Word: midler
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Mike, 9, the black-and-white border collie who upstaged the hitherto un- upstageable Bette Midler in last year's Down and Out in Beverly Hills and who is busy making commercials and considering film projects...
...agenda had been proclaimed. Melody and vocal craft were out, to be replaced by the hip virtues of energy and attitude. Male singer-songwriters were now the Rimbauds of rock and the women merely interpreters, trimming their expertise to the cut of the material. LaBelle or Bette Midler could coax a ballad to tears or go all raw in a rave- up, but that wasn't artistry, only dexterity without the signature of commitment. Meanwhile, FM radio's narrow-cast formats were herding black artists into the chic ghettos of Las Vegas and the R.-and-B. stations...
These are days of outrageously good fortune for Bette Midler. First came a string of three hit movies -- Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People and Outrageous Fortune -- followed by the arrival of a new baby, Sophie. Good luck continued to bloom for the Rose last week as she became the top prize winner of the first American Comedy Awards. La Bette clinched four of the trophies: best actress in a motion picture, funniest record or video, funniest female performer and lifetime achievement. Robin Williams was next in line with three awards. In addition to Midler, lifetime awards went...
Fettered Bette is better than no Bette at all, we guess. But why should she not do what she does uniquely well? Perhaps because Hollywood just now does not care to see the blowsy, pug-beautiful singer, alone and proud on the screen. Instead it wants a Bette Midler like the woman she plays in Ruthless People: bound and blindfolded and sending out comic danger signals. Illuminating these undemanding comedies uses about one green fingernail's worth of her gift...
Fans are greedy, possessive creatures who demand too much of their idol: that she stay faithful to the first blinding image of herself, that she stand forever in its wilting light. Bette Midler may figure she has paid her dues as an entertainer and earned a paid vacation in the movies. Why shouldn't she be happy to trade in the enervating risk of a solo act on the road for the cozy virtues of family, familiarity and the Hollywood version of a steady job? The star that shines can shine on; the star that burns may burn...