Few nuggets, a lot of duds

This film might have been far more effective at about one hour, but it stretches to 100 minutes, and it's essentially a non-stop parade of talking female heads that go on and on and on. There's seemingly no time to breathe before a new face suddenly appears to bitch about the terrible times they have. The sad thing is the botoxed, surgically enhanced and collagen-filled faces (Melanie Griffiths looks hideous) of some of the actors who are barely in their 40s. How pathetic is that: anything to pretend you're 10 years younger? I find it really sad that Nicole Kidman, a mere 40 years old, is ALREADY loading up on botox.

Some of the insights (Laura Dern, Vanessa Redgrave, and perhaps most especially Debra Winger herself) are interesting, but for the most part there's a lot of heat but not very much light. If these women are surprised that Hollywood is a cut-throat business, they must be very naive indeed. If you're a woman over 40 -- jeez, even 30 -- forget it. Hollywood today shoots for audiences in the 18-to-28 age groups.

I think director Rosanna Arquette means very well. She comes through as an emotional and sensitive person and she even admits that she has a 'soft shell' and is easy to hurt. I was very touched by her honesty and her vulnerability. She comes from a large showbiz family, so she didn't have much choice but to go into the biz herself. But she's a gentle soul in a soulless business. Showbiz has no time for real human beings with real human emotions.