# "Behind the Candelabra" HBO Liberace Movie



## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Well, knock me over with a Virgin White Fox boa!

I liked "Behind the Candelabra."

I would have never thought that I could sit through the whole two hours but it flowed.

It was _faaaabbbb yeeeeww lus_. 

I'm sure everybody was thinking that Lee just needed to hang on another 20 (30?) years so he could come out of the closet.

It should be a shoo in for an Emmy for makeup. Before and after plastic surgery, with and without hair, and it holds up in HD. Great job!

Oh. Every time the scene was in the mansion there were yapping dogs in the soundtrack background. Drove my dogs crazy.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Oh, yeah.

Both Michael Douglas and Matt Damon did outstanding jobs with the roles.

I've got that damned Boogie Woogie song stuck in my head. Need brain bleach.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

Never paid much attention to Liberace. There was a museum sort of near where I lived but I never went. I will Netflix this though and see what the attraction was.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

sieglinde said:


> Never paid much attention to Liberace. There was a museum sort of near where I lived but I never went. I will Netflix this though and see what the attraction was.


On Netflix it might be a while. You can get it on HBO Go.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Oh, and one thing I didn't know and didn't want to - Not for the Squeemish

Who knew the gay men's lifestyle


Spoiler



has pitchers and takers - and I guess - suckers, and some think that taking it up the bum is "disgusting" while they're doing the pumping...and why did they say that Lee had implants to keep it up when he was a catcher? I guess that's part of it.

EWW.


BTW, in the "behind the scenes" preview Matt Damon says that he was grateful that Soderbergh "cuts in the camera" so there weren't a lot of takes of those scenes required. When he straddled "Lee" on the chaise lounge he didn't know that Douglas was going to grab his buns.


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

THought Damon was very good. I could never unsee Douglas though. 

It also got boring halfway through.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

sieglinde said:


> Never paid much attention to Liberace. There was a museum sort of near where I lived but I never went. I will Netflix this though and see what the attraction was.


We went to the Liberace museum in LV a number of years ago. It was very cool. Gone now, but I guess they are going to put up another one somewhere in LV, I think in a casino or something. I purchased a couple of silly mementos.

There were cars, pianos, and a lot of apparel and such. It was, supposedly, all of his stuff and not just replica stuff.

As to the subject at hand - the movie - I haven't watched it yet, but hope to watch tonight. I'm very much looking forward to it!


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

netringer said:


> Who knew the gay men's lifestyle


And I thought _I_ didn't get out much...


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## Jolt (Jan 9, 2006)

It was surprisingly good. I didnt know much more than his name to be honest but apparently most of my kids toys spurt out his music. The guy knew the piano for sure. Really sad that Scott got addicted to drugs because of Liberacie and that ended up killing the relationship.


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

Jolt said:


> spurt


Poor choice of words...


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Cearbhaill said:


> And I thought _I_ didn't get out much...


 Funny. I have gotten out but I never asked about or picked up on such. I'm too much of a wimp.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

They say on the Behind the Scenes that Liberace could have been a successful concert pianist but he decided to go into big show business. I always thought he was about a 8.5 out of 10, but built the hype that he was the greatest. As he says in the movie he was a saloon player.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

It just hit me.

The last few generations probably have no idea about Liberace.

They must look at him as we thought of the likes of Al Jolson.


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## latrobe7 (May 1, 2005)

I enjoyed this movie and I find Liberace fascinating kind of like Michael Jackson or Howard Hughes. That anyone ever thought he was straight seems as ridiculous today as doctors doing cigarette commercials.

I wonder how accurate the movie was considering its based on the word of Scott Thorson who is kind of a shady guy.

One detail that doesn't really come through in the movie is that Scott Thorson was 17 when the relationship started and 22 when it ended. I think thats pretty significant. From watching the movie, my impression was that Thorson was in his mid-late 20s when he meets Liberace. Theres a big maturity difference with someone age 17 versus, say 25.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

I can't wait to watch this all the way through. I caught ten minutes or so on the hotel TV last night. I really enjoyed it.

I find that era and Liberace and his fans just completely fascinating.


