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Soapdish (1991)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Reviews Counted: 35
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 11

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 5.6/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 4

No consensus yet.

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 8,004

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Movie Info

In the comedic farce Soapdish, the behind-the-scenes lives of several soap opera actors are just as melodramatic as those of their television counterparts. Sally Field stars as Celeste Talbert, the star of a declining TV show. To make matters worse, Talbert's career is thrown into turmoil when her rival, Montana Moorehead (Cathy Moriarty), tries to persuade producer David Barnes (Robert Downey Jr.) to write Talbert off the show. Smitten by Moorehead, Barnes comes up with a scheme to get Talbert

PG-13, 1 hr. 37 min.

Comedy

Directed By: Michael Hoffman

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1991 Wide

On DVD: Dec 11, 2001

Paramount Home Video

Soapdish Trailer & Photos

Cast

Sally Field
Celeste Talbert
Kevin Kline
Jeffrey Anderson
Robert Downey Jr.
David Barnes
Cathy Moriarty
Montana Moorehead
Whoopi Goldberg
Rose Schwartz
Elisabeth Shue
Lori Craven
Carrie Fisher
Betsy Faye Sharon
Garry Marshall
Edmund Edwards
Teri Hatcher
Ariel Maloney
Paul Johansson
Bolt Brennan
Leeza Gibbons
Herself
John Tesh
Himself
Stephen Nichols
Award Presenter
Michael Berkowitz
Young Autograph Seeker
David Byron
Nitwit
Robert Camilletti
Actor
Tim Choate
A.D.
Nico de Silva
Bus Boy
Willie Garson
Nitwit
Mary Pat Gleason
Housewife
Penny Gumeny
Fan
Wai Ching Ho
Fan
Finola Hughes
"All My Trials" Actress...
Mary Thompson Hunt
Fan
Brick Karnes
Homeless Extra
Sheila Kelley
Fran
Cornelia Kiss
Receptionist
Barry Kivel
Nitwit
Phil Leeds
Old Man
Gino Lucci
Bus Driver
Costas Mandylor
Mark
Vince Melocchi
P.A.
Armando Molina
Bus Boy
Marianne Muellerleile
Housewife
Amy Nabi
Woman Shopper
Kathy Najimy
Tawny Miller
Arne Nannestad
Burton White
Dorothy Patterson
Old Woman
Clive Rosengren
Doorman
Ben Stein
Nitwit
Herta Ware
Old Woman
Ivory Ocean
Bartender
Lora Kennedy

Critic Reviews for Soapdish

All Critics (35) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (24) | Rotten (11) | DVD (8)

Soapdish aims at a satiric target as big as a Macy's float and intermittently hits it.

February 27, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Variety Staff

Variety

Top Critic

This movie certainly has its dopey moments, but if you're feeling indulgent you're likely to have a good time with it.

February 27, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Uneven but often sidesplitting.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Janet Maslin

New York Times

Top Critic

It's a kick to see Field sending up her sweetheart image.

May 12, 2001 Comment

Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

Top Critic

Soapdish is pure joy, a lemon-fresh spoof of daytime drama that does the dishing and may even soften your hands.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment

Rita Kempley

Washington Post

Top Critic

This is the kind of movie that is a balancing act, really.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Soapdish is a flurry of activity without a dedicated core, neutering displays of slapstick and the force of the satiric crescent kick.

May 31, 2011 Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com

| Comment

Brian Orndorf

BrianOrndorf.com

Fundamentally, its subject for satire isn't all that clever.

February 27, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

Not as funny as the real thing and unlikely to be anywhere near as successful as the leading real-life exponents of the art.

February 27, 2008 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine

| Comment

Empire Magazine

A funny, sharply-written film more pertinent in the Noughties than it was upon its first release.

February 27, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Richard Luck

Film4

Nothing succeeds like excess, this comedy would have us believe.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Time Out

Way too hard-working for comedy.

July 9, 2004 Comment

Jake Euker

F5 (Wichita, KS) Source: F5 (Wichita, KS)

Starts off funny, ends up ludicrously funny. Recommended.

July 18, 2003 Comment

Widgett Walls

Needcoffee.com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Soapdish

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The show within a show concept is the thing here with the question being: isn't the business of making a show more interesting than the show itself? Played, as daytime television frequently does, larger than life ... the result is the guilty pleasure of this film. Fields and Kline are marvelous.

August 10, 2011

moon rivers

Super Reviewer

Soapdish is one of my guilt pleasures...such a funny movie with such good actors such as: Sally Field, Whoopie Goldberg, Elizabeth Shue, Robert Downey Jr, Cathy Moriarty, Kevin Kline, and Teri Hatcher. This movie directed by Michael Hoffman shows you what happens behind closed doors on a soap opera....apparently another drama ensues...too funny!

September 13, 2008

Mason Williams

Super Reviewer

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