WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Kirpianuscus not only for mixture of kitsch and opulence, costumes and careful recreation of atmosphere. but for the art of Michael Douglas to recreate the isolation, selfishness, vulnerability of Liberace. for the admirable job of Matt Damon, victim in fascinating spider web. for the musical moments and for the gay air. and, sure, as parable about glory and the fall. a great show. this is its basic virtue. and the heart of a splendid story about a meeting, a trip and a love story who has all the ingredients of soap opera and little more. the good point - realistic picture of a career who seems be eccentric and fake and strange today but who defines the taste of public more than the life of Liberace.

mark.waltz Living life like Norma Desmond did in the silent era, Liberace didn't have to wait until being a has-been who gets his young stud while still in the limelight. Michael Douglas gives one of his most memorable performances as the flamboyant piano impresario whose outlandish outfits, expensive jewelry and lovable "Mr. showmanship" act couldn't prove to certain types of audience members that he was as gay as Yogi's picnic basket. The presence of bi- sexual Matt Damon in Liberace's audience creates a long-term relationship that will ultimately gets a ton of legal press, resulting in one of the first celebrity deaths from HIV.Would Damon's Scott be interested in Liberace if it was just Walter "Lee" Liberace, that mid-western kid who played in saloons and ended up famous all over the world? That is up to the viewer to decide from this take on his life as told from Scott's angle. This gives an inside look into the life if an obvious unhappy man who is surrounded by obvious hanger on's, and if Damon really loves him, as is indicated here, it took Liberace missing a lot of frogs to find his prince. But princess Lee gets bored, and it's time to turn in his upright for a baby grand. By this time, Damon has become so used to the lavish lifestyle that giving it up is worse than going through drug withdrawal, although it is apparent that if he didn't initially love Liberace at first, he has grown to love him, or at least need him, by that point. Liberace, as played by Douglas, is queeney, charming, aggravating, self-centered, controlling, perverse and condescending. Damon falls reluctantly falls into the crazy world that Liberace pulls him into and the end of that universe is a human apocalypse from which retribution seems the only recourse. Seen briefly are Debbie Reynolds (unrecognizable as Liberace's mother), Dan Ackroyd as his arrogant agent and Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson as the protégé obviously filled with hatred towards Damon as he moves in while Jackson is pushed out. Rob Lowe is creepy as the plastic surgeon that takes over Damon's life and basically gets him hooked on all kinds of pills. Scott Bakula is authentic as the acquaintance of Liberace's who picks up Damon in the opening scene and remains his biggest confidante over the years. This gives a negative (but believable) look at the truth about certain stereotypes, over- played in the press to create all sorts of controversy at the height of the AIDS crisis.Yes, this is an expose on the unraveling of the public image of one of the great entertainers whose squeaky clean image was known by many and denied by his biggest fans, and how the manipulation of an allegedly innocent young man destroyed his life, ironically on Academy Awards night where Liberace performed the best score nominees. It's all scandal sheet documented, with the Liberace estate brought down with his private life being revealed throughout the hearing. Well acted and beautifully filmed, it's still a sad expose on how celebrity allegedly desires can destroy one's own soul. For the devoted Catholic Liberace, his claim that God gave him special dispensation to be gay is a sign of his self absorption and may be upsetting to conservative Christians who would probably avoid this movie anyway. Liberace's sexuality is shown in great detail, with visits to Silver Lake's Circus of Books (back in the day of back rooms and anonymous sex) while wearing his furs being quite sleezy indeed. Whatever the truth is won't diminish Liberace's legacy, but the fact remains that the world was fooled by Liberace's closeted life.

kyle-09486 When this movie first premiered on the HBO channel I watched it not knowing what it was going to be about. As soon as I saw Liberace I thought maybe it will be about how good a pianist he was....I was in for a shock when they showed his relationship with Scott thorson. I had know of Liberace as he played my favorite rendition of the Tchaikovsky concerto in b flat minor but other than that I hadn't bothered to search his history. Throughout the movie it would keep you appealed to all the glamor and grandeur with the struggles and cheating. Throughout the story it progresses from the late 70's to the mid 80's and the story ends with Liberaces "controversial" death from the AIDs virus. The ending, to me, is one of the best final scenes in a movie. I won't spoil it you'll just have to go see for yourself. I still watch the film every now and then just to look and at the shiny crystals and such.

Theo Robertson Ah a bio-pic on the flamboyant self styled "Mister Showmanship" and rabid heterosexual Liberace "Eh hold on Theo . You do realise Liberace was gay don't you" Really ? I do remember British tabloid rag The Daily Mirror in the 1950s implied Liberace was gay . They didn't come out and say it in so many words but merely implied it and this led to them losing a libel case . Likewise an American publication from around the same time did the same thing that resulted in the same outcome and Mr Showmanship cried all the way to the bank to cash those cheques . In other words he was an utter hypocrite who spent much of his life living a massive lie . How'd he get away with it ? I'm reminded of a BBC documentary from many years ago called REPUTATIONS where Bob Monkhouse told of a time where he revisited an ATV studio after a gap of four years and remembered everyone by name and asked how they and their relatives were . He remembered each and everyones name and the names of their relatives . As Monkhouse stated "There wasn't a single person in the studio who didn't gasp wow what a guy" . Liberace had that sort of cheesy charm that propelled him to if not superstardom then at least to showman fame . He understood who and what his audience was and made the most of it BEHIND THE CANDELABRA was many years in the making but kept being delayed because director Steven Soderberg couldn't decide how to tell the story . I'm afraid in my opinion it shows to an extent . It's not an affectionate love letter to its subject but at the same time it's not the schlocky campfest that it hints it might become . You want someone playing Liberace then who better to play him than Michael Douglas in what must be the most challenging role of his career . And get him to play the role by wearing a wig that wouldn't look out of place perched on top of Gary Glitter's bald head . Douglas has a whale of time playing the role and while he's not exactly channeling the dead spirit of Liberace it does capture the opulent over the top camp nature of Mister Showmanship and one did hope at this point the film would just throw its hand in and have the rest of the film continue in the same way . Unfortunately the story uses Scott Thorson's book as its source material and when Damon - equally cast against type - the film has a rather serious tone that's maybe a bit too respectful . It's a tragic story but one might have hoped for a bit more tragic-comedy