Crappy film

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Lies, murder, incest, prostitution, skeletons, sex, adultery, fashion, and back stabbing, you get this all here in Jackie Colins's trashy novel, which comes to life in this spectacular mini-series. The theme song alone is worth owning a copy of this miniseries. The late legendary Laura Branigan bails out this song with lyrics such "the men with their lies on Rodeo Drive." Why this has never been released on a Laura Branigan's greatest hits albums is beyond me. The 3 episode mini-series was released in 1985. It features an all star cast which includes: Candice Bergen, Joanna Cassidy, Mary Crosby, Robert Stack, Steve Forrest, Angie Dickinson, Suzanne Somers, Rod Steiger, Anthony Hopkins, Stephanie Powers, Roddy McDowall, Andrew Stevens and Catherine Mary Stewart. The television show has many story lies and plenty of glamor. Suzanne Somers makes a return after losing her contract with "Three's Company" as an ambitious sex symbol movie star, who will do anything to get a great movie role. In summary, you get Chrissy as a whore without her little girl's voice. Also, Candice Bergen gives an effective performance as a neglected wife to fading actor Steve Forrest. Angie Dickinson is a very powerful agent with a big skeleton in her closet. Stephanie Powers is an on the rise movie script writer, who doesn't know her husband, Anthony Hopkins is cheating with Suzanne Somers. Mary Crosby is the spoiled rich bitch who sleeps with her best friend's husband to get attention from her father, Robert Stack. Andrew Stevens,actress Connie Steven's look alive son, plays a dual role, one as a mentally disturbed twin and the other twin as a guy looking to get into movies. Catherine Mary Stewart is married to the the good twin and is quite beautiful. There is a great revelation at the end but I am not going to spoil this for you. Funny scenes: Stephanie Powers at a Hollywood party being almost thrown out because she is driving a Volkswagon. Candice Bergen's kleptomaniac scenes, and Suzanne Somers and Anthony Hopkins bedroom scene at the end. This is definitely worth having in your collection. Why this isn't released on DVD is a wonder. It is definitely much better than the other Hollywood Wives movie with Farrah Fawcett and Melissa Gilbert. Find a copy for your collection or write to the producers to have this on DVD.

Hollywood WIVES is good, fun entertainment! Coming out in 1983, at the heart and height of DYNASTY and DALLAS fame, Hollywood WIVES is a prime example of a time when miniseries used to be enjoyable and could hold your attention for 3 days! I'll bet the average viewer now couldn't stand a 3-part effort like this. No attention span anymore. Containing an eclectic mix of past, present, and future TV and movie stars, some has-beens, some never-will-bes, Emmy winners, Oscar winners, etc., etc. The list goes on and on! WIVES is perhaps the most enjoyable miniseries ever! What a cast! Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal Lecter!), Candace Bergen (MURPHY BROWN!), legendary Rod Steiger (ON THE WATERFRONT,IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT), Angie Dickinson (POLICEWOMAN herself!), Roddy McDowall (boy genius and quirky adult!), Joanna Cassidy (always there, always reliable), Stefanie Powers (HART TO HART!), Mary Crosby (Kristin from DALLAS!), Steve Forrest (DALLAS again!), Andrew Stevens (son of legendary Stella Stevens!), Robert Stack (Eliot Ness!) and none other than Suzanne Somers (CHRISSY SNOW!). In what universe does Hannibal Lecter get to get it on with Chrissy Snow! In Hollywood WIVES universe, that's where! And Hopkins and Somers make a hot duo in this one! I remember first seeing this as a kid in 1983 and totally enjoying this miniseries. It's so much fun. So many story lines. About the Hollywood film community elite (producers, directors, writers, actors, agents, etc.), WIVES weaves many tales within this 3-part soap opera. The core s/l is about a mentally deranged Illinois man (Stevens) who kills his parents after he finds out he was adopted and that his mother is some Hollywood bigshot who didn't want to be saddled with a kid at a young age. Who is it? That's the mystery. Is it Bergen, Powers, Cassidy, Dickinson, Somers? What fun! Stevens actually plays a dual role of this pyschopath and a young struggling actor named Buddy with a sexy wife. OBVIOUSLY, these 2 men are connected as Buddy later finds out that he too was adopted. Twins! Another soap opera cliché! During this core s/l, lots of other drama occurs. A new big movie is about to be cast and Steiger (the producer) needs a star. Somers (in the absolute, positive, sexiest role of her career) plays Gina Germaine and she wants to be the star. So she seduces and blackmails Hopkins (the co-writer of the film with his wife Powers) into giving her an audition. Somers and Hopkins are terrific together in this. This was way before Hopkins became a real Hollywood A-lister when TV was still good enough for him and after Somers had been dismissed from THREE'S COMPANY. I remember always wishing that this had become a TV series after this, kind of DYNASTY set in Hollywood.Other s/l include Forrest as a has-been actor trying to stay young with his wife Bergen trying to get him the lead male part in the new film. Cassidy is Bergen's best friend and Hopkins' first wife. Dickinson is a powerful agent and friend of Somers, each of which shares the scoop on current-goings-on in Hollywoodland. Crosby is the daughter of retired actor Stack and she is having affair with Forrest. Oh what a tangle web we weave...! Needless to say, all these s/l converge near the end and we actually get a kind of open-ended conclusion where you could imagine a future TV series. I actually thought that's what was going to happen. Too bad it didn't! Hollywood WIVES is fun!

***SLIGHT SPOILERS*** Hollywood Wives is a good movie if you like 80s mini-series based on the works of Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins (or maybe even those silly 2 hour Danielle Steele adaptations). It isn't as good as Scruples or I'll Take Manhattan but it is better than Til We Meet Again or Malibu, about on-par with Bare Essence. The story is really unimportant, the fun thing with these movies is the cast, the costumes and the cheesy dialogue. Hollywood Wives has the costumes and cheese down, but it misses the mark a bit in casting. This is the story of Hollywood Royalty and their various bad marriages, so the people should be extra-beautiful. For the most part the women are good, but I had a hard time getting past Steve Forrest as a Movie Idol, he just isn't a very good actor and I know there are people who do, but I don't find him the least bit attractive. Especially when he walks around with his stomach sucked in and his chest puffed out wearing gold chains. *SPOILER* Andrew Stevens didn't seem quite up to his role either though he was better than Forrest (his acting as Deke was horrible in a very contrived story that was distracting because the conclusion was so obvious from the very first Deke frame). Robert Stack was a bit hard to swallow as the retired king of the great actors, but his screen time was limited so it wasn't too bad. Finally: where was Barry Bostwick? Didn't the producers of this movie know that an 80s mini-series is just not complete without Bostwick? It's like throwing a Super bowl party with no chips.

Suzanne Summers! Candace Bergen! Anthony Hopkins! Shoulder pads! How can you go wrong? Well, actually this mini-series is a whole world of wrong but thats part of the fun. I especially enjoyed Bergen's role as a compulsive shoplifter who lives in Beverly Hills. The movie is too long, too melodramatic but the sleazy characters and the campy dialoge will keep you laughing till the end. Once this trash fest starts I dare you to turn it off!!!