Bette Midler plays a Janis Joplin-like singer overwhelmed by stardom and its excesses. Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond) directs what is a kind of hybrid showcase for Midler's concert talents and a standard pop biopic, with the usual rhythms of desire, success, betrayal, failure, and such. Alan Bates is the best thing about the movie as the Rose's ruthless manager, and Harry Dean Stanton and Frederic Forrest add some interesting seasoning. But as a whole, the film can't rise above its mixed purposes or clichés. --Tom Keogh
2.
In this authentic, entertaining, and tragic film, Bette Midler plays Rose, a talented but exhausted, alcoholic rock star whose entire life is controlled by her cutthroat manager, Rudge (Alan Bates). Taking a bleak look at the downside of the music industry, THE ROSE chronicles the precipitous fall of this fictional rock & roll diva (modeled after Janis Joplin) as she nears a concert date in her home town that she hasn't been to in years. Pulled down by raging alcoholism and drug addiction, as well as her own insecurities, Rose's life begins to deteriorate to the point of complete self-destruction, all the while begging Rudge for a break in her grueling tour schedule. This raw, uncompromising, witty, and ultimately heartbreaking film includes several incredible musical performances by Midler in actual concert settings. THE ROSE is Midler's first role as an actress, and she embodies the alternately frenetic, worn-out, enraged, and sweetly insecure star with an almost inconceivable power, especially when interacting with her love, the faithfully adoring Dyer (Frederic Forrest).
3.
Modeled on the life of Janis Joplin, this film tells the story of a female rock star's tragic life, self-destructive behavior and downfall.
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