Yahoo Lifestyle Liza Minnelli Reflects On Her 'Truly Terrific' Hollywood Legacy In A New Documentary
Bruce David Klein had completed just one day of shooting on his new documentary, “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story,” when he had an “unnerving” encounter with the film’s subject, Liza Minnelli.
“She called me into her bedroom, where she’s sitting on the edge of her bed, and she grabs my hand and starts petting it,” the filmmaker recalled to HuffPost. “And she looks up at me and says: ‘Bruce, don’t make me look like a phony.’”
“I know Liza fans will love anything she does, every statement she makes, every joke she cracks,” he continued. “[But] everybody, whether they’re celebrities or not, wants to control what they look like, control the narrative. So for her ― with her legendary, iconic status ― to say something like that was unbelievable.”
Klein’s unfettered access to Minnelli pays off in the documentary, which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and opened in New York last week ahead of a Los Angeles debut Friday and a nationwide release next month. The film is, by all accounts, a heartfelt testament to the actor and singer’s era-defining career.
Even for seasoned fans, “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story” is a treat, featuring never-before-seen footage of Minnelli in her heyday along with anecdotes from collaborators and friends like Joel Grey, Mia Farrow and the late Chita Rivera.
Then, of course, there’s Minnelli herself. The 78-year-old is as jovial and quick-witted as ever in interviews with Klein, even showing off her still-supple singing voice in a handful of scenes.
As the documentary notes, the daughter of Hollywood icon Judy Garland and Oscar-winning director Vincente Minnelli seemed poised for superstardom at birth. She made her big-screen debut as a toddler, appearing alongside her mother in 1949’s “In the Good Old Summertime,” but would face challenges in being taken seriously as a performer as she matured.
The film hits a somber note with Garland’s 1969 death of a drug overdose at age 47, after which a grieving Minnelli is driven to create an artistic persona that exists independently of her mother.
From there, the film zooms in on Minnelli’s many triumphs. Having nabbed the first of four Tony Awards in 1965 for “Flora the Red Menace,” her career kicked into overdrive when she portrayed Sally Bowles in the 1972 movie musical “Cabaret,” winning an Oscar.
In the years that followed, she added an Emmy and a Grammy to her professional tally and performed to sold-out audiences around the world, but like Garland, had a tumultuous love life and experienced drug and alcohol addiction behind the scenes.
“She was the ‘It Girl’ of the world ― people today don’t understand what it means to have been on the cover of Time and Newsweek in the same week,” Klein said. As for the segments that touch on Minnelli’s substance abuse, four marriages and, most poignantly, her unfulfilled desire to become a mother, he added: “We realized how important they were for her journey.”
The documentary also showcases five show business figures ― singer-songwriter Charles Aznavour, lyricist Fred Ebb, director-choreographer Bob Fosse, designer Halston and music arranger and performer Kay Thompson ― who served as Minnelli’s mentors and honed her talents.
“I defy anyone to watch anything from Liza and say, ‘Oh, she’s only there as a ‘nepo baby.’ One of the biggest discoveries was how much of a double-edged sword that privilege was for her,” Klein said. “There’s an unintentional message in the film that I’m happy came out, which is about the power mentors have to transform us if we let them.”
Minnelli has maintained a lower profile in recent years, but her influence on pop culture is still evident, with stars like Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande similarly melding the avant-garde with old-fashioned razzle-dazzle. A revival of “Cabaret” opened on Broadway last spring after a successful run in London, starring “GLOW” actor Gayle Rankin as Sally Bowles.
Still, Klein is confident that “there will never be another Liza.”
“Maybe Taylor Swift has a little edge of vulnerability and awkwardness sometimes, but there’s no one I can say who is even in the Liza realm,” he said. “This concoction of extreme power, strength and talent, along with unbelievable vulnerability, nervousness and fear wrapped into one package ... I don’t know if a publicist today would allow a star of her level to show all that.”
Watch the trailer for “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story” below.
