a musical-comedy act which spans the decades, James Caan and Bette Midler have no chemistry together. Their bickering is contrived and mechanical, and their routines on stage don't soar with hilarity (everything about this union is heavily grounded, and the actors look unhappy throughout). Bette Midler is good when she's flying solo, and not being forced to be wacky. She has a lovely moment singing "In My Life" to a group of soldiers, but the scene is undermined by gunfire (a cue for director Rydell to make a ham-handed statement about the senselessness of war). Lackluster, overeager, and unsubtle, the picture has too much star-power to be lousy, is instead glossy, well-produced swill. ** from ****

What a musical masterpiece that movie is. Just listen to the variety of songs and styles provided by Bette Midler and the rest of the cast. But the story has it's downside. Too many subjects, too many levels, and the make up department didn't do their best job when giving Midler and Caan the "age" look. It's too plastic. But Ms. Midler still is a great singer / actress under the bad make up, so I can still recomend this movie. Bring tissues!

This is a very emotional movie with a great cast. I'm not a James Caan fan, but he was perfect for this. Slippery as an eel though the McCarthy era up until the end. In response to the comments by other reviewers regarding the politics including sexism I have to say that I found these things the best part of the movie even if they were not very deeply explored. False, facile patriotism exposed and 2 older people who actually learned something from their lives - that's pretty good. I am a big Bette Midler fan so that didn't hurt. She sang a lot of good songs. I especially loved, "For All We Know." I liked the contrasting points of view between a woman who lost her husband and son and the man who really really did not seem to have any principals. The Mc Carthy era was depicted as a "scoundrel time" to use Lillian Hellman's phrase. George Segals speech at the Christmas Party after he was fired could have been stronger, but it was good.

Obviously given her background this is hardly a stretch for Bette. However rather than dial it in she gives a bombastic performance that makes this quite an entertaining film. The story doesn't wow you, rather it just provides a vehicle for Bette to strut her stuff. Worth a look :)