Reel Rundown: Finding the ‘truth’ behind ‘Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story’
Truth, as it’s been our misfortune in recent years to realize, is relative. Sad to say, this is as much the case with politics as it is with moviemaking.
In the case of the documentary feature “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story,” which is now streaming on various services, you’d be wise to question the claims that title is making – at least about “absolute” truth. Few if any of the people interviewed by director Bruce David Klein have much to say about the film’s chief subject, Liza Minnelli, that is anything other than positive.
And to be sure, there are negatives that need to be considered when revealing the real woman behind the talented singer/dancer/actor who was destined to follow in the footsteps of her mother, the 20th century superstar Judy Garland. We know that because over the course of Minnelli’s life, she’s endured four marriages, three miscarriages and numerous rehab stints, all of which inspired too many lurid international headlines to count.
But, then, if you’d been brought up in a celebrity spotlight, watched your mother battle and get defeated by alcohol and drug abuse, worked hard enough to hone your own raw talent into the kind of shape that could win an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony), then you might be expected to endure a few troubles.
In Minnelli’s case, her basic nature – tinged as it is with a mix of affability and vulnerability – also attracted a group of friends, all of whom are loyal. Many of them, from Mia Farrow to George Hamilton, are among those whom Klein interviews.
Most prominent is the singer Michael Feinstein, who comes the closest to revealing the real Minnelli, the one who exists behind the sensational headlines. It is Feinstein who explains the difficulties Minnelli had with Garland, the movie and musical icon who shepherded her daughter into the entertainment business and yet at times acted like a typical demanding, and maybe even jealous, stage mother.
Feinstein’s affection for Minnelli is obvious. The same can be said of Klein’s film overall, a fact that should please the most ardent of Minnelli’s fans. “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story” is full of archival footage, including snippets from her most well-known performances. Featured are her 1972 Emmy-winning television extravaganza “Liza with a Z” and her Oscar-winning performance in Bob Fosse’s film adaptation of the musical “Cabaret” that premiered that same year.
Klein gives us a wealth of stories, many of which feature the prominent people who over the decades helped Minnelli refine her natural gifts. The list includes everyone from Fosse to the singer/stage performer Kay Thompson, the “French Frank Sinatra” Charles Aznavour to the lyricist Fred Ebb, along with Feinstein and several others.
And, of course, there are the interviews with Minnelli herself, though those tend to be depressing given the litany of physical ailments, from hip replacements to a bout with encephalitis, that have left her a shadow of her former lively self.
Closemouthed about Minnelli’s physical incapacities, Klein glosses over the problems she’s faced. Yet Minnelli’s many fans aren’t likely to care or even notice. It’s the memory of her former self, the one that remains captured on film, that will endure. Both it and Minnelli’s unique blend of charisma and talent explain why she’s inspired not just the loyalty of her friends but also Klein’s generous biopic.
That kind of truth is the story of life itself.