repellent

Rating: 1/10 (17 November 2013)

This is truly a repulsive piece of film making. Contrary to all the highfalutin hoopla about making a movie about "the truth," this rancid flick is a poorly disguised piece of soft core pornography which luxuriates in emphasizing all the tawdriest and most sensational aspects - of which there are plenty - of this lurid tale. Everyone knows that Liberace was gay. This movie certainly tells us about his sex life, or at least the version of his sex life as told by his paramour Scott Thorson in his tell-all book. There are always two sides to any story about a relationship, and here we never get to hear Liberace's. The fact that by all accounts Liberace was a generous contributor to charitable causes, encouraged rising talent, and was a congenial and loyal companion to his many show business friends - all of this is absent from this shockfest, or maybe shlockfest. As far as the acting, I was curious to see how Michael Douglas, whose work I admire, would handle the role. He turns in nothing more than a simmering, mincing, lisping, one-dimensional caricature. Evidently movie makers will sink to any depths to make a buck, and this is Exhibit A. Avoid this disgusting piece of trash at all costs.