When Babs was awesome.

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Not only the writer/director/star/singer, but she still had genuine talent here; she didn't get that Best Actress Oscar for nothing. Also--she was compelled to work under a Director, which she desperately needs, while later she got it into her head that she could direct herself. Only a really confident, strong person can do that--can apply the discipline to properly create the film without letting her own insecurities make her dominate the screen. She is too insecure and self-conscious to direct herself, IMO. Her talent is indeed so outsized, but she lacks the disciplined confidence to control her own acting on the screen. Not everyone can do everything. She is--or can be--an formidable actress, a superlative comedienne, and an astonishing singer, but she cannot direct. Her well-known reputation for micro-managing everything on a set, has reduced her to taking second-rate parts in mediocre comedies (Fockers, etc.), because no one with real talent in Hollywood will work with her any more. She's become a caricature of herself. I don't think she's given a great performance since The Way We Were or so. The prime example is Prince of Tides. Her performance as Dr. Lowenstein is so mannered, so "produced" and controlled, it is almost funny, whereas there are moments in Funny Girl and WayWeWere where you can hardly hold back the tears; her performance is so captivating. In her earlier films she displayed an extraordinary acting talent, besides the singing ability. What a sad waste of talent.

Allen Roth
"I look up, I look down..."