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Calendar Events / Announcements '24 I / Re: Michelle Pfeiffer to Play Betty Ford, Join Viola Davis in Showtime's First Lady
« on: April 15, 2022, 03:30:40 PM »
The First Lady Is an Egregiously Miscast, Emptily Inspirational Missed Opportunity
"Pfeiffer’s Betty Ford is the only lead performance that feels like more than an impression. A masterly portrayer of women with demons who’s in the midst of a marvelous second act, she gives us a strong, principled yet serially wounded First Lady who spends decades trying to regain the sense of purpose she felt as a young dancer. All of her struggles, from breast cancer to addiction, are rooted in a body that habitually betrays her conscious will. The character lends itself to melodrama. But Pfeiffer tempers Betty’s extreme highs and lows with intelligence, humor, and empathy. These choices give her segments a sense of purpose that the others lack."
"Pfeiffer’s Betty Ford is the only lead performance that feels like more than an impression. A masterly portrayer of women with demons who’s in the midst of a marvelous second act, she gives us a strong, principled yet serially wounded First Lady who spends decades trying to regain the sense of purpose she felt as a young dancer. All of her struggles, from breast cancer to addiction, are rooted in a body that habitually betrays her conscious will. The character lends itself to melodrama. But Pfeiffer tempers Betty’s extreme highs and lows with intelligence, humor, and empathy. These choices give her segments a sense of purpose that the others lack."