European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 18, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                10 j. In i i be in various capacities a 5v 1on, Iley i and Dreyfu tto a a  Dan Melnick. And unlike Dinah proof Fisher says s she never hid in her Lover s he House of love the closet a spy o pathetic observer of her sex s happily nested new state. And yet there is a Strong emotional resemblance Between Fisher and he soap opera writing counterpart. Quot i always feel that i be been a disappointing partner in a relationship because i m on the phone too much and i Don t pay a lot of attention. I always say if you go out with me expecting to get a lot of homemade food 1 offer another service which is that i like to talk and i like exchanges and i like the Contact made through communication. And my veal Piccuta is suffering because of that Quot that conventional Way to be female which Fisher somehow thinks she lacks is the Quot Pink Quot of the title. It also has a vaguely unmentionable meaning. Fisher s new York years were her wild and crazy and druggy years when the Only thing people could Counton about her was that she would get loaded years when she would scout out Medicine chests in a Hunt for prescription drugs As a self styled Quot Robin Hood a id Rob from the Rich and give to the potentially  after Fisher completed rehab five years ago she became a former addict with a vengeance or As she likes to say Quot Joan of narc Patron Saint of the addict. I said if i lived with the Pope i would have thought he had an alcohol problem because he drank that wine  Fisher is doing very Well for herself from her base above Beverly Hills in a fancifully furnished southwestern style three bedroom ranch that once belonged to David soul. She shares it with plastic cows Quot Hairdryer head Quot her name for one of her painting buddy the dog and Joan and Dean two parrots who live in Quot the Bird zone Quot from which they loudly and often broadcast Quot the radio show from  her current Boyfriend is an agent for creative artists Agency. Aii in All it s a pretty Good gig. And there seems to be no end in sight. So maybe Fisher s modes Operand a Quot Good anecdote bad reality Quot a is giving Rise to a reality that really in t half bad. Why she might every grow up to be like one of her foes the Dorothy Parker of Hollywood. A movie for and about adults by Max Mcqueen Cox news service if you see me kissing Mike Nichols feet just walk on by. Or get in line. Kiss no. 1 is for making films about and for grownups films such As postcards from the Edge. Kiss no. 2 is for making said films smart and handsome and fresh and provocative All while being unapologetic ally entertaining. We Are not patting Nichols Back just because his brain pleasing material stands out in an Era of cinematic banality. Long before postcards Nichols was on the cutting Edge himself with who s afraid of Virginia Woolf the graduate carnal knowledge and More recently with Silkwood heartburn and working girl. Unlike Woody alien and Robert Altman both of whom have grown More and More Remote Over the years or Blake Edwards who seems afflicted with a terminal midlife crisis Nichols has remained As accessible for 25-year-Olds As for 85-year-Olds. Postcards is a perfect example of Nichols user Friendly approach to filmmaking. Though set in the rarefied environs of Hollywood postcards heroine reads As if she could be the sheltered close to Middle aged daughter next door. That describes Suzanne Vale meryl Streep to a t. Our first meeting is in bed. Not that Suzanne would remember it. Her one night stand Dennis Quaid who undeservedly copped co Star Billing for Little More than a Cameo is a womanizing producer whose one decent act is to drop off his near dead bed partner at an emergency room before Riding into the Malibu Sunset. Fast Forward a Day. Or two. Or three. Suzanne comes to in a drug rehabilitation clinic. She assumes she can March right out. She assumes wrong. Welcome to the real world Suzi girl. Welcome to detox City. Suzanne cleans up her act. But there is this Little bitty problem staring her in the face a Mother who is a Par time Parent and full time entertainer who acts like she is Busby Berkeley and the world is hers for the arranging. This mommie Dearest is listed As Doris Mann in the credits. But she is Debbie Reynolds to anyone who has read postcards from the Edge Carrie Fisher s Semi autobiographical novel about a drug addicted actress who closely resembles the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. Shirley Maclaine does the honors playing Doris As Mike Nichols is the director of the bittersweet comedy. Debbie. She is fabulous to borrow an adjective from a Hollywood publicist s Box of buzzwords. Doris is not on the grab you by the Lapes order of Aurora Greenway Maclaine s Oscar winning widow in terms of endearment. But Doris and Aurora live by the same rules. No. 1 is you Don t do anything that could hint of scandal. No. 2 is Quot never leave the House without your face  the drug counselling program requires Suzanne to live at Home. This is just the excuse Nichols and Fisher need to set up a two hour Mother and daughter tug of War that yields a theater full of laughs a Popcorn bucket full of tears and inside jokes on filmmaking that loom As Large As the Hollywood sign. At first the pairing of Maclaine and Streep seems an Odd match particularly As Mother and daughter and especially when that Mother and child Mirror Reynolds and Fisher. But this Story is not about a Middle age mom facing the Normal traumas presented by a teen age daughter. Postcards is about a fading musical comedy Star who is As reluctant to leave the limelight and  As her daughter is hesitant to enter adulthood and the Middle years Given that scenario the teaming of Maclaine and Streep is truly inspired. They fight. They hug. They bite. They Bug the Heck out of each other. Y it All rings uncommonly True of Molher drug Fer relationships despite the exaggerated lifestyles and flamboyant characters that Are part and parcel to my film about Hollywood. \ As usual Nichols surrounds himself with the Best people even in minor roles. Gene Hackman has but a few tines As a father figure director in Suzanne s life. Brief As his moments Are Hackman will have you trusting him with your life let alone Suzanne s. Richard Dreyfuss has even fewer scenes As Suzanne s Overly attentive doctor. But enough Sparks Fly Eye to Eye that you Hope for a sequel titled postcards from the Edge of the Hospital bed Dennis Quaid appears As a movie producer who pursues Streep