{ "id": "ep22pp0wpm", "slug": "isnt-she-great", "title": "Isn't She Great", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary", "label": "Documentary and biographical films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary.biopics-by-profession-arts", "label": "Biographical films of musicians, artists, and writers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary.biopics-by-profession-arts" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary.biopics-by-profession-arts.biographical-films-about-writers-and-fil", "label": "Biographical films about writers and filmmakers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary.biopics-by-profession-arts.biographical-films-about-writers-and-fil" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary.biopics-by-profession-arts", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Biographical films of musicians, artists, and writers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary.biopics-by-profession-arts", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary", "label": "Documentary and biographical films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary.biopics-by-profession-arts", "label": "Biographical films of musicians, artists, and writers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary.biopics-by-profession-arts" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Isn't She Great (2000) is a Universal biographical comedy directed by Andrew Bergman, written by Paul Rudnick, starring Bette Midler as novelist Jacqueline Susann and Nathan Lane as Irving Mansfield; a critical and commercial flop.", "snippet": "Isn't She Great (2000) is a Universal biographical comedy directed by Andrew Bergman, written by Paul Rudnick, starring Bette Midler as novelist Jacqueline Susann and Nathan Lane as Irving Mansfield; a critical and commercial flop.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary.biopics-by-profession-arts.biographical-films-about-writers-and-fil", "markdown": "# Isn't She Great\n\n*Isn't She Great* is a 2000 American biographical comedy directed by Andrew Bergman and written by Paul Rudnick, starring [Bette Midler](https://www.edgepedia.org/bette-midler) as the best-selling novelist [Jacqueline Susann](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacqueline-susann) and [Nathan Lane](https://www.edgepedia.org/nathan-lane) as her husband and manager Irving Mansfield. It was based on a 1995 *New Yorker* article by Michael Korda, Susann's former editor at Simon & Schuster, and was released by Universal Pictures on January 28, 2000.[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/01/28/isnt-she-great-more-fat-less-filling/5532a8b9-76a6-410c-a5ed-9f7d9a46446e/) • [2](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/isnt-she-great/) The film was a critical and commercial failure, grossing about $3 million worldwide against a budget reported between $36 million and $44 million, and it was the last studio vehicle built around Midler.[2](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/isnt-she-great/) • [3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0141399/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | January 28, 2000, distributed domestically by Universal Pictures[2](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/isnt-she-great/) |\n| Source | Based on Michael Korda's 1995 *New Yorker* article about Susann, his former author[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/01/28/isnt-she-great-more-fat-less-filling/5532a8b9-76a6-410c-a5ed-9f7d9a46446e/) |\n| Cast | Bette Midler (Jacqueline Susann), Nathan Lane (Irving Mansfield), Stockard Channing, David Hyde Pierce, John Cleese, John Larroquette, Amanda Peet[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/isnt-she-great-2000) |\n| Budget | $36 million per Bomb Report; $44 million estimated per IMDb and Box Office Mojo[2](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/isnt-she-great/) • [3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0141399/) |\n| Box office | Opening weekend $1,368,705 in 750 theaters; domestic $2,962,465; worldwide $3,003,296[2](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/isnt-she-great/) • [3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0141399/) |\n| Reception | 25% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (61 reviews); Metascore 34 on Metacritic (34 reviews)[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/isnt_she_great) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/isnt-she-great/) |\n| Rating and runtime | Rated R for language; about 95 minutes[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/01/28/isnt-she-great-more-fat-less-filling/5532a8b9-76a6-410c-a5ed-9f7d9a46446e/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Subject and source\n\nThe film dramatizes the life of Jacqueline Susann, the failed actress who became the best-selling author of *Valley of the Dolls* (1966). The screenplay by Paul Rudnick drew on \"Wasn't She Great?\", a 1995 *New Yorker* article by Michael Korda, who had been Susann's editor.