Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story
Bruce David Klein’s superlative study of living legend Liza Minnelli is a testament to her talent.
Liza Minnelli
Image courtesy of Atlas Media Corp, A Zeitgeist Films Release in Association with Kino Lorber.
With a Z for zazzle and zazz, Liza is a name that needs little introduction. She first appeared on the cinema screen over three quarters of a century ago, holding the hands of Van Johnson and her incomparable ‘mama’ Judy Garland. She was three and the film was In the Good Old Summertime. The product of Hollywood royalty — Garland and directing legend Vincente Minnelli — Liza had a hard act to follow. She not only stepped out of her mother’s shadow and into the spotlight, but did it with pizazz. Set in the sheen of sequins and the glare of the footlights, writer/director/producer Bruce David Klein’s love letter to Liza highlights how a decade of hard work and dedication cemented her Hollywood star.
When Garland passed away in 1969 at the age 47, Minnelli says she, “started to cry and I didn’t stop for about eight days…and I was in charge of so much.” As the lights dimmed on an icon, a new decade dawned and with it, a superstar was born. But how did Liza become LIZA? That’s the question that this truly terrific true story seeks to answer. Among the inspirations that shaped and moulded Liza were godmother Kay Thompson — a singer, actor and the creator of the Eloise children's books (Liza is thought to have been the model). Classic movie fans may remember Kay in her role as Quality fashion magazine editor Maggie Prescott, opposite Audrey Hepburn in Stanley Donen’s Funny Face. Other major inspirations came in the form of Charles Aznavour (aka the French Sinatra), choreographer extraordinaire Bob Fosse, the singular fashion designer Halston and madly witty lyricist/playwright Fred Ebb.
A string of successes made Liza the ‘it girl’ of the 70s, securing her place in the creative canon and proving she was far more than ‘Judy Garland’s daughter.’ When she filled in last minute for Kander and Ebb’s Flora the Red Menace in 1965, she won the Tony and became the youngest person to receive the honour. The first concert film made for television, 1972’s Liza with a Z, took home four Emmys. Having missed the opportunity on Broadway, she campaigned for the screen role of Sally Bowles and claimed the Oscar for Cabaret at the 45th Academy Awards. Klein’s ode benefits from having stories directly from the legend herself, along with contributions from the likes of iconic friends such as Mia Farrow, Chita Rivera, Joel Grey and John Kander, former lover Ben Vereen and sister Lorna Luft. Then there are the gems of never-before-seen footage of Liza in the 70s (chosen from an archive of some 25 hours that Minnelli made available to the filmmakers). Though fairly reverential, the doc doesn’t shy away from talking about her demons too, including previous struggles with substance abuse. The complex subject of her love life is also on full display, from her engagement to Desi Arnaz Jr. to an infamous string of husbands, including Jack Haley Jr., son of the Tin Man. For all of the top-notch archival footage, interviews and information, Klein’s in-depth profile still only feels like the introduction to an artist that ran the gamut, from A to Z.
CHAD KENNERK
Featuring Liza Minnelli, Mia Farrow, Ben Vereen, Chita Rivera, John Kander, Lorna Luft, Joel Grey, Michael Feinstein, Jim Caruso, George Hamilton, Allan and Arlene Lazare.
Dir Bruce David Klein, Pro Alexander J. Goldstein, Bruce David Klein, Robert Rich, Screenplay Bruce David Klein, Ph Axel Baumann, Ed Alexander J. Goldstein and Jake Keene.
Atlas Media-Zeitgeist Films/Kino Lorber.
104 mins. USA. 2024. US Rel: 24 January 2025. No Cert.