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## Idearat (Nov 26, 2000)

It had some interesting bits. I hadn't heard about it until I saw Michael Douglas talking about it on Graham Norton, and they showed the scene with Rob Lowe where they discussed Scott's plastic surgery. But watching the whole thing I thought it was a bit of a snoozer. Even with all the makeup, it just felt like watching Matt Damon and Michael Douglas fooling around.

I lived in Las Vegas in 1980-81 and met Liberace in the parking lot of the grocery store near my house, chatted about the custom car he had driven there. It's seemed to be common knowledge that he was gay back then, probably since he would frequent a gay bar just down the block from there.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Idearat said:


> ...I lived in Las Vegas in 1980-81 and met Liberace in the parking lot of the grocery store near my house, chatted about the custom car he had driven there. It's seemed to be common knowledge that he was gay back then, probably since he would frequent a gay bar just down the block from there.


Wait. I thought they never went out!  I can't imagine him taking one of the cars to go buy bread.

At the time everybody knew Liberace was gay, but it was supposed to be unsaid. He had all those old lady fans like in the movie how the lady gives the evil look when they say it in the night club.

There were lots of fopsie gay celebrities that were supposed to be harmless fun. Paul Lynde. Rip Taylor. Billy DeWolfe. Rex Reed. Truman Capote. Charles Nelson Reilly.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

I thought it was ok. Not HBO's best, but decent. Call it a B+. Interesting story.



netringer said:


> Paul Lynde.


Wait, Paul Lynde? No, say it ain't so. You take that back.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

My wife really wanted to watch this, I was not interested but, you know... marriage 

I thought the movie was well-acted (although I agree I couldn't un-see Michael Douglass... he's just too unique) and interesting. Still, if I had my preference I'd have done something else with those two hours.


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## Idearat (Nov 26, 2000)

netringer said:


> Wait. I thought they never went out!  I can't imagine him taking one of the cars to go buy bread.


Well, it was on the same street as the Liberace Museum and the bar it was claimed he frequented.

I'm pretty sure it was this one. He said he had a 4-door one also.
http://www.garageofawesome.com.au/i...spotted-cadillac-seville-grandeur-opera-coupe

What was funny is that we weren't looking at his car, but the Clénet that was parked right by it, leaning on his car.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clénet_Coachworks


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## Timbeau (May 31, 2002)

During the 70s and 80s I used to see him on TV once in a while, I think on variety shows like the Smothers Brothers and the Carol Burnet Show. I was always struck by how much he enjoyed performing. The more flamboyant he was, the bigger his smile seemed to be. It was a real joy to watch him.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

I have know about givers and takers for years. The Old Norse thought it was OK to be a giver but effeminate to be a taker.


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## Hoffer (Jun 1, 2001)

Just an FYI, the title of the movie is actually "Behind the Candelabra". I tried searching for "beyond" on the DirecTV app on my phone and it wasn't found. Looking through the HBO schedule manually, I was able to find the correct title.

I guess I know who Liberace was. I don't really care about him, but for some reason, I'm a little interested in the movie. Maybe because of who stars in the movie. Not really sure. Just set my DVR to record it.


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## brebeans (Sep 5, 2003)

sieglinde said:


> I have know about givers and takers for years. The Old Norse thought it was OK to be a giver but effeminate to be a taker.


Yes...some are one, some are both...aka as 'catchers and pitchers', sometimes.

And, yes, because "receiving/catching/taking" is perceived as being more "female", that is why some men won't do that....
h-m-m-m...a little bit of evidence of sexism and misogyny, right there. It's the "getting screwed/f__ked", etc. There's not a lot of patience among some men, with "being the woman" (even though it might not at all translate to their 'role" in life or the relationship).

And some men don't consider themselves "gay" (as evidenced by Matt Damon's character, identifying as bisexual ..) if they don't "catch, take, receive".... There's all sorts of ways for people to deny they're gay and that's just one. If people could just 'come out' and be left alone, but we're not there yet.


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## jakerock (Dec 9, 2002)

Hoffer said:


> Just an FYI, the title of the movie is actually "Behind the Candelabra". I tried searching for "beyond" on the DirecTV app on my phone and it wasn't found. Looking through the HBO schedule manually, I was able to find the correct title.
> 
> I guess I know who Liberace was. I don't really care about him, but for some reason, I'm a little interested in the movie. Maybe because of who stars in the movie. Not really sure. Just set my DVR to record it.


