Divine Madness (1980)

Coming right after her triumphant performance in THE ROSE, this is Bette Midler ("The Divine Miss M") in a live performance (actually filmed over four nights and edited together) and captured on film by the director Michael Ritchie (DOWNHILL RACER). Midler refers to it as the "time capsule" version of her act and it includes most of her big songs and best comedic bits. I've had the pleasure of seeing Midler in concert twice and she's an amazing dynamo on stage and the film only hints at her magnetic stage presence. Still, as an archival record of her in concert, it's a more than decent presentation. Whether channeling Sophie Tucker and telling bawdy jokes or paying tribute to 60s girl groups or rockin' the auditorium, Midler is a dervish! Her physicality assists the raw emotion she puts into her songs. It was a major mistake however for her to do the bag lady bit. It's poorly staged, creepily sentimental, stops the show cold and she never quite recovers though she ends the concert with a walloping version of I Shall Be Released. With the sensational Harlettes (Jocelyn Brown, Ula Hedwig, Diva Gray).