by Joey Guerra
Entertainment Editor
The trailers for That Old Feeling, Bette Midler's follow-up to the wildly successful, hopelessly mediocre The First Wives Club, didn't exactly swing my laugh-o-meter towards the high end of the scale. Midler is a gifted comedienne, but any more material like Wives (which this film's previews seem to be showcasing) would wash her acidly humorous demeanor out so completely that she'd end up as saccharine sweet as Doris Day.
It is my pleasure to report, then, that Midler is back in form with That Old Feeling, which pulls no punches in the fire-breathing that goes on between Lilly (Midler), a sarcastic movie star, and Dan (Dennis Farina), a journalist, who have been divorced for 12 years. The whole cast is game for the wicked jabs that go on between the lovebirds, and director Carl Reiner and screenwriter Leslie Dixon keep everything going at a roller-coaster pace.
Molly (delightful newcomer Paula Marshall) thinks everything is wonderful in her life, most notably in the form of Keith (Jamie Denton), her rich, handsome boyfriend who proposes marriage, much to her delight. Everything seems wonderful, until Molly realizes that Keith expects both her parents to attend.
Both have remarried - Lilly to a New Age, gooey sensitive psychologist, Alan (David Rasche), and Dan to a social-climbing product of extensive plastic surgery, Rowena (Gail O'Grady). Regardless, both still hinge their lives on the other person's unhappiness.
Lilly and Dan don't simply dislike each other, they hate each other from head to toe. One word, one look between them could set off an explosion at the wedding.
So, when they get into a knock-down, drag-out war of words right in the middle of Molly and Keith's reception, it's no surprise to anyone. Frustrated and fed up, Molly orders both her parents to leave until they can behave civilly towards each other. How civil they end up behaving though, involves a hot and heavy episode in a car right outside the wedding party.
The scene crackles with comic zings and great reactions from both Farina and Midler, who make this scene a laugh-out-loud riot. They fight, and fight, and fight, until the only thing left to do is mug down on top of the nearest available object. So, Dan and Lilly decide to ditch the wedding, their daughter and their spouses to get reacquainted, in every sense of the word.
The tailspin this sends everyone into creates a mess of sidebar situations, including Keith's wandering eyes, Alan's return to the bottle and Molly's realization that marriage may not be the thing for her, thanks to a spunky and cute tabloid photographer, Joey (Danny Nucci).
Screenwriter Dixon wisely chooses to let the story veer off into a number of interesting tangents, as opposed to the tiresome, one-note revenge plot of The First Wives Club. We get a surprisingly in-depth look at Molly, who it seems chose marriage to a straight-laced, aspiring politician only to prove to herself she was more of a normal person than her whacked-out parents. Molly's own personal battles are as interesting as the steamy affair involving her parents.
There are many surprising twists in That Old Feeling, from Joey's unexpected sensitivity to Dan and Lilly's carefree attitude on just about everything. They are both tired of trying to please everyone else and are finally doing what their hearts have always known is right.
Midler and Farina are wonderful as the born-again couple, wining, dining and dancing the hours away in a hilariously sexy montage of scenes. It's rare to find an on-screen, middle-aged couple come across this appealing and still full of sexual energy, but Midler and Farina combine to create a refreshing portrait.
Also exhibiting a nice chemistry are Marshall and Nucci, whose hidden feelings will have you rooting for them halfway through the film. Denton, O'Grady and Rasche also deliver some funny moments, but their characters come off a bit cartoonish and crude in the end.
What really motors this film is the no-holds-barred way the insults fly. Everything that was canned or too airbrushed in The First Wives Club is right on target here, making the laughs harder and well-earned.
Director Reiner takes an energetic, sunny approach to his film and, for the most part, creates a likable mood throughout. If you've got a Feeling for laughter, then Midler, Farina and the rest of the crew can definitely help you out.