Last night Lifetime finally revealed to the world their film about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton starring Lindsay Lohan. The reviews have been rolling in and by almost all accounts I think I’m glad I missed Liz & Dick.
The actress was hoping that the film, which gained a tremendous amount of media attention because of Lohan’s involvement, would spark a reignition of her career but so far it’s looking like it might have the opposite effect. A source close to Lindsay told Huffington Post‘s Rob Shuter:
“Lindsay has already read her own press. She knew the script wasn’t strong but thought she would bring the role of Elizabeth to life. This is particularly heartbreaking as her acting was the only thing in her life that she knew was real. Now she is doubting that, too.”
As of this post, aggregate review site Metacritic has the film scored at a 33 out of 100. Here are 5 quotes from some of the, shall we say, “unfavorable” reviews.
TV Guide / Matt Roush: “an epic of stunningly cynical and pathetic miscasting, a TV-movie so laughably inept it doesn’t deserve to be on a first-name basis with anything resembling humanity.”
The Hollywood Reporter / Tim Goodman: “Lohan is woeful as Taylor from start to finish…. The best part is that it gets worse as it goes on, so in the right company with the right beverages, Liz & Dick could be unbearably hilarious toward the tail end of the 90-minute running time.”
Philadelphia Daily News / Ellen Gray: A Saturday Night Live-worthy performance by Lindsay Lohan makes this much-anticipated/dreaded Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton biopic even worse than I, at least, had imagined.
The Huffington Post / Maureen Ryan: “Liz and Dick is badly paced, cheap-looking and encrusted with a tinkly, preposterous soundtrack that is designed to make viewers go insane.”
San Francisco Chronicle / David Wiegand: “The film, starring Lindsay Lohan and Grant Bowler and airing Sunday night, is terrible. It could have been terrible in a fun way, but is, alas, terrible in the other way: It’s so terrible, you’ll need to ice your face when it’s over to ease the pain of wincing for two hours.”
Pretty harsh stuff. Out of fairness I should mention that there are a sprinkling of favorable reviews out there including one via Variety from Brian Lowry in which he writes, “While Liz & Dick is wobbly at times, the movie ultimately stands on its own.”
Lindsay’s father Michael Lohan, one never to shy away from a camera or microphone, came out in defense of his daughter’s performance too:
“Due to the content, I had to step away from a lot of the scenes, but regardless of what some of these so-called critics, who don’t have an ounce of talent in their bones say, Lindsay proved that she is an amazing actress. This was a different role for her at a difficult time of her life.”
Did you see Liz & Dick and if so what were your thoughts?
