Postcards From the Edge (1990) review

Mike Nichols' film of Carrie Fisher's autobiographical book is, sad to say, a complete dud. Meryl Streep stars as the Fisher character, a cocaine-and-pills-addicted actress and Shirley MacLaine plays her loopy mother (she's quite good imitating Debbie Reynolds, Fisher's real-life mom). The two of them spend most of the running time arguing, complaining and bonding: all the elements that are usually found in 'guy' pictures. The moral of the story isn't much: drugs don't pay, and we need to count on people in our family to help us when we're in trouble. So what?