Director: Steven Soderbergh
Year Released: 2013
Rating: 2.0
Sixteen-year-old Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) is seduced by famous piano-player/showman Liberace (Michael Douglas) and the two have a relationship for years before Scott's addiction to drugs becomes a serious problem and Liberace's strong libido has him conducting numerous other affairs with young men - following their breakup, Thorson sued Liberace for palimony and won a bit of money. Fundamentally, this is a routine May-December love story with its rise and (inevitable) fall, except it does seem to vilify Liberace as a predator (ignore that Damon is in his 40's) obsessed with youth and even forcing Scott to get plastic surgery to look like him (!!). Thorson, whose book they based this movie on, is very much a questionable character - with numerous stints in jail and a well-documented addiction to drugs (like meth) - so 'his version' may not exactly be the most reliable one of this particular tale. Regardless, the performances are fantastic, especially Douglas as the glass-closeted performer and Rob Lowe as the pill-pushing plastic surgeon who underwent a few too many operations himself.
