Wishful Drinking (on DVD)

Wishful Drinking (on DVD)
[DVD Biography Fisher]

Following publication of her 2008 best-seller, Wishful Drinking, actress/author Carrie Fisher turned her tell-all sharefest of an autobiography into a one-woman stage show, which she performed in L.A., San Francisco, Berkley, Seattle, Washington D.C. and on Broadway. This 76-minute DVD was an edited taping of one of those performances. Fisher shares awkward yet funny memories of growing up in a dysfunctional Hollywood family -- her flow chart of family relations based on father Eddie Fisher's famous womanizing is hilarious. And she is brutally honest about her drug and alcohol abuses, as well as per bi-polar mental issues. Overall, I'd have to say I enjoyed the book a little more than the stage show -- the book covers more details than she can fit into her live performance, and at times her stage delivery is a little too "inside joke" and nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Still, Fisher can be quite the raconteur, and her personal background provides the fodder for plenty of entertaining stories. Star Wars fans, in particular, will enjoy her sometimes-loving, sometimes-aggravated relationship with the multimedia juggernaut that brought her her greatest fame. The only "special feature" on the disc is a bizarre, awkward, and yet compelling on-camera interview with Fisher's mother, the famed Debbie Reynolds. It's fascinating watching Debbie matter-of-factly discuss Carrie's mental illness issues!

Shortly after watching this documentary, I also snagged the book-on-cd version of Fisher's second (2010) autobiography, Shockaholic, in which she discusses the electro-convulsive thearpy treatments that have helped to stabilize her personality in recent years. Shockaholic also gives her a chance to indulge in some more emotional recollections of some of the damaged relationships she's had over the years, and how she and her father Eddie finally bonded in the the last few years of his life. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try both of these titles in traditional print format, not to mention Fisher's novels, and, of course, the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD!] -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library [Subscribe to Scott's monthly booklist newsletter It's All Geek to Me! - on the Books, Movies & More newsletter sign-up page]

[Also available in traditional print and book-on-cd formats.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this show ] | [ official Carrie Fisher web site ]

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