Review of Divorce His - Divorce Hers

As the Burton's own marriage was nearing collapse after a decade of intense scrutiny, the couple filmed this gimmicky "event" film for television. It was presented as a two-part movie with the first night devoted mainly to Burton's point of view as he recalls his relationship with wife (in this film and in real-life at the time) Taylor. His marriage had been put severely to the test with his various transfers around the globe, primarily a transfer to Africa. Then, in part two, the story is continued, but this time with more emphasis on Taylor and her recollections of the marriage and it's eventual demise. The script couldn't be any more fragmented or patchy. In fact, the actual reasons for the break-up and for various infidelities, clashes, ill feelings and so on are never really provided! It attempts to be an arty, meaningful dissection of a marriage and its flaws, but is really little more than an exploitation of its stars and an opportunity for Taylor to show off an increasingly obnoxious assortment of wigs. Burton does not look particularly well in this project and gives a somnambulistic performance throughout the bulk of it. The first half is at times deadening, with only an occasional unintentional laugh to break the monotony (one is the sight of Taylor showing up in a sweat-stained green mini-dress that has no possibility of disguising her unfortunate bumps and bulges!) The business aspects of the Burton-driven half hold little or no interest. Nye shows up in a really fascinating evening gown with a cute Yorkie as an accessory, but it isn't enough to save it. Part two, however, is a vast improvement. As it focuses more on Taylor, who was much more at home in soapy melodramatics like this, it is better at holding the viewer's attention. There is a real joy in seeing diamond-clad Taylor attempt to corral her three unruly, relentlessly-annoying children. The son (best known for his uppity role in Taylor crony Rock Hudson's wartime flick "Hornet's Nest") plays loud music as Taylor tries to get through to him. The older of two daughters is extraordinarily severe and disturbed while the younger one is clinging and single-minded. Taylor also has to contend with a rather opinionated, though attractive, nanny. The piece de resistance, however, is Taylor's showdown with Nye. Nye, who suggests what the love child of Tallulah Bankhead and Marlene Dietrich might be like, delights in tormenting Taylor with the knowledge of her affair with Burton. The very idea that Burton would cheat on ELIZABETH TAYLOR with CARRIE NYE is preposterous and hilarious, though it's possible that even one of the world's most beautiful women might fall short in some categories. That said, even though Liz's waistline is beginning to expand here and her once world-class features were sagging a bit (note the ungodly contouring make-up used under her chin in the flashback scene in which she and Burton discuss becoming a married couple!), she still, in the right light, looks every inch the universally-worshiped star that captivated the globe in the 1960's. And she didn't do it alone... "Hair" by Alexandre, gowns by Edith Head, make-up by Alberto De Rossi, etc... Reasonably skilled actors Foster and Ferzetti are given virtually nothing to do though Ferzetti gets to at least act with Taylor while Foster must sit opposite Easter Island-visaged Burton. The project smells of tax evasion as it was filmed in Rome and Germany to avoid U.S. interference. Little or no attention was paid to the time-line which makes for some confusing visual elements in the flashback scenes. Taylor and Burton's marriage would have occurred around 1955, yet their apartment is shown with ultra-70's furniture as they discuss their engagement and her hair is strictly contemporary (at the time.) Frankly, the whole pretentious project is a bit of a mess, making very little sense and offering pitifully little insight despite it's aspirations, but fans of Taylor mustn't miss her fashion show or her hysterical "family life in the face of turmoil" vignettes. Of interest, too, is the way the title is presented on screen, with pains taken to present the stories with equal importance. Liz's ("Hers") is on top but slightly to the right while Dick's ("His") is on the bottom, but to the left.