[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/01/28/isnt-she-great-more-fat-less-filling/5532a8b9-76a6-410c-a5ed-9f7d9a46446e/) Korda's article recounted how Susann and her husband Irving Mansfield invented a new way of selling a novel, a blend of promotion, personal appearances, and celebrity tie-ins that had been unknown in book publishing; Susann rose at dawn to visit the warehouses that shipped her books and shake hands with the men who loaded the trucks.[7](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/08/14/wasnt-she-great)\n\nThe film departs substantially from its subject's life. Rita Kempley of *The Washington Post* called it a \"ludicrously hagiographic tribute\" that had very little to do with the writer: the lean, leggy Susann was not particularly funny and looked nothing like Midler, and the production notes stated that the filmmakers decided to embellish the humor and loosen up the story \"to make the film they wanted to make.\"[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/01/28/isnt-she-great-more-fat-less-filling/5532a8b9-76a6-410c-a5ed-9f7d9a46446e/) The *Guardian* noted that the film tones down the couple's grasping nastiness and the more sordid details of their life together, skipping Susann's numerous affairs.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/feb/04/2)\n\n### Plot and characters\n\nThe story follows Susann's pursuit of fame. Unable to make it as a performer despite the unflagging support of Mansfield, who gets her spots on game shows and television commercials, she turns to writing at his suggestion and produces *Valley of the Dolls*, which is published and eagerly bought by the public after clashes with her first editor, played by [David Hyde Pierce](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-hyde-pierce).[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/01/28/isnt-she-great-more-fat-less-filling/5532a8b9-76a6-410c-a5ed-9f7d9a46446e/) The title comes from Mansfield's favorite comment about his wife.[9](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/isnt-she-great)\n\nThe film also treats the private life Susann concealed: her fight with breast cancer throughout her celebrity, and her autistic son. In the conclusion she faces her final illness with courage and humor, and friends cheer her by noting that she is staying in the suite where \"Elizabeth Taylor had her pneumonia.\"[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/01/28/isnt-she-great-more-fat-less-filling/5532a8b9-76a6-410c-a5ed-9f7d9a46446e/) One depicted episode is [Truman Capote](https://www.edgepedia.org/truman-capote)'s appearance on *The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson* in July 1969, where he announced that Susann looked \"like a truck driver in drag.\"[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141399/)\n\n## Production and financing\n\nThe $36 million budget was put together by the Mutual Film Company, whose three foreign investors, BBC (United Kingdom), Tele München (Germany), and Toho (Japan), also distributed Mutual's products; Universal handled domestic distribution.[2](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/isnt-she-great/) IMDb lists the estimated budget as $44 million and credits production companies including the BBC, H2L Media Group, and Lobell/Bergman Productions, with filming in Montréal, Québec.[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141399/)\n\nWhile the film was in active development, Hollywood showed a brief renewed interest in Susann: Fox was attempting a remake of *Valley of the Dolls* that never materialized, and the [USA Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/usa-network) fast-tracked a television movie, *Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story*, which aired in December 1998 starring [Michele Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/michele-lee).[2](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/isnt-she-great/) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/feb/04/2)\n\n## Release and box office\n\nUniversal originally planned a 1999 release but pushed the picture into late January, trying to court older female audiences not interested in the [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl). It opened on January 28, 2000 against *Eye of the Beholder* in only 750 theaters, earning $1,368,705 and placing 17th in what was the slowest weekend in three years. It fell 52.3% to $652,445 the following weekend, lost most of its theater count, and was pulled from release after four weeks with a domestic total of $2,962,465. The recorded overseas total was $40,831, and the film went straight to video in most overseas markets.[2](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/isnt-she-great/) [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) records worldwide gross of $3,003,296, of which 98.6% was domestic.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0141399/)\n\n## Critical reception\n\nThe film was savaged by critics and mostly proclaimed a disaster.[2](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/isnt-she-great/) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 25% Tomatometer from 61 reviews, with the critics' consensus reading \"Bland material produces entirely forgettable comic performances.