This film earns the term 'cringe-worthy'. That's because in the final years of his alcohol-shortened life, John Barrymore made some rather bad films--ones where he horribly over-acted and mugged. But, this is the worst of them to watch because he is essentially playing himself and you may find yourself laughing at his actual real-life self-destruction--something I am just too uncomfortable doing (much like the recent love of watching Charlie Sheen do the same by the public).
In this film, Barrymore plays a master thespian of the stage who is a hard-core alcoholic who has been multiply married and is completely irresponsible. And, due to his drinking, he messes his life up and destroys a play. But the public doesn't realize that he's drunk and thinks the acting by Barrymore meant to be this bad--and the show (like "The Producers" and their play "Springtime for Hitler") becomes a sensation. There is a subplot involving John Payne and the playwright--but it is rather inconsequential. Instead, the movie is simply Barrymore parodying himself! While surreal and oddly interesting, I just felt terrible knowing that within two years, Barrymore would be dead--a man prematurely ruined in a grand fashion as everyone looked on in either horror of amusement. In his final years, Barrymore couldn't remember his lines, confabulated much of the time and was a happy but depressing drunk. Sad...very sad and enjoyable in a necrophiliac sot of way.
By the way, if all this seems a bit familiar, the film is very similar to the 1980s film "My Favorite Year" in which Peter O'Toole plays almost the exact same character though he proceeds to destroy a TV show instead of a play--and the public loves it and thinks it's real.
In this film, Barrymore plays a master thespian of the stage who is a hard-core alcoholic who has been multiply married and is completely irresponsible. And, due to his drinking, he messes his life up and destroys a play. But the public doesn't realize that he's drunk and thinks the acting by Barrymore meant to be this bad--and the show (like "The Producers" and their play "Springtime for Hitler") becomes a sensation. There is a subplot involving John Payne and the playwright--but it is rather inconsequential. Instead, the movie is simply Barrymore parodying himself! While surreal and oddly interesting, I just felt terrible knowing that within two years, Barrymore would be dead--a man prematurely ruined in a grand fashion as everyone looked on in either horror of amusement. In his final years, Barrymore couldn't remember his lines, confabulated much of the time and was a happy but depressing drunk. Sad...very sad and enjoyable in a necrophiliac sot of way.
By the way, if all this seems a bit familiar, the film is very similar to the 1980s film "My Favorite Year" in which Peter O'Toole plays almost the exact same character though he proceeds to destroy a TV show instead of a play--and the public loves it and thinks it's real.