Purely Joyful Movie!

People are voting emotionally.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

OK firstly, this isn't an accurate portrayal of the life of Billie Holiday. But despite that, this movie is very worthwhile. The actual story is part factual for many performers in this field. Don't let your personal views of Diana Ross cloud her debut acting performance. A very good effort - up there with some of the best actresses. Diana doesn't try to sound like Billie Holiday, but she's in her element as a torch song singer. This is Billie's life story adapted and dramatized to give the movie the best effect for its intended audience. Don't let that put you off seeing it. It is well worth a watch despite its inaccuracies and shortcomings. If you like music biographies, there's no reason you won't enjoy this unless Diana Ross really annoys you for whatever reason.

If you've seen one you may have seen them all, but luckily each film in the 'musician-has-aspirations-does-drugs-overcomes-becomes-star' saga has something else to offer, either with the quality of the music itself or, of course, the performances. Ray and Walk the Line (parodied deservedly but with warmth in Walk Hard) are our centuries answer to this, but back in the 70's there was Lady Sings the Blues, which took the life story of Billie Holiday, arguably the greatest of all the jazz singers, and made it into a two and a half hour vehicle for Diana Ross. And why not? Ross is terrific in the role, as she goes from young girl working as a scrubber and/or being raped by drunks to becoming a nightclub singer in New York city for tips (kinda like a showgirl minus the nudity), and then little by little her talent sees her off to singing across the country, and singing then at bigger venues. Oh, and the drugs, too.The movie starts with the kind of 'bang' that is almost a shameless hook with Holiday being booked on narcotics charges, looking a mess, and then being put in a straight-jacket for acting crazy in withdrawal. The movie sometimes has these shameless melodramatic moments with Ross, and yet it's not her I would blame but the script. She gives it her all (contrary to some criticism - look it up - that she wasn't right for the role), and it's really the script that falls into cliché, or falls back on the all-too-convenient romance between her and Billy Dee Williams. All the actors actually are believable, from Williams to the "Piano Man" Richard Pryor to the guys who make up Holiday's band on the road. How much or how little Holiday really was on drugs is almost besides the point. What works in the film is how much Ross sells it and makes us feel for this young woman who is struggles even as she can have it all (the last act with Carnegie Hall highlights this conflict in her character well). What would have made the film great is if they made other relationships tougher or done a little more to make things less clichéd. Whenever the music comes up the story can take a backseat, or, on occasion, be enriched by what Billie is going through; this shows best when she's still in the grip of her heroin addiction and goes up to sing, you can see the pain coming off of her face as she sings every note, and it's one of the best scenes in the film. Perhaps just having the basics of Holiday's life is enough, at least for here. It's got some good attitude to spare, mostly through the performances, and just when the movie feels like its pulling away and doing something wrong or unsatisfying it comes back and does something to with over the audience. And there are some tough, dramatic scenes that have more to do with what's around Holiday, the racism she faces practically every day she went on the road (the KKK being basically a hazard to try and avoid, or hangings by the roadside) or up on stage (i.e. the radio-show scene where she's basically booted and humiliated in front of her family). It's things like this that make the film compelling, not so much the romantic soap opera elements or the parts of the drug addiction that become repetitive.Or, again, like the movie Ray or Walk the Line. If you liked those, you'll like this.

I FINALLY received the DVD of a movie I have loved through the years. While we can all regale each other with stories of Miss Ross' idiosyncrasies, one thing is patently clear: She WORKED this movie and this is the best singing I have EVER heard from her (or since, for that matter and I was a Die-hard Supermes fan!) It is also especially wonderful to see some wonderful African-American treasures like Richard Pryor, Billy Dee, Isabel Sanford, Scatman Scrothers, among others. (I wish I knew Lorraine's name as the quintessential madam who was positively flawless!!!!) The production values are superior and the sound recreated for the DVD was a MUST because the movie is based on music. Listening to Diana sing "The Man I Love" and hear Billy Dee say "You want my arm to fall off?!" is worth the price of admission.I haven't even had a chance to look at the special features or deleted scenes which I am sure will round out what I consider to be a classic African-American feature.I HIGHLY recommend!!!

Diana Ross gives in my opinion one of the top ten performances on screen in the last 50 years, possibly all time. It is that good. Fresh, daring, inventive, and highly influential her acting hasn't aged a bit. You BELIEVE she is Billie Holiday by the end of the film despite the heavy star persona that Diana Ross and Billie Holiday have respectively in real life. She doesn't go for a mimic, copycat performance but channels the essence of Holiday subtly. The acting is not over intellectualized or self conscious and never once hits a false note. The fact that the movie itself isn't very good and is wildly inaccurate in the portrayal of Holiday's life only seems to benefit Miss Ross. She lost the acadamy award to Minneli in Cabaret which was a charming performance but not even in the same league. Sadly, Miss Ross's promise as an actress did not pan out well due largely to poor role choices. Coming out of the Dark, her made for TV movie comeback owes a debt to this film. She basically rips herself off (yes, