"Soapdish" is a riotous spoof of TV soap operas and the people who create them, the clever foundation being that the backstage lives of the principles are more sudsy than the TV program they work on.
And let's face it, real life really is zanier than anything TV could dream up. (If you're not sure, just read the newspaper.)
Sally Field has the nominal lead in this ensemble piece, as Celeste Talbert, star of the popular daytime soap opera "The Sun Also Sets" and regularly referred to as "America's Sweetheart."
The plot revolves around the efforts of a blond bombshell supporting player, Montana Moorehead (Cathy Moriarty), to get Celeste off the show so she can become the star. To make that happen she enlists the aid of weak-willed producer David Barnes (Robert Downey Jr.), whom she plies with seductive promises.
The ball starts rolling as they unwittingly hire Celeste's young niece Lori Craven (Elisabeth Shue) to play a homeless Jamaican mute. Then they seek out Celeste's old sweetheart, ham actor Jeffrey Anderson (Kevin Kline), to hire him back on the show — he was kicked off many years earlier when he and Celeste broke up and has since been relegated to playing "Death of a Salesman" at a noisy Florida dinner theater. (What he really wants to do is bring his "One-Man Hamlet" to Broadway.)
Montana and David also come up with all kinds of unsympathetic things for Celeste's character to do on the show, sneaking behind the back of the program's head writer Rose Schwartz (Whoopi Goldberg), who also happens to be Celeste's best friend.
To outline any more would spoil the surprises, as the plot twists and turns, winding up with a hilarious set-piece that has the regulars ad-libbing through a live broadcast.
Field is a terrific comic actress, but it's been awhile since we've seen her do broad comedy on the screen. Her timing is impeccable, perfectly complementing Kline, who is also a superb screen comic (you may recall he won an Oscar for his very funny character in "A Fish Called Wanda").
But "Soapdish" is so well-written and directed that everyone looks good. Screenwriters Robert Harling ("Steel Magnolias") and Andrew Bergman ("The In-Laws," "Blazing Saddles," "The Freshman") and director Michael Hoffman ("Promised Land," "Some Girls," "Restless Natives") are in top form and the cast is obviously having a great time with the material.
Goldberg, Downey, Shue and especially Moriarty all have some wonderful moments, as do Carrie Fisher, Teri Hatcher and director Garry Marshall ("Pretty Woman") in supporting roles. There's more physical comedy, refined slapstick and on-the-mark dialogue packed into this movie than you're likely to see in any 10 comedies these days.
Soap fans will also spot some stars of real TV soap operas scattered among the cast members, and the parody aimed at the soaps themselves somehow manages to be funny and respectful at the same time, rather than condescending.
"Soapdish" is very funny, and it's really nice to see expert performers get a chance to sink their teeth into great comic material; this is easily the best comedy about soap operas since "Tootsie."
"Soapdish" is rated PG-13 for profanity, vulgarity and a brief nude scene.