SOAPDISH (1991) ** Aficionados of the soap opera genre aren't likely to get it, and nemeses will feign offense anyway. No matter, there's something here for everyone but, in accordance with tradition, not enough. A very weak argument can be made that soap operas reflect the high drama and values of the Greek tragedic tradition, and for a weak argument the parallels are strong. There is then the matter of presentation and, perhaps even more than that, the question of whether everything that goes wrong in entire family trees should occur on a weekly basis to the same hapless characters. It does here, anyway, again or also. Sally Field appears surprisingly comfortable as someone who thinks that she's an indictment of an entire industry, but is instead a beacon of dumb luck and over-achievement. Robert Downey Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, and Teri Hatcher all have moments that are, if not sublime, amusing. I would generally counsel against casting Kevin Kline as anything, and this film does precious little to change that, but he's better than usual in this role of nauseating actor who takes himself entirely too seriously. The best moments of the film are his, squinting into lines that make one rejoice of mortality. But, isn't it true? Don't the actors really and truly live their lives out in front of us, on screen? Isn't it their presence, rather than the action, that is significant, and too often substandard? How can anyone stand by in condescension when faced with this extent of simulated human tragedy?! How, indeed. Won't someone help this people.
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