I know who Liberace was but don't really care. I do want to see the movie though even more now because I caught a few minutes of it after I stopped watching something this weekend. Douglas and Damon are just awesome and I had to stop myself from just watching it at that point instead of waiting and seeing it from the beginning.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Ken Levine's review...

http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2013/05/behind-candleabra-my-review.html

One of the things that stuck in my head while watching was Lee talking about suing the tabloid that made the gay reference. One has to wonder how he won that. So did Ken...


> The movie makes reference to Liberace successfully suing a London tabloid for claiming he was gay. Either Liberace had the greatest attorney in legal history or the London jury was worse than the O.J. jury because no one on the planet Earth, including barnyard animals, believed he was straight. I was six and I knew he was gay and I didnt know what gay meant.


[Aside: If you're not reading Ken's blog daily, you are missing a GREAT read. He's a TV writer with A+ creds, who writes a funny and insightful blog. Lots of TV references and inside comments from someone on the... inside.]


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

sieglinde said:


> I have know about givers and takers for years. The Old Norse thought it was OK to be a giver but effeminate to be a taker.


The Romans and prisoners everywhere agree.

I can't help but think of the variety tv shows like the Ed Sullivan show that had such a variety of acts on each week like Liberace.


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## Hoffer (Jun 1, 2001)

astrohip said:


> Ken Levine's review...
> 
> http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2013/05/behind-candleabra-my-review.html
> 
> ...


This is the second time I've seen Ken Levine's name in the last week or two. I was about to ask who the heck this guy is. So, nice of you to add the "aside" and answer my question a head of time.


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## Jstkiddn (Oct 15, 2003)

I know you have to take a lot of these stories with a grain of salt, but I was horrified at the part where Liberace wanted Scott to have plastic surgery in order to look more like him. I was even more horrified that he went along and had it done.

Rob Lowe was creepy good as the plastic surgeon and I would have never in a million years guessed who was playing Liberace's mother until I saw her in the "making of" show.


Spoiler



Debbie Reynolds



The makeup people did a fabulous job!


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Jstkiddn said:


> I know you have to take a lot of these stories with a grain of salt, but I was horrified at the part where Liberace wanted Scott to have plastic surgery in order to look more like him. I was even more horrified that he went along and had it done.


I was waiting for the (busting out laughing) "We were putting you on!"



Jstkiddn said:


> Rob Lowe was creepy good as the plastic surgeon and I would have never in a million years guessed who was playing Liberace's mother until I saw her in the "making of" show.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


Yep. You saw Robb Lowe talking about how they had all kinds of tape under his wig pulling his face to make him look way over-surgeried. He says it hurt like hell.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

astrohip said:


> One of the things that stuck in my head while watching was Lee talking about suing the tabloid that made the gay reference. One has to wonder how he won that. So did Ken...


The Lee character says the tabloid had no direct evidence of the truth, like pictures or any first hand testimony. Understandable, with Seymour ready to hand out checks.


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## Idearat (Nov 26, 2000)

Liberace playing identical twins on Batman in 1966:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbt64FbALSI&feature=player_detailpage[/media]


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

> The whole cast does a superb job; as Liberace, Michael Douglas crafts a portrait of celebrity isolation and capriciousness worthy of an Oscar nominationif only he were eligible.
> 
> The reason he is not eligible is because Behind the Candelabra, despite competing in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, will not be released in US theaters. And the reason you will be watching this film (which could very well be Soderbergh's last before he retires from movies and moves on to making TV shows full time) on cable television instead of at your local multiplex is because of its conspicuous gayness.
> 
> http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-me...nd-candelabra-soderbergh-hbo-liberace-gay-sex


But we know that Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are shoo-ins for Emmys due to the guaranteed-win principle of "How brave! He uglied himself up!" and they didn't "go full retard."


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

might as well weigh in, b- or c+ for me. no doubt it was from scott's perspective, but nothing salacious here - this story seems all too familiar.

damon, reynolds, bakula, aykroyd and reiser were great, lowe was creepy, and douglas did a great job, but i was never fully convinced by his performance - i kept seeing douglas, not liberace.


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## Honora (Oct 16, 2006)

sieglinde said:


> I have know about givers and takers for years. The Old Norse thought it was OK to be a giver but effeminate to be a taker.


