best movie i've ever seen.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

This was a fantastic movie and the score which I have on CD is one of the best. The chemistry between Midler and Caan is electric. Bette is in her element and the songs are classic. Jimmy Caan was fabulous as Eddie. Caan can hold his own with actresses Midler in this movie and with Kathy Bates in "Misery." I wish the movie would have more airplay on cable especially given the fact that the US troops are in military op currently. Regardless of whether we should be fighting or whether we should not be, the movie has lots of heart and it's for the boys (and girls)who serve. Has anyone seen the movie on cable lately? I am quite surprised that this movie has not scored higher in the ratings. This is a movie I would pay to watch in theatres today! We could use the good wishes for our troops these days.

I cannot judge it but Bette Midler has appeared in about six movies where her performances were all excellent. These include THE ROSE, THE FIRST WIVES CLUB, RUTHLESS PEOPLE, BEACHES, and this film. It can safely be said that she is more than just a great singer and entertainer, but (when given the right material) she is one hell of an actress in comedy or drama. Although she got nominated for an Oscar for THE ROSE, and she has many fans for her performance in BEACHES, I suspect her performance in FOR THE BOYS may be her best dramatic role.She plays Dixie Leonard, a New York based singer, whose husband is in the armed forces in World War I. She lives with her son Danny in the city. Her uncle, Art Silver (George Segal), gets a notable entertainer Eddie Sparks (James Caan) to hire her for his UFO show. Dixie is a success, but from the beginning she and Sparks have one conflict or another between them. Eddie is pretty ambitious and determined to succeed, and so is Dixie, but Eddie can be more ruthless to do so - even to cutting his losses at the expense of other people. Yet Eddie can show a better side (although one that suggests opportunism again and again). During the first UFO tour he arranges Dixie to see her husband again after nearly two years. But he makes sure that the scene is photographed and filmed for propaganda and career reasons. After the death of Dixie's husband, Eddie becomes close to Dixie's son Danny. However, he teaches Danny to have contempt for school, and he puts patriotic ideas into the boy's head - leading to Danny going into the military. Danny (Christopher Rydell) is a Captain at the time of the Vietnam War. He too is killed during a war (in front of his mother, on a well televised U.F.O tour).The film actually is told in flashback by Dixie, as she is being asked to appear at a special televised ceremony where she and Eddie are being awarded medals by the U.S. Government. She is a lonely, bitter woman, and she loathes the very thought of the program. Eddie is going to get a medal too. Will she go to confront Eddie after all these years? Will Eddie finally admit how he felt about the loss of Danny.The film is quite well done, capturing the spirit of the UFO shows in wartime London (1944), wartime Korea (1952); and wartime Vietnam (1967) although one song is slightly anachronistic. It also gives us glances at the high water mark of radio programing in the late 1940s (before television began to impact upon it). Finally there is a look at the effect of the McCarthy period, as it effects Segal and Midler. The three principals give first rate performances, Middler best in the scene when her son dies, and Caan earlier, when he witnesses the death of a boy soldier in Korea (his first witnessing of such a tragedy in a war). Caan literally looks like he has suffered shell shock as a result. As for Segal, watch his "bitter Santa Claus" scene, where he gives out Christmas gifts while swallowing a tremendous amount of bile and anger.

FOR THE BOYS might just be a "Better Midler" film today, in a period of another middle east war and albeit a more tragic and unpopular one with a far more critical and on going media focus than the first 1991 war.....This exceptionally well made musical drama, made for about $70 million in 1991 and really a protest musical parable, did not reach the intended at the time and the first Iraq war was over before this film had a chance to make an impact. Seen in 2006, now is actually the right time for this film. We are also quite a while from other Bette Midler films of the 80s and as a result FTB has a stronger solo spotlight. Having appreciated this film in that light, I believe it is possibly one of the last great semi musicals of the 20th century and is helped immeasurably by a very pungent script. At times it is not unlike NEW YORK NEW YORK both in look and romantic combat. Cann and Midler work so well against and with each other, underlined by George Segal in a role that is actually substantial for him. Apparently this is loosely based on the life of Martha Raye, who complained bitterly upon release that "this fact" was not recognized. FOR THE BOYS is a major musical film but tapers off tune wise in the last 40 minutes while the starling and harrowing (but slightly illogical) Vietnam War scenes are played out. Midler is front and center star at all times and the production values show the huge budget well spent on screen. If reissued today might get a better reception given the Iraq war to play against and therefore have more impact. It's a good film, serious and with excellent music and comedy in the first hour especially.

After FOR THE BOYS flopped at the box office, Bette Midler angrily told the press she would never make another musical.But the trouble was she DIDN'T make a musical. She threw a few numbers into a heavy-handed "message picture" that strikes political poses which are obvious and overly-familiar.It starts out so well, a real old-time star vehicle, perfectly showcasing Midler's musical and comedic gifts, but less than an hour in, it transforms into something much less interesting.Musical numbers disappear, replaced by pious liberal sermonettes, teaching us that blacklisting, patriotism, sexism, and the Viet Nam war are all Very Bad.FOR THE BOYS illustrates the damage done to a story when the writers refuse to be fair to a major character. Here, James Caan is painted in such broad strokes as a two-dimensional villain (sexist! adulterous! untalented! corrupt!), the whole film becomes a cartoon.By the time you see them in the worst old age make-up in Hollywood history (it looks like someone stuck pie dough on Midler and Caan's faces), what little credibility remains is swept away for good.But the first 45 minutes reminds you how great Midler can be in the right vehicle. Will someone please cast her in another musical? A REAL one this time.