Roy Harold Scherer, Jr and Władziu Valentino Liberace.

Rating: Null/10 (25 May 2016)

I remember when this movie came out, I convinced myself I didn't want to see it, I wanted to remember Liberace for the entertainer I saw many times on TV shows over the years. But last week I found the DVD on the shelves at my local public library and decided to see it.
It is interesting, in one scene late in the movie we see headlines of the death, via complications of AIDS, of Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., better known to most of us as Rock Hudson. The world was mostly shocked when we found this hunk of a movie star was a homosexual in private life.
It was not such a surprise to find Liberace followed suit a couple of years later in 1987. We knew he was flamboyant but he was an entertainer, a pianist, and few really cared.
The story here is based on the book by Scott Thorson who is played by Matt Damon. Thorson quite accidentally when he was still 17 visited the home of Liberace and began an attachment that last a number of years. But Liberace always seemed to have his eye out for young, attractive men and the natural tension and arguments ensued.
Michael Douglas is pretty good as Liberace, he does the best he can to imitate the entertainer's mannerisms and way of speaking. But Douglas has a particular type of gravelness in his voice that worked great in 'Romancing the Stone' but it bothered me all the way through this movie.
It isn't a great movie but it is often entertaining and gives an up- close glimpse into the world of Liberace, at least from Thorson's viewpoint.