The ancient Romans felt the same way.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

netringer said:


> The Lee character says the tabloid had no direct evidence of the truth, like pictures or any first hand testimony.


Also libel laws in the UK are extremely harsh. There have been many examples of people getting payouts there, and I was not surprised at all that he managed it. Note that he only managed a settlement with the US tabloid he sued, in the 1950's.


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## danielhart (Apr 27, 2004)

Can't believe nobody has commented on Rob Lowe as the plastic surgeon - those facial expressions were hysterical.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

danielhart said:


> Can't believe nobody has commented on Rob Lowe as the plastic surgeon - those facial expressions were hysterical.


It was a headpiece that pulled his face and it was painful.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bnx95KyQEAA[/media]


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

danielhart said:


> Can't believe nobody has commented on Rob Lowe as the plastic surgeon - those facial expressions were hysterical.


in ew, rob lowe described the role of dr. startz:

"i wanted him to be at once repellant and engaging, if thats possible...hes the fourth member of the bee gees: the transgendered bee gee, the lesser known one."


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

danielhart said:


> Can't believe nobody has commented on Rob Lowe as the plastic surgeon


Can't believe you didn't see that 4 people already have.


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## mwhip (Jul 22, 2002)

NorthAlabama said:


> might as well weigh in, b- or c+ for me. no doubt it was from scott's perspective, but nothing salacious here - this story seems all too familiar.
> 
> damon, reynolds, bakula, aykroyd and reiser were great, lowe was creepy, and douglas did a great job, but i was never fully convinced by his performance - i kept seeing douglas, not liberace.


Totally agree. Douglas was perfectly convincing as Lee when he was being sweet or loving but the moment he would get mad he would fall right back into those Michael Douglas crutches and mannerisms and couldn't maintain his voice when angry or upset.

I also had not sympathy for Scott. You were told you would be replaced by someone younger eventually and you were.


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## bobcarn (Nov 18, 2001)

I watched a little over half of it last night, and will try to catch the rest before the weekend is over. I wasn't interested in seeing it, but my beau put it on and I did find myself getting into it, mainly from the great performances.

I can see Scott being naïve and have more sympathy for him after realizing from reading here that he was only 17 when he met Lee. I too thought he was mid-20s when they met, but seeing as he was much younger, I can believe that he would be more malleable and trusting. Though my sympathy is only relegated to his agreement to undergo the plastic surgery. He had a lot of potential to rise pretty high since he was only in his early to mid 20s when they split. It's not like he wasted his whole life and was pushed out with nothing. FYI, he's currently in jail awaiting trial, and was released from prison just this past February. He could have done better for himself.

One of my favorite lines so far:
Liberace (following surgery): Will I be able to close my eyes?
Plastic surgeon: Not entirely.


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## Jstkiddn (Oct 15, 2003)

bobcarn said:


> *I can see Scott being naïve and have more sympathy for him after realizing from reading here that he was only 17 when he met Lee. *I too thought he was mid-20s when they met, but seeing as he was much younger, I can believe that he would be more malleable and trusting. Though my sympathy is only relegated to his agreement to undergo the plastic surgery. He had a lot of potential to rise pretty high since he was only in his early to mid 20s when they split. It's not like he wasted his whole life and was pushed out with nothing. FYI, he's currently in jail awaiting trial, and was released from prison just this past February. He could have done better for himself.


Yeah, I think if they had made that part clear in the movie it would have changed some opinions. 17 is really young! In retrospect, does anyone else thing that it seems they went out of their way to make it NOT seem he was that young? Maybe it was no more than the impossibility of making Damon look that young, but I still feel like that was a pretty big piece of the story to just leave out.


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## Tracy (Mar 12, 2000)

When I first saw Matt Damon at the start of the movie I was impressed. I thought he looked about 18. Turns out he is over 40! They painted a pretty sympathetic picture of Scott. Looked him up and he is currently in jail.

The other thing that struck me is that apparently Liberace fans and organizations were supportive of the movie, so they must feel it is an accurate and fair portrayal.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

Looks like an interesting movie.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

I'm reading Scott's book now and he says that he was 18 when he met Lee, and Lee was 57. I haven't done the research to find out his age now, and figure it back, yet. But that's the claim he made in the book.

