Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Mildly interesting biopic/relationship-drama. Drifts for much of the first half, and only gets interesting when things start to fall apart.Only reason to watch the movie is for the performance of Michael Douglas. Not a very likely role for him, he plays Liberace to perfection.

This uncompromising backstage dramatisation of the turbulent relationship between celebrity pianist Liberace and his much younger lover Scott Thorson was a compelling watch. As I watched it, it took a little time for me to get over the sight of Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, two celebrated uber-masculine action heroes playing such camp characters plus their over-familiarity as stars if anything detracts from identification with their parts here but the fact that both absolutely throw themselves into their roles saw them convince me in the end.Liberace in real-life conducted himself as a family favourite, particularly with his female audience, playing popular piano pieces in cabaret and projecting a debonair if very camp image, on and off-stage, owning the inevitable L.A. mansion, with a grand piano in every room, innumerable fancy cars and of course his elaborate rhinestone-heavy stage costumes. Behind this facade however was a ruthless businessman, determined to preserve his self-image (woe betide the publication which levelled charges of homosexuality at him), in addition a controlling and sexually voracious individual who attended male-only brothels, watched hard-core gay porn and groomed young male wannabes into becoming his latest playmate. Douglas is excellent at portraying his character's at the same time compelling but repellant nature, flaunting his squeaky-clean image in public while living a life of decadent sleaze after hours.Into his orbit comes a young blonde bisexual country boy called Scott Thorson who very soon supersedes Liberace's then live-in boyfriend, attracted by the older man's charm, riches and power until too late he realises that he's being made over in his lover-employer's image and developing a drug addiction in the process. The power struggle between the two is fascinating to watch even if it is of course heavily slanted in Liberace's favour. The question here really is did Liberace corrupt and waste a young innocent's life or was Thorson a willing participant in the gravy train, happy to go along with it from the start.Director Siderburgh I think tends to the former viewpoint, although it's clear that Thorson is no angel himself. On the other hand, Liberace too is no one-dimensional character and it is the older man who calls up the younger as he nears his end from AIDS, fondly remembering their earlier happy times.I like this ambivalence, allowing the viewer to come to their own judgement on this particular lifestyle of the rich and famous. No corner is cut in exhibiting the pianist's excessive lifestyle although I was grateful that the love scenes between the two, although not ignored, was toned down somewhat for easier consumption. The acting is excellent, especially by the two big-name leads while Rob Lowe steals his scenes with a centre- parting like the Red Sea as a creepy plastic surgeon.I'm not surprised this film received so many Emmy plaudits and commend the director and cast for taking on a tricky subject and delivering such compelling viewing.

I really loved this movie because it unlocked the mystery of Liberace to me. I guess you could say I am a Liberace fan, not necessarily of his music or style, but in his baldfaced schizo lifestyle under the mirrored pond of his success and artistic stylings. I find him fascinating, though I'm probably more interested in him than in his fluffy music. Lee does all things his way. He wants a fur with a 20 foot drape? Presto! He wants to wear a ring on each finger? Sure! Not only can he play the piano, but also "very well." He wants to be driven on stage in a giant Rolls, handled by a 20 year old blondAdonis from the sticks, groomed to be Lee's "personal bodyguard"? Oh most definitely YES!So to me the most intriguing way is on the one hand, Liberace artfully cons his primary audience of middle aged Midwest housewives into believing he hasn't "met the right woman." I remember at 14 asking my parents after maybe Carson, why does Liberace have to act like he's not gay? EVERYONE knows it! My dad says to me, the fans just haven't caught on. Later, I saw an interview of Lee, claiming he played "You Made Me Love You" to Queen Elizabeth II, who sang along in her place.Back to the movie. The only person that can tell this story is Scott Thorson. I feel like I've waited for Scott to open up and tell what was Lee really like, and how was it that Scott could have gotten involved in the first place? So I was glad to hear not only was Steven directing but Michael Douglas, the quintessential Alpha Male, was to be none other than Lee Liberace. I couldn't wait to see his spin on the character and I knew he wouldn't overdo or caricature. You just had to know that Michael would be asking himself these questions: How would Liberace pour orange juice? How would he straighten his wig, how would he trim his nails? What would he order at the McDonalds? And other perfectly boring things that you would have to know being Liberace on a day to day basis. You really believed Michael was a 60 year old gay man stuck in a lie.I didn't think too much about Matt Damon as the boy toy but I just kind of thought generic beefcake role, he'll be fine. But he's more than fine. I personally felt Matt stole the show, maybe that was the plan all along? But I really thank Michael for letting Matt steal the show because I knew it was going to be very difficult for Michael to be on par with Matt without overshadowing the little ole country boy from San Bernardino County, L.A. Ultimately, Matt underpromised and overdelivered. The plot is three parts really: (1) Scott becoming acquainted with and ultimately falling in love with Liberace, (2) becoming essentially united with Liberace as far as a person and even a possession by receiving gifts and requiring to take diet pills and obtain plastic surgery, and (3) the eventual falling away from Liberace by basically what I felt was a Casino/Goodfellas type of internal implosion caused by greed and drugs on one part, lust, power and control on the other.The first part is most interesting. First, you'd have to be nuts to fall in love with Lee Liberace in the first place if you were forty years his junior but Matt Damon played that part with some restraint and curiosity as well as completely being drawn in both to the lifestyle and the man. I found it odd and sad at the same time that the crux of the love story was probably more romantic and passionate than most straight movies.The middle, which was kind of a mellowing in relationship and division of roles in career and sex partner, with Scott refusing a lot and Lee wandering. But didn't Scott himself drive Liberace to such a fate? Some choices are hilarious, seeing Scott standing at attention from the toes up, clad in white, with a diamond Chauffeur's Cap. There was probably even a fur coat in there, who knows.To some extent, I feel the third act in the movie really was more or less the same thing I'd seen in two other movies. One partner out to hurt the other partner in whatever way they could. But when Scott starts to sell off his jewelry, sad but previously used.The last part of the third act was the lawsuit. And I found the lawsuit quite boring. Yes, we know he loses, and do we want to know or care why? Not really. But maybe you want to know what Scott gets in exchange for keeping quiet. Later, Scott reads Lee's autobiography, "The true love of my life is Sonia Henie," the book supposedly says. Even in death, Liberace's handler (played by Dan Ackroyd) absolves Lee of being gay. Only the we and the coroner can vindicate Scott.

Watch any clip of Liberace on youtube and, despite your awareness of his personal life, you have to agree that he was a natural showman. I remember seeing him on TV in the 70s and woman loved him, my mom went nuts. It's easy to see why, because he pulled the audience into his performances and made you feel like you were part of it. It's not easy to do this, and he made it look effortless in the way that some outstanding entertainers do, like Michael Jackson or Madonna. That critical element is missing from this film. When you peel back the layers of showmanship, you want to see what makes up the person behind them, and this film doesn't accomplish that goal or explain Liberace's complicated life. I had high hopes for Douglas, but for some reason he just doesn't click, his delivery is off, and you can't buy him as Liberace, you just see Michael Douglas in heavy makeup. Matt Damon gives a suitably understated performance and he is a dead ringer for Scott Thorson.Ironically, given what are supposed to be colorful main characters, the real stars of the show are the supporting characters: an unrecognizable Debbie Reynolds as Liberace's mother, Dan Akroyd as Liberace's snappy lawyer, Scott Bakula as Bob Black, and of course Rob Lowe, who steals every scene he's in. Maybe Rob Lowe should have played Liberace.