Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds : some 'conflicted' emotions..

having just watched this documentary last night on hbo, i feel oddly conflicted and i don't even know how to begin exactly..

when i first heard of carrie fisher's and then debbie reynolds' deaths a day apart last month, i was shocked, horrified and saddened as were most people i'm sure.. part of my reaction i suspect had to do with the fact that i ultimately knew very little about either women, collectively or individually, outside of the obvious pop culture references: daughter played princess leia of 'star wars' fame and mother was the young star of 'singing in the rain' back in the 1950s..

i remember searching the web for more information on them soon after their deaths and ran across the oprah interview they both did together a few years back -when debbie still seemed to be in good health- and my sadness grew as the oprah interview tweaked all the nostalgic emotions i was feeling and filled in the blanks of their story in a classy (non-exploitative) way..

here's the 'conflicted' part.. as i watched the hbo documentary, i felt a sense of 'sadness' and 'difficulty in watching,' but in a totally different way.. here are some thoughts that ran through my mind:

1. i felt almost repulsed by the exploitative vibe it gave off.. the term 'tmi' came to mind on multiple occasions.. it's hard to describe but as the documentary went on, i started to feel increasingly repulsed by the creepy way carrie and her brother, even in ripe adulthood, still seemed to come across as immature, dysfunctional and shallow attention-seeking teens with no greater ambition in life than to milk their mother's/family's unfortunate history of salaciousness and scandal.. case in point: i think i have read and seen more than i care to about how liz tylor took their dad away.. by continuing to exploit that angle, it only cheapens their story.. honestly! enough about liz taylor!

2. todd fisher comes off as a creepy 'carnie,' his appearance and attire were just pitifully depressing.. in a way, after listening to him, i almost felt that he too must be suffering from some form of mental illness or distress.. he just looked disturbing/disturbed..

3. the part i enjoyed most was the subtle details of debbie's routine behind the scenes backstage at one of her nightclub acts..

4. overall, as much as i hate to admit it, i have come to the conclusion that the more i find out about this tragic family, the less i'm inclined to automatically shed an empathetic tear for them or become emotionally invested in their story and the more i'm inclined to merely 'pity' them..

5. both carrie and todd seemed just plain gross/grotesquely tacky at times for my taste, especially in their desperate bid to milk the family's salacious story.. i understand this may be a highly subjective perception but it is still the feeling i got for what it's worth.. (see no. 1)

6. debbie seemed to be the only one who even remotely managed to exude an iota of dignity or behave with an iota of decorum.. 'singing in the rain' is one of my favorite musicals so i wish they had shown a lot more of that and her rise at mgm and a lot less of the salacious liz taylor garbage.. it's almost as though they all felt that that the liz taylor association was their primary claim to fame.. it all seemed a bit sad, desperate and pathetic!

anyway, i wonder if anyone else's emotional perception of their deaths somehow 'changed' however slightly after watching the hbo documentary.. i respect carrie's fight to champion the crusade of the mentally ill, but i can't help but feel as though this family has milked their own salaciousness and misfortune a bit much for my own personal taste..

bottom-line: i almost feel i was better off knowing less about them than i do now.. btw, i'm not a particular fan of the 'star wars' franchise though i can certainly appreciate its enormous impact from a 'pop culture' standpoint..


it wasn't the fall from her 16th-floor penthouse that killed her, it was the landing

Intersting points. But putting things in perspective the Liz Taylor period was a tumultuous time for all of them. It was scandalous. It also was a life altering experience. There are people who are still affected ny divorce, affairs, etc Carrie longed for he father's love and attention. Obviously she didn't get that. Harry was another individual that ruined theor lives. They went from one disappointment to another. Debbie lost her money to her husbands gambling. Being constantly scrutinized can have an effect emotionally, physically and mentally. Life is messy. We don't know what people go through and feel in their private lives. After everything they've been through it's surprising they were able to have a solid relationship.

I agree to some extent. I could have also done without the Liz Taylor references, but as the poster above said, it was a big part of their lives, and it had a profound affect on them. i also enjoyed the behind the scenes bits, the auction of her memorabilia (too bad her dream of a museum never came to fruition), and their interactions with fans.
Overall, a wonderful documentary. Although sad at times, you could see how much those two women loved each other.

That's a lot of text to simply say you don't like them. It's perfectly fine not to but your posts seems a bit judge-y. It is best for you to just find other interests than the lives of Carrie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds.

