Barbra Streisand once referred to herself as "an actress who sings." Given her outstanding career as one of the biggest actresses and singers in show business, this comment may be the understatement of her life. Unfortunately for her, it is exactly Streisand's superstardom that has caused a backlash against her by many people.
Her most recent concert tour, for instance, in which she charged exorbitant sums for nosebleed seats, lost Streisand many of the fans who perhaps were not in her core base of upper-middle class devotees. Her new film, "The Mirror Has Two Faces," continues to focus on the elites of society, but it should do much to lighten Streisand's image and plant her firmly in the role of "a filmmaker who also acts and sings."
The film pairs Streisand with the highly likable Jeff Bridges in the most unconventional of love stories - up until the end, anyway. She is an English professor at Columbia University; he is a math professor there. She suffers from a major self-esteem problem, caused by her lack of stunning beauty and a mother constantly reminding her of it; he suffers from an inextinguishable libido and a desire for something more intellectually stimulating out of a woman. Together they form the most bizarre relationship - one that is based, at least for him, on a complete lack of physical attraction.
Of course, we know that this changes by the end of the film, but the way in which it does so marks a significant - and problematic - break from the attitude of the rest of the film. We hope to see the film maintain the idea that Gregory (Bridges) could be physically attracted to Rose (Streisand) based on his emotional and intellectual attraction to her and despite her (supposed) physical flaws.
Instead, Rose undergoes a physical transformation a la a ridiculous "Rocky"-like training montage. Only after Rose becomes more traditionally beautiful does Gregory realize that he is in love with her. Fortunately, while the audience may be rolling their eyes at this silly turn of events, it is actually underplayed and soon forgotten in light of the wonderful finale.
Despite being too long and overextended by turns such as this, Streisand and screenwriter Richard LaGravenese ("The Bridges of Madison County") have fashioned an extremely enjoyable story about love, beauty and all forms of attraction. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the film is that it is, in fact, a comedy - albeit a romantic one. It turns out that Barbra is a terrific comedienne, handling physical comedy like a pro and allowing her diva image to be marred by the frumpy character of Rose. Bridges has created a charmingly academic character, seemingly the perfect man except for his refusal to become physically intimate with Rose. His performance is loud and stammering, which might annoy some people, but it is also greatly endearing.
Outstanding support is provided by a talented cast relegated to minuscule roles. Lauren Bacall is scathing as Rose's mother, an aging diva herself who knew how it felt to be beautiful but never experienced true love like her daughter. The pseudo-reconciliation scene between Bacall and Streisand is one of the film's highlights. Mimi Rogers and Pierce Brosnan, as Rose's sister and brother-in-law / dream man, respectively, make the most of their flat characters, and George Segal supplies the most laughs in his tiny role as Gregory's friend.
But the real star here is Streisand the director, who shows an incredibly deft hand for comedy in addition to her already proven filmmaking craftsmanship. As in "The Prince of Tides," she uses all the elements of film - especially editing and composition - to invoke an emotional impact without seeming to show off or break any conventions of Hollywood cinema. This places her neatly in the Sydney Pollack school of filmmaking, which is to say that Streisand can finally rest assured that she has gained the respect as a director that she deserved five years ago with "The Prince of Tides."
Despite any rumors of Streisand's dictatorial approach to direction, "The Mirror Has Two Faces" is an enjoyable, engaging and highly entertaining look at academic love through the eyes of "an actress who sings."
Barbra Streisand takes another shot at directing in "The Mirror Has Two Faces."