I'm finding the book very interesting. It has a lot of background stuff about Lee growing up, etc. 

Anyway, I enjoyed the movie. All three main actors were pretty good. I wanted to see more of the mother (played by Debbie Reynolds). 

Rob Lowe was good. How creepy could that character be?? He's become one of my favorite actors for playing a really creeepy character. The 'can't close your eyes all the way' thing was mega-creepy.


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## javabird (Oct 13, 2006)

astrohip said:


> I thought it was ok. Not HBO's best, but decent. Call it a B+. Interesting story.
> 
> Wait, Paul Lynde? No, say it ain't so. You take that back.


Really? I didn't know that either. I grew up watching him on Bewitched reruns.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

javabird said:


> Really? I didn't know that either. I grew up watching him on Bewitched reruns.


Paul Lynde was also the father in "Bye, Bye Birdie" on Broadway and in the movie.


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## Satchel (Dec 8, 2001)

I pegged Debbie Reynolds from her voice...couldn't recognize her at all in that makeup.

As for Scott, with the scene at the beginning where he was the animal handler on the movie, I find it impossible to believe a movie or TV show would trust a 17 year old to do that job. 

They did go out of their way to make it seem like he was older.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

Satchel said:


> I pegged Debbie Reynolds from her voice...couldn't recognize her at all in that makeup.
> 
> As for Scott, with the scene at the beginning where he was the animal handler on the movie, I find it impossible to believe a movie or TV show would trust a 17 year old to do that job.
> 
> They did go out of their way to make it seem like he was older.


I was confused on that point. Was he the handler or an assistant of some type?


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## Cainebj (Nov 11, 2006)

It is highly amusing to read the hetero comments on what they don't know about gay sex.

I thought the entire cast did an amazing job. 
Douglas and Damon were brilliant.
The moment I realized that was Debbie Reynolds playing the Mom - and I didn't for quite a while - wow.

I'm tempted to read the book.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

Glad to see that Debbie Reynolds is still working


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Cainebj said:


> It is highly amusing to read the hetero comments on what they don't know about gay sex.
> 
> I thought the entire cast did an amazing job.
> Douglas and Damon were brilliant.
> ...


I am enjoying the book. I'm only about a third of the way through. It's totally not what some might think, in terms of just being a big bash on Liberace. It feels pretty even-handed AND, actually, written with love.

The only thing that bummed me out a little was the lack of photos (in the paperback version, anyway - perhaps the OOP hardcover has some). I like having glossy photos in a bio piece.

Most remarkable, however, is the cover pic of both of them that was clearly taken after Scott's plastic surgery. So many of his facial characteristics are so much like Liberace's. He was a better looking young man before the surgery, obviously.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

sharkster said:


> Most remarkable, however, is the cover pic of both of them that was clearly taken after Scott's plastic surgery. So many of his facial characteristics are so much like Liberace's. He was a better looking young man before the surgery, obviously.


After watching the movie, I did a couple image searches of Scott... and he looks a LOT like Liberace. That plastic surgeon may have been creepy, but he did what he set out to do, for sure.










So much to this story. The plastic surgeon committed suicide after a lot of his patients started having problems.

Here's a NY Times article about it from 1988. Nip/Tuck to the extreme. The Dark Side of Plastic Surgery

I have to say, I totally bought Michael Douglas as Liberace. He did an amazing job.

Greg


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Did they hollywood up the piano playing scenes? I'm sure they did, but I'm completely torn between it being and awesome job and it being totally cheese ball.

I'm enjoying it. I'm also reading the book at the same time, so it's interesting to compare the two. As said above, the book really does seem to be written genuinely. Kind of changed what little I remembered about the "galimony" case when I was a kid.


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## jamesbobo (Jun 18, 2000)

Scott is on Howard Stern right now. He just said he's never received anal sex in his life. That was asked after he said he was treated for rectal cancer.


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## brebeans (Sep 5, 2003)

Cainebj said:


> It is highly amusing to read the hetero comments on what they don't know about gay sex.
> 
> I thought the entire cast did an amazing job.
> Douglas and Damon were brilliant.
> ...


Agree.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

I'm really glad I read the book. I could hardly put it down and was bummed out when I was finished. I wanted more. Then, after I finished the book, I watched the movie again.

