Surprisingly dull

Rating: 5/10 (1 August 2015)

Watch any clip of Liberace on youtube and, despite your awareness of his personal life, you have to agree that he was a natural showman. I remember seeing him on TV in the 70s and woman loved him, my mom went nuts. It's easy to see why, because he pulled the audience into his performances and made you feel like you were part of it. It's not easy to do this, and he made it look effortless in the way that some outstanding entertainers do, like Michael Jackson or Madonna. That critical element is missing from this film. When you peel back the layers of showmanship, you want to see what makes up the person behind them, and this film doesn't accomplish that goal or explain Liberace's complicated life. I had high hopes for Douglas, but for some reason he just doesn't click, his delivery is off, and you can't buy him as Liberace, you just see Michael Douglas in heavy makeup. Matt Damon gives a suitably understated performance and he is a dead ringer for Scott Thorson.
Ironically, given what are supposed to be colorful main characters, the real stars of the show are the supporting characters: an unrecognizable Debbie Reynolds as Liberace's mother, Dan Akroyd as Liberace's snappy lawyer, Scott Bakula as Bob Black, and of course Rob Lowe, who steals every scene he's in. Maybe Rob Lowe should have played Liberace.