MovieChat Forums > Postcards from the Edge (1990) Discussion > Debbie and Carrie would have been better...

Debbie and Carrie would have been better playing themselves

posted 7 years ago by Tickerage
3 replies | jump to latest

Meryl Streep is the greatest actress of our time. Shirley MacLain is a great actress. That being said, can you imagine how great this movie would have been if Debbie had played Debbie and Carrie had played Carrie?!? Shirley Maclain did her best but just saying the word "Dear" before everything doesn't make you Debbie Reynolds. Also, she just isn't quite as pretty a Debbie and the brilliance of having Debbie paint on her face or put on a wig would have been so much better. This is still a good movie and Carrie's script is very good. But now that they are both deceased, in every single scene, I can't help but wondering/wishing 'what if'? Was there any specific reason that Carrie didn't want she and her mother to play their roles? I suppose this movie was probably at a point when the two were not on good terms. In any case I have always felt and continue to feel that it would have been better with Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher playing the roles. I love Meryl and Shirley, but still...

At least there will be plenty implied.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5958) 7 years ago

You need a big star like Meryl to helm a film like this.

[–] noveltylibrary65 (200) 4 years ago

I had read the book and remember being so disappointed Meryl Streep was cast, thinking she was the last person for someone like Carrie.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

I also read the book first and I thought Streep was a brilliant casting choice for the lead role. To me she was completely believable and so funny. I remember reading an interview with Fisher at the time where she was asked why she didn't play the role herself and her response was something along the lines of "well if you had a choice between yourself and Meryl Streep to play you, who would YOU choose?"

For me it's Meryl's finest comedy performance of her entire career.