The movie really kept close to the book except, of course, you cannot fit everything into a movie.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

YCantAngieRead said:


> Did they hollywood up the piano playing scenes? I'm sure they did, but I'm completely torn between it being and awesome job and it being totally cheese ball.


Nope, I was struck by how well they played it. It was extremely cheese ball, but you can't entirely blame Liberace for it. It was VEGAS. That's what Las Vegas was in those days.

I grew up watching Liberace on TV whenever he was on, my father loved him. Between Liberace and the MDA Telethon each year, it was the closest to Vaudeville a kid growing up in the late 70s/early 80s could see. Just a different kind of entertainment.






Greg


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

No, you misunderstand. I was talking of purely Michael Douglass playing the piano. You can't learn that kind of playing, so i assumed it was an effect, and that effect is what I was talking about being a bit cheesy.

The rest of it I was partly alive for. I remember the awesome cheesetastic nature of it.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

YCantAngieRead said:


> No, you misunderstand. I was talking of purely Michael Douglass playing the piano. You can't learn that kind of playing, so i assumed it was an effect, and that effect is what I was talking about being a bit cheesy.
> 
> The rest of it I was partly alive for. I remember the awesome cheesetastic nature of it.


The piano was being played by the late Marvin Hamlish! You didn't see Michael Douglas' fingers on the keyboard.

Lee was like in that video, you could barely hear the piano over the orchestra. People will buy flash over substance.

I saw him do that "Boogie Woogie ... Now I'll do 32(?) to the bar..." several times.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

No way. Marvin Hamlisch???

I loved him. Saw him back in the early 90's.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

32, I think, is beats per bar. Normal would be 4.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Ah ha! It was as I suspected-Douglas's head was grafted onto a Liberace "virtuoso".

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/behind-candelabra-michael-douglas-liberace-558901

Hamlisch was involved in the show, just not in that capacity.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

I read there was a double for the piano playing. Not sure who.

Yesterday on Stern Thorson said he had a relationship with Michael Jackson, he cheated on Liberace with him and when they broke up had a longer relationship with him.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

JFriday said:


> I read there was a double for the piano playing. Not sure who.
> 
> Yesterday on Stern Thorson said he had a relationship with Michael Jackson, he cheated on Liberace with him and when they broke up had a longer relationship with him.


Yeah, the double's name is in the article I linked.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

YCantAngieRead said:


> No way. Marvin Hamlisch???
> 
> I loved him. Saw him back in the early 90's.


Marvin Hamlisch is in the credits and there is a tribute to him. He may have done some of the background music.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

netringer said:


> Marvin Hamlisch is in the credits and there is a tribute to him. He may have done some of the background music.


Yeah, he wrote a song and was an executive producer, I want to say?

Either way, it's awesome. I loved him.  He was really fun in concert.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

Watched this last night (BluRay from Netflix). Thought it was pretty good. Michael Douglas and Matt Damon were great. I was expecting Rob Lowe's character to have a larger role. But he was sill really creepy good.

I really don't know how totally true it all was. Liberace didn't came across as being all that good as a person. Yeah, sure, he trades in for a newer model boy toy every few years. But damn. They made him seem kinda like a prick. Dunno how fair that is. He was certainly a talented musician. And a great showman. Sure, it's stoopid crazy over the top showy. But it's Vegas, baby! So, it's OK. I mean, it's Las Vegas. (I love Las Vegas)


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Yeah, I wouldn't have minded seeing more of that uber-creepy Rob Lowe character. Man, he got that look down pat. I've seen some pretty creepy stuff, but I've seen few things creepier than that 'look'.

I've watched it three times, actually. I saw it once. Got the book. Read the book. Watched movie again very shortly after reading book. Then a couple of weeks ago I saw it again. For anybody looking for it, I'm still seeing it on the Tivo guide, on various HBO channels.

I really think that Scott loved him and you can feel that a little bit more through the book. Of course, they amp up the movie a bit. I think that Liberace was a bit priggish because of the way he grew up with an over-bearing mother (would have liked to see more Debbie Reynolds in the movie, too). He needed to be the one in control after breaking away from that. Over all, however, they really did keep pretty closely with the book. With movies there is always stuff left out, for the sake of time.

This has become one of those movies that, if I happen across it in progress, I will probably always stop and watch.


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