Agreed. I really liked it, Debbie Reynolds is everything I thought she would be. They are show people. I knew Carrie's manic depression was bad, but I did not realize how bad. I loved Debbie's, Carrie's and Todd's relationship. Eccentric yes, to a point, but very real. I don't know a perfect family.

I completely agree. Her bipolar and close relationship between then is pretty common knowledge.

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Eccentric yes, to a point, but very real. I don't know a perfect family.

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'eccentric' seems like a coy understatement in hindsight.. in fact, i don't think mere eccentricity even begins to cover the degree of sheer dysfunction in that family.. prior to watching the documentary, i truly had believed them to be a bit 'classier' as a whole, so their degree of desperate self-promotion just to remain in the limelight at such advanced ages was quite a shock to me and indeed struck me as a bit sad and pathetic.. then again, dysfunction and mental illness are closely related kinfolk.. debbie behaved the closest to the image and perception of her that i had.. however, carrie and todd made me cringe.. that said, i highly respect carrie's crusade on behalf of the mentally ill.. that is indeed extremely commendable! and yet, i still felt a bit 'icky' after watching.. so perhaps, at least in my own personal view, knowing more about someone isn't always all it's cracked up to be.. the whole thing felt like i was watching a particularly sad 'real housewives' franchise.. who knows, perhaps that's where that family was headed.. i.e., striking a reality show deal with bravo tv..

it wasn't the fall from her 16th-floor penthouse that killed her, it was the landing

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indeed struck me as a bit sad and pathetic..

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Your post strikes me as a bit sad and pathetic. And you're not even famous.

Carrie Fisher will forever be known for being involved in the greatest film franchise of all time. Star Wars: A New Hope is the #1 moneymaker on the domestic charts EVER. She doesn't need to have a reality show or to make people "cringe," as you put it.

Frankly, you're making me cringe, with your lightly veiled envy of someone who's probably about your age. Are you that jealous that Carrie Fisher lucked out with her film choices? Apparently, because that's how it's coming across.

You don't have any idea if they were after a reality show at all, that's pure supposition on your part. Again concocted by some jealous twat who'd give a year of her own pathetic life to be in Carrie Fisher's shoes (and she's dead). Or even Todd Fisher's, for that matter.

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Your post strikes me as a bit sad and pathetic. And you're not even famous.

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what in god's name are you talking about? simply because i offered an honest assessment of how that documentary impacted the way i view that family, i'm suddenly 'sad and pathetic'? whatever happened to individuals being allowed to assess and make up their own minds about how they feel and perceive things? btw, what does my not being 'even famous' have to do with anything?

i am primarily a fan of the mgm debbie reynolds.. carrie is of secondary interest to me though i respect/appreciate her pop culture status.. however, that does not preclude me from opining honestly about them vis a vis that documentary and certain segments in it which made me a bit uncomfortable to watch..

i guess ultimately i thought carrie's celebrity status was solid enough that she didn't have to feel like she had to tell some random london shopkeeper: do you know who i am? i play princess leia in the star wars movies? that reeked of pitiful attention-craving and emotional neediness.. i don't know how else to describe it.. it just made me feel icky and sad for her..

i suppose i expect some of these better-known actors to be a little more grounded.. of course, i also have to keep reminding myself that she was a mentally ill woman who blessedly managed to learn to cope with her demons better than most..

as for her brother todd, i guess there's a good reason some people are best behind instead of in front of the cameras.. he looked sadly unkept, much like a carny..





it wasn't the fall from her 16th-floor penthouse that killed her, it was the landing

You sound really hypocritical as you are judging the OP. Why don't you find somthing else to comment on yourself.

This board is hardly lively. I assumed it was going to be worthwhile to read.

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That's a lot of text to simply say you don't like them. It's perfectly fine not to but your posts seems a bit judge-y. It is best for you to just find other interests than the lives of Carrie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds.

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on the contrary, i do like them and was totally shocked and mortified to hear of their passing.. i just didn't realize the family was so dysfunctional as a whole, especially carrie and todd.. sad, sad, sad..

it wasn't the fall from her 16th-floor penthouse that killed her, it was the landing

This film began over 2 years ago and was finished well over a year ago. It's not really fair to complain that we've heard too much about Elizabeth Taylor. There was no way to know, when filming was taking place, that the two bright lights would be dead and that every salacious story about Reynolds-Fisher-Taylor would be all over the news once again.

The film goes back more than two years agothe scenes with Carrie and her father dying, for instance, were obviously filmed in 2010. And I wonder when that little snippet between Carrie and her grandmother was filmed?

