| Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: February 2, 1990 | CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
|
Positive:
4
Mixed:
9
Negative:
5
|
Critic Reviews
Stella is the kind of movie they used to call a tearjerker, and we might as well go ahead and still call it that, because all around me at the sneak preview people were blowing noses and sort of softly catching their breath - you know, the way you do when you're having a great time.
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Stella is a mother-daughter, best friend, Mom-must-sacrifice-all movie that will surely force a good many members of the audience to weep, sob, bawl, blubber, whimper, lament and/or shed a few tears. Yes, folks, this one's a bit lugubrious. [9 Feb 1990, p.J]
Stella is another strong showing for Goodman, one of three great performances in a movie that might jumble its story a bit but mostly does justice to a classic. [2 Feb 1990, p.G5]
Although Stella is intelligently made and generally well-acted, there were plenty of dry eyes at a packed preview screening earlier this week. [2 Feb 1990, p.25]
A toothless, pointless remake of King Vidor's searing, epic melodrama of 1937. [2 Feb 1990, p.G2]
The picture is in the same sappy, soapy, maudlin vein as last year's ''Beaches,'' but I didn't hate it as much as ''Beaches,'' which might mean that everybody who loved ''Beaches'' will think Stella isn't quite as good. [2 Feb 1990, p.E1]
If Midler weren't involved, and if she weren't surrounded by a good ensemble, the whole enterprise probably would fall into a watery grave. But Midler carries off the role. [2 Feb 1990, p.5F]
But once the updated story - now about an unwed mom who sacrifices all for her child rather than a divorcee who married above her class - starts clinging to the original's plot machinations, Stella turns into one helluva maudlin mess. [2 Feb 1990, p.4D]
Robert Getchell's script milks the story for maximum tears, but wrestles unsuccessfully with the inherent absurdity of Stella's predicament, delivering clichéd situations and dialogue. And Midler's larger-than-life performance is daunting against the subtler approaches of Alvarado and Mason.
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No one looks particularly comfortable, not even Midler, who has most of the best dialogue. She's watchable as Stella, but that's really the nicest thing I can say for her work in this unfortunate picture. Does Bette Midler really believe that people of limited means can't raise their kids decently? Or is the Divine Miss M making some great joke whose subtle point I am failing to grasp?
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The bad news is that Stella is an unintentionally hilarious mess, handily summed up by what Haskell sees as "the lowest level" of the woman's film - "(It) fills a masturbatory need, it is soft-core emotional porn for the frustrated housewife. [2 Feb 1990]
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