\"[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/isnt_she_great) Its Metacritic Metascore is 34, based on 34 reviews, classified as generally unfavorable, with 47% of the reviews negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/isnt-she-great/)\n\nReviewers faulted the film's soft treatment of its subject. Roger Ebert wrote that Susann deserved better, that the movie needed \"great trash, great sex and great gossip\" and at the crucial moments had Susann talking to a tree, though he found [Stockard Channing](https://www.edgepedia.org/stockard-channing), as Jackie's boozy best friend, better at suggesting the Susann spirit.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/isnt-she-great-2000) Jonathan Rosenbaum described the film as \"a major washout\" that fails on nearly every level, arguing that when a biopic lies about or sidesteps the truth concerning the person it depicts, it must find some different story to offer.[11](https://jonathanrosenbaum.net/2000/02/isnt-she-great/) *The Washington Post*'s Desson Howe called it a \"woefully ungreat biopic\" that slumps through what he called the Valley of the Dulls, while noting that Midler is an amusing live wire at times and crediting Rudnick with a talent for one-liners.[12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/01/28/great-not-by-a-long-shot/9ce3a567-53d2-4e73-a064-7c34dbde1dfe/) A minority was warmer: the *Christian Science Monitor* found it unexpectedly entertaining despite its stagy look and heavy doses of vulgarity, and the *Austin Chronicle* called it an ideal diversion for an evening of low expectations.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/isnt-she-great/) The film received one Razzie Award nomination and one Stinkers Bad Movie Award nomination.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/isnt-she-great/)\n\n## Aftermath\n\n*Isn't She Great* was the last studio vehicle built around Bette Midler, who had been offscreen since *That Old Feeling* (1997); she appeared a month later in the ensemble of the poorly performing *Drowning Mona*.[2](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/isnt-she-great/) The film arrived amid a broader revival of interest in Susann, which included Barbara Seaman's 1987 biography *Lovely Me* (reprinted 1996), Grove/Atlantic's reissue of her three major novels, the 1997 video release of the 1967 *Valley of the Dolls* film, and the USA Network biopic.[13](https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2000/01/jacqueline-susann-valley-of-the-dolls-books)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Rita Kempley, \"'Isn't She Great': More Fat, Less Filling\", The Washington Post, January 27, 2000](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/01/28/isnt-she-great-more-fat-less-filling/5532a8b9-76a6-410c-a5ed-9f7d9a46446e/)\n2. [\"Isn't She Great: Last Studio Movie Built Around Bette Midler\", Bomb Report](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/isnt-she-great/)\n3. [\"Isn't She Great (2000)\", Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0141399/)\n4. [Roger Ebert, \"Isn't She Great\", January 28, 2000](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/isnt-she-great-2000)\n5. [\"Isn't She Great (2000)\", Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/isnt_she_great)\n6. [\"Isn't She Great Reviews\", Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/isnt-she-great/)\n7. [Michael Korda, \"Wasn't She Great?\", The New Yorker, August 7, 1995](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/08/14/wasnt-she-great)\n8. [\"Jackie Oh!\", The Guardian, February 4, 2000](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/feb/04/2)\n9. [\"Isn't She Great: Parents' Guide & Movie Review\", Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/isnt-she-great)\n10. [\"Isn't She Great (2000)\", IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141399/)\n11. [Jonathan Rosenbaum, \"Isn't She Great\", February 1, 2000](https://jonathanrosenbaum.net/2000/02/isnt-she-great/)\n12. [Desson Howe, \"Great? Not by a Long Shot\", The Washington Post, January 27, 2000](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/01/28/great-not-by-a-long-shot/9ce3a567-53d2-4e73-a064-7c34dbde1dfe/)\n13. [Amy Fine Collins, \"Once Was Never Enough\", Vanity Fair, January 2000 issue](https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2000/01/jacqueline-susann-valley-of-the-dolls-books)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Documentary and biographical films › Biographical films of musicians, artists, and writers › Biographical films about writers and filmmakers*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/isnt-she-great", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/isnt-she-great.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Isn't She Great\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/isnt-she-great. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Isn't She Great](https://www.edgepedia.org/isnt-she-great)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/isnt-she-great](https://www.edgepedia.org/isnt-she-great). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Isn't She Great\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/isnt-she-great. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Isn't She Great is a Universal biographical comedy directed by Andrew Bergman, written by Paul Rudnick, starring Bette Midler as novelist Jacqueline Susann and Nathan Lane as Irving Mansfield; a critical and commercial flop." }