The Mirror Has Two Faces

Love this movie because it is a how single professor found her love, which I felt so related to my life.

The surprising fact is when I want to rated it, it turned out I have rated it before! For me now it's an 8, while my previous rating was 7. I think for a movie which had released for almost 30 years ago, it's still so good.

I was curious and checked when I watch this before, because I have no idea during watching. Thankfully IMDB has history record! I found out watched it on February 2009, it's about 12 years ago and the rating getting higher 1 star 😆

The mirror has two faces: Barbra Streisand and ... surprise! ... Barbra Streisand! More explicit: the funny Barbra Streisand and the divine Barbra Streisand. Well, this miraculous metamorphosis is of course kind of disgusting and I wouldn't be the first person to argue that Barbra Streisand has a tendency to fancy herself pretty much (and I myself was already able to tell so from the unnecessarily long ending of "The Prince of Tides" - a very good movie). But as annoying as it may sometimes be, this is an extremely well-done and multi-faceted movie. Let me try to tell you, why I voted "7".

It starts rather mediocre when Streisand and Jeff Bridges get to know each other, talk some silly stuff and behave like little children. From time to time it gives a number of very good lines to Lauren Bacall, who is perfect as Streisand's mother. By the time Streisand and Bridges get married you are tempted to say: "Yes, very nice, but it's crap actually, isn't it?" But you won't think of saying that in the end.

The movie is a romantic comedy - containing a couple of cliches, fine - but with a new, non-cliche structure. This is no kitsch, not at all, oh no! Instead, it's made up of very good lines and very truthful moments. These are connected in a way that makes our emotion rise but leaves us unable to tell which words, which gestures made it rise. How come? The romance doesn't develop in the way we would expect it and have seen it many times before, no, this romantic comedy goes the long way round: First there is only a small deal of attraction, then there is previously unknown disillusionment - a black hole almost - and then love enters the stage. The final romantic scene fits into romantic comedy conventions, but it also fits into the picture and Streisand and Bridges deserve it. What a wonderful movie!

Basically Barbra Streisand is a good actress, but she loves exaggerating. She is able to manage difficult scenes, but she tries to be funny where being funny can't work and sometimes she's just hopping through the scene like a twittering sparrow instead of performing the emotions required for that scene. And after her metamorphosis she's more interested in her make-up than in her character.

Lauren Bacall plays a mean, self-addicted and vain old beast with a heart and a vulnerable soul. The scene where mother and daughter talk openly in the kitchen is wonderful. Even Pierce Brosnan is better than I would have expected.

Finally, the movie shows us the great versatility of Jeff Bridges: you've never seen him so very soft before (rude as he was in "The Fabulous Baker Boys", cool in "Nadine" or smooth and evil in "Jagged Edge"). However, he is exaggerating, too: which man can act this untruthful and affected?! In the scenes from Streisand's and his marriage his character is almost eerie - may this be good or bad for the movie...

About the only redeeming characteristics are that Jeff Bridges' character realizes that he has been a schmuck, and Lauren Bacall's character realized how hurtful the cumulative effect of words can be. Otherwise, I found myself becoming annoyed at the overall message.

First off, why must a woman re-make herself totally in order to be seen as sexually attractive? Rose looked far better at the start of the movie than she did at the end. Secondly, What was wrong with the way "Rose" looked at the start of the movie? Totally comfortable, quirky, and sensible. And the idea that a size eight is considered "fat" .... well, I just rolled at that one.

Rose does repudiate sheer looks by the end of the film, but the moment is almost too tiny to be noticed. The bulk of the film shows a woman thinking she's ugly, when she is far from it (but that's a Streisand trope: Babs, you have a big nose, and who cares? You look fine and very attractive), and thinking that comfortable clothes mean frumpiness. It encourages the over-awareness of body--since when has a size eight been "too fat"?????? Basically, Rose's re-awakening to the importance of mind and self, not external standards of beauty, is too little to compensate for all the rest of the film.

Let me just say that despite mixed reviews and public jesting, if it weren't Barbra Streisand that made this movie and it were someone else, no one would make fun of it like they do. Everyone just likes to pick on Barbra. But this movie is actually good! This film, about a man (Jeff Bridges) who goes looking for a nonsexual relationship and finds it with a middle-aged dateless professor (Barbra Streisand). As the two leads, these actors shine immensely! Mimi Rogers and Brenda Vaccaro are equally good in their supporting and often comic roles, as is George Segal. But the star of this movie, I must say, is Lauren Bacall as Streisand's beautifully aging mother. Bacall, who is not really known for her comedy roles, took the role and ran with it, making her character hilarious at times, heart-pouring at others. She is terrific! As for the actual storyline of the movie, it is somewhat predictable in its final outcome, but the routes it takes along the way are always interesting. The music is terrific; who doesn't like Luciano Pavarotti's "Nessun Dorma"? A very delightful romantic comedy!

A little pretentious at first (thinking of that lecture on love). But the movie blossoms in to something quite mature, and fresh. It has its faults. The message is a little dated. The arc about being attractive kind of came from out of nowhere and didn't feel relevant. BUT, overall a very enjoyable film.