Whatever the case, I can somewhat agree with the OP. Carrie was a mess. At age 60, she bore no resemblance whatsoever to the fresh-faced girl of the original Star Wars. She aged faster than her mother. Even her voice had changed. Considering the majority of the special was filmed when she was approximately 58, it was somewhat shocking to see how she'd let herself go.

As for Todd, well, he's always stayed in the background. He didn't strike me as weird or "disturbed" at all. I did think he was unusually calm afterward, when Carrie and Debbie passed away. His interview on 20/20, for example, had him discussing very calmly the deaths of his mother and sister, and they'd only occurred a few days before. I've no doubt he was tranquilized somehow.

Debbie Reynolds was a trouper; she kept going no matter what. They just don't make 'em like her anymore.

Really? You think she "let herself go"? Apparently you have no idea what treatment for bipolar disorder entails. The medications that she has been on for years have a side effect of "possible heart attack" and may well be the reason that she died. She also had years of shock treatments, which she freely talked about. (Lets see how Scary Mary looks after a few of those.)
If you are ever unlucky enough to have a loved one diagnosed with manic-depressive illness or schizophrenia, I hope that your friends and family are not cruel enough to comment that they have "let themself go" or are "a mess". Cruel, ignorant comments like this are why so many mentally ill people choose to remain in the shadows, ashamed, rather than do what Carrie did which was to raise awareness as well as funding for treatment. Bravo Carrie, and bravo mom Debbie for starting "The Thalians" long before her daughter was even diagnosed.

I'm bi-polar myself, so relax, Joesource.

Yes, she let herself go. The constant consumption of high fructose Coca-Cola didn't help (she was probably diabetic on top of everything else), the chain smoking, and God knows what else she's been putting in her body all these yearsaway from presciption medsdid a real number on her.

Just because you're bi-polar doesn't mean you end up looking like Carrie Fisher at 60. Something else was at play there.

You strike me as a self-righteous prick. "If you are ever unlucky enough to have a loved one diagnosed with manic-depressive illness or schizophrenia?" I have, me. And those are two different conditions, by the way. Get your facts straight.

Whatever the case, Carrie looked like sh*t, and she let herself go.

Rude.

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At age 60, she bore no resemblance whatsoever to the fresh-faced girl of the original Star Wars

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No sh!t, she was 60. Some people age better than others but I don't see any reason to be crude about it. I mean, sorry she didn't get older to your liking but everyone's going to probably get old some point in their lives, no need to criticize them on how they do it. I'm sure you'll just look like the "fresh-faced" person you've always been though.

I found your points very interesting and well thought out. I don't care very much for either woman as I believe Debbie always thought she was a bigger star than she ever was. Postcards from the Edge was a great movie, but that was due to Shirley, who is not Debbie.

Both Debbie and Carrie always struck me as two women that always painted their life as some hard luck or they had it so hard because of Eddie Fisher or whatever. Sometimes you have to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and buck up. So what it takes to recover. Neither woman did this. Debbie whined her whole life while she used Carrie as a surrogate spouse.

Carrie resented her mom as much as she loved and needed her. It was a parasitic relationship. Carrie numbed herself as she never truly developed as a person. She should've cut her mom loose and made it in her own in some way or another. In or out of the spotlight.

What's amazing is how when someone famous dies the world all of a sudden adores them. When they are alive no one gives a damn. Michael Jackson is a perfect example of this.

Basically in agreement with OP and with Melancholy11 above. The more the documentary unfolded, the more salacious Carrie and Todd appeared.

Debbie really pushed herself to keep going and I respect that. Also respect her sense of decorum.

There was a sense that her kids viewed their lives as tragic, as privileged children of celebs often do. I wonder how they'd have made it through the vicissitudes of life without the wealth they take for granted

Hard to come away with much respect for anyone but Debbie Reynolds after watching this.

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I found your points very interesting and well thought out. I don't care very much for either woman as I believe Debbie always thought she was a bigger star than she ever was. Postcards from the Edge was a great movie, but that was due to Shirley, who is not Debbie.

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You must be very young or very naive. In her day, Debbie was a MAJOR movie star, right up there with any of her day, including people like Doris Day, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shirley MacLaine. "Debbie always thought she was a bigger star than she ever was?" That doesn't even make sense. Do your homework before writing such ridiculous comments.

I pretty much agree with the OP. This documentary was sad, and hard to watch. The family was a mess. Debbie too. After hearing she instructed her daughter on sex while she was having sex, I'm so grossed out that Singin' In The Rain (one of my all time favorite movies) will now be forever tainted with that image. No wonder Carrie was a mess, with a narcissistic mother. Debbie clearly got that trait from her own mother. Let's hope Billie escapes that fate.

It also made me realize that I truly don't need to know the private lives of celebrities. Keep your skeletons in your closet. I don't need to share them with you.

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It also made me realize that I truly don't need to know the private lives of celebrities. Keep your skeletons in your closet. I don't need to share them with you.

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Unfortunately, we already know too much about you from your postings here. Let's see, you're a self-righteous prig with her panties in a twist. You can't watch Singin' in the Rain anymore because you're too busy thinking about SEX.

Do you want to add anything more?

Wow. Seriously? Troll much? The only problem with sex here is a mother watching and instructing her daughter while she's having sex. If you think that's normal, YOU are the sick one. If you think I'm going to be baited into a fight with you, you're sadly mistaken.

Re watch the scene. Carrie never said it happened she said her mother suggested it. And with these two, it was probably said in a humorous fashion.

Thank you for that. I will. Because I really want it to be a joke. I understand "sick" humor, being a cancer nurse for many years you develop that kind of humor. So I'll check it out. Thanks for suggesting that, as opposed to attacking me as others seem to be fond of doing. No one is allowed to express a different opinion anymore without getting someone climbing down their throats. *eye roll*

Exactly. Carrie spoke of this long ago




Nothing is as it seems, nothing is just one thing and nothing is ever just over there;

I enjoyed it, warts and all, but I stopped putting celebrities on a pedestal long ago.

Fame, money, and dysfunction is a cliche, but clearly often true.

Such celebrity isn't what people were evolved for, to have an artificially god like construct of yourself circulated around the world is mind bending for all involved. In tribal times, a hero was flesh and blood, now they are celluloid, it warps everybodys minds.

Dude, we get it, you don't have to copy and paste the same reply in every post on this message board.

"Adding sound to movies would be like putting lipstick on the Venus de Milo."-MaryPickford

Yeah, I was wondering why VBliss thinks of sex everytime she/he watches Singin' in the Rain! I mean, come on, it's not a film that solicits such a response, so I gotta wonder just what kind of thought process VBliss has. Sex and sex and sex? Wow, that's really strange.

ScaryMary, I think you summed it up perfectly.

Not that I have to defend myself from a bunch of twats on a message board but it has absolutely nothing to de with sex. It has to do with the image of a sick person. How many of you can watch The Cosby Show and not be reminded of the heinous things Cosby is accused of? Or watch something OJ Simpson is in and not think of the people who were murdered? Watch a movie with Sharin Tate and not remember the atrocious way she died? Watch old episodes of Two and a Half Men and not think of what a POS Charlie Sheen is? That the principle in Ferris Bueller is Chester the Molestor? None of that ever crosses your mind? If not then you're a bigger person than I am. This is not about sex. You morons who think it is are the ones with sex on the brain. Give it a rest. I am allowed to have a differing opinion. I have to ask why you feel the need to attack a stranger on a public message board. Seriously. Get a life. Adjust your meds ffs. You have anger issues if my comment elicits such a response.

Typo. Should be Sharon Tate.

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I have to ask why you feel the need to attack a stranger on a public message board.

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Uh, you mean, like the way you attacked Debbie Reynolds and her daughter, two complete strangers to you? Hmm.

They're public figures. Comes with the territory. Go attack someone else. You're so good at attacking everyone. Leave me alone.

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They're public figures. Comes with the territory. Go attack someone else. You're so good at attacking everyone. Leave me alone.

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So funny how you get your panties in a twist when someone "attacks" you on a public message board. That's when the whining startsyet, you can attack Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fishertwo human beingsand apparently have no problem with it. Calling them "sick," as in mentally ill? And lacking moral judgment?

Wow. And you're the one constantly talking about sex. You've got some crust, lady.

You shouldn't take Carrie's word for it. She liked to tell funny stories to make people laugh!

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I pretty much agree with the OP. This documentary was sad, and hard to watch

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Yet, you watched the entire thing. And not only that, I'd be willing to bet you watched it more than once, just so you can see how "sick" everyone is.

And then, full of righteous indignation, you rush back here to post your feelings for everyone to read. And you post them multiple times. Over and over and over.

You obviously have something against these people. Are you envious? Maybe. But I think it goes deeper than that. And your poor defenses of your comments are laughable. "Stop attacking me," you cry. "Why are you picking on me?"

Boo-hoo!