BY LEE PFEIFFER
There's an old Hollywood adage about the young starlet who was naive enough to think she could get to the top by sleeping with a writer. Indeed, writers are the primary reasons movies get made. Without a viable script, there would be nothing to shoot. Yet, screenwriters have routinely griped about how they feel they are left at the altar once filming begins. In fact, unless there is a specific need to have the writer on the set, most producers and directors would prefer that they remain removed from the filming process, probably because they might object to spontaneous changes made to the script. In "Sweet Liberty", Alan Alda's 1986 comedy that he starred in as well as wrote and directed, he plays a writer who finds himself in this dilemma. He plays Michael Burgess, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a historical account of important events that transpired in a North Carolina community during the American Revolution. He's delighted when a Hollywood studio buys the rights to his book (titled "Sweet Liberty") and plans to adapt it into a major film with big stars. Burgess's enthusiasm is short-lived, however, once the army of actors and technicians arrive to set up headquarters in the small town. The locals are understandably thrilled but when Burgess meets with the screenwriter, Stanley Gould (Bob Hoskins), he finds him to be a crude and unsophisticated character who would be right at home in a Scorsese crime movie. Burgess is appalled to find that Stanley has taken many historical liberties with "Sweet Liberty" at the behest of the studio bosses, who are only interested in morphing dramatic real-life events into a romantic comedy with plenty of T&A. Burgess's gripes are dismissed by the director (Saul Rubinek), who also views the production as just a pay check. He appeals to the film's star, matinee idol Elliott James (Michael Caine), but finds him to be a towel-snapping prankster with no regard for the historical accuracy of the character he is playing. Ultimately, he has a breakthrough with the more thoughtful leading lady, Faith Healy (Michelle Pfeiffer), who seems to understand the importance of bringing her character to the screen in a realistic and accurate way. This leads to some romantic encounters between Burgess and Faith, a situation that poses problems for his relationship with steady girlfriend Gretchen Carlsen (Lisa Hilboldt), who exacts her own form of revenge.
Alda's marvelous screenplay keeps in his usual pattern of writing comedies that avoid shooting for big belly laughs and concentrate on being mildly amusing throughout. As good as Alda is as an actor, he's equally impressive as a director and screenwriter, despite the fact that his "triple-threat" film ventures only resulted in a couple of boxoffice hits. Here he has assembled a wonderful cast and he gets the best of out every actor, including legendary Lillian Gish, the silent era film star who was still going strong in 1986. She appears in an admittedly superfluous subplot that seems written to simply squeeze her into the movie, but it's a joy to see her on screen this late in her career. Michelle Pfeiffer is well-cast as the seemingly vacuous diva who Burgess might be able to reach on an emotional level and Bob Hoskins is delightfully funny as the rough-around-the-edges but affable screenwriter who seems to have been chosen for the job simply because he's a reliable hack. I was also highly impressed by the performance of Lisa Hilboldt as Burgess's long-time girlfriend. Hilboldt has a terrific comedic timing and lights up the screen in her every appearance. It's surprising she never achieved major stardom. The key scene-stealer is Michael Caine, who plays a variation of Peter O'Toole's immortal Alan Swan character from "My Favorite Year". As Elliott James, he makes local women swoon and he uses this skill to seduce a local rich southern belle (Lois Chiles, in a rare comedic role) as well as any other woman who crosses his path. Elliott is reckless, self-centered and egotistical but he's also an irresistible charmer. A highlight of the film finds Elliott and Burgess engaged in an amusing fencing match that must have taken eons for both Caine and Alda to learn to perform.
"Sweet Liberty" is low-key comedy but a thoroughly amusing one. The Kino Lorber release has a typically impressive transfer. There is also a commentary track by film industry veterans and historians Daniel Kremer and Nat Segaloff that is very interesting and engaging, as they dispense informative facts about the production as well as Hollywood lore in general. There is also the theatrical trailer and a gallery of trailers for other KL releases. Highly recommended.
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