Immediately following the sudden deaths of Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds back in December, HBO quickly set into motion plans to release the previously filmed documentary Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds as a tribute to the two screen legends. The film has since been seen by millions of fans who consider it a love letter to a pair of figures who not only embodied Hollywood, but who also happened to be a truly loving mother and daughter. Although the film was never meant to serve as a memorial to the two women, one can’t help but see it play out as a farewell of sorts to both a pair of witty and endearing ladies and to a side of Hollywood that is no longer around.
In Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, the cameras follow Hollywood’s most well-known mother and daughter as they give a no-holds barred look into their relationship. Moments such as traditional parent/child frustrations are balanced between a view into two different generations of Hollywood and how existing and surviving in the industry shaped both women.
There’s a definite look at Hollywood as a place and an industry in Bright Lights that’s seen through these two different and determined women. Watching how they dealt with fame in their own separate ways is a great inside look at the way show business changed throughout the years. While Debbie clearly clung to hers (and still did according to the documentary), Carrie is shown clearly keeping fame at arm’s length, approaching it with a strong caution and wit. The latter brings her trademark humor and intelligence to Bright Lights, turning all of her past experiences into the kind of hilarious fodder which has made her one of the industry’s most respected women. Debbie, meanwhile, is delightful, recalling past stories about Hollywood and her memories about show business. She’s obviously frail, but she is able to turn it on for the audience watching on a dime. Seeing her as she literally loses years when she is on stage is a tribute to what a committed and talented performer she was.
Famous or not, Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds were first and foremost a mother and a daughter, and Bright Lights features plenty of heartfelt and telling moments which remind everyone of this. Their legendary, unshakable bond, full of colorful banter and traditional parent/child opinions, is front and center, as are their own views on the other. “My mother really wants me to be and extension of her wishes…and an extension of her,” remarks Carrie at one point. For her part Debbie remains a loving mother if there ever was one, bursting into tears when thinking of her daughter’s beautiful singing or the fact that Carrie’s manic depression went undiagnosed for years. However one only need look at one of Bright Lights’ closing moments to know the beauty of the bond the two shared. Watching them riff on the lyrics of “There’s No Business Like Show Business” as if they were part of an actual conversation is so representative of the kind of humor, banter, and overall joy of life and love for each other the two shared, which made up the essence of their relationship and a was a real pleasure to witness.
When Bright Lights is at its most interesting is when it blends family and show business together to show the trials and tribulations of an aging mother and daughter loving each other and existing in the world of Hollywood. This is wonderfully illustrated in the sprawling compound the two share, which is littered with the likes of a piano in the bathroom and photos of many past Hollywood friends. While the documentary continuously shows Carrie’s frustrations at her mother’s insistence on continuing to perform despite her shaky health, the act of performing proves to be Debbie’s lifeblood. “People aren’t cooperative. Audiences are,” says Carrie. “When you’re her, they are.”
However it’s the sequence in which Carrie is helping to prepare for Debbie receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actor’s Guild where her mother’s mortality truly hits home. When a frail Debbie is unsure of just how long she will be able to be at the actual ceremony, leading to arrangements being made for a backstage area to be set up so she can lay down, Carrie breaks down weeping. In spite of this, watching Debbie cling to her optimism, joy, and energy when she’s as frail as she is remains as heartbreaking as it is inspiring. “The only way to make it through life is to fight,” Debbie states. “You don’t get there the easy way.”
As a documentary, directors Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens make sure to hit all the high notes of both actresses’ lives and careers. An appropriate amount of time and attention is given to Debbie’s high-profile divorce and Carrie’s well-known battle with drug addiction, with both women approaching the subjects with great candor. The same goes for the detailing of Debbie’s obsession with movie memorabilia, Carrie’s meteoric rise to fame, and her finally making peace with her father Eddie Fisher following years of a tumultuous relationship between the two. “I got to know him as there was less of him to know,” she says of her other famous parent. If the narrative seems a bit scattered as the filmmakers travel dizzily between the past and present, the story of the most famous mother/daughter duo is so fascinating that you don’t notice or care all that much. Instead, you just bask in the glow of how special they both were.
Bright Lights Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds is now available on DVD from HBO Home Entertainment.
