The Rose (1979)

Set in the late 1960s, a rock star (Bette Midler in an Oscar nominated performance) known as The Rose spirals out of control as career pressures and the demands of her manager (Alan Bates) cause her to self destruct. Directed by Mark Rydell (ON GOLDEN POND). Once again, a movie biography about an entertainer that is stuck with the cliches of the genre. Except in this case, the rock star is a fictional character rather than a real person (albeit loosely based on Janis Joplin). After the film's first hour, you realize that the movie has given all it's going to give and that the second half is going to be more of the same. Is there a reason to watch this movie? You bet! A sensational performance by Bette Midler that elevates the film and pushes past the cliches to give a raw wound of a performance. Alas, she never again reached the heights of her work here. The film has an authenticity to it, Midler's musical act is a good facsimile of real rock (unlike Streisand in A STAR IS BORN) and she gives the musical numbers as much potency as she does her acting. With Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton, Barry Primus, David Keith, Doris Roberts (whose role seems to have been severely cut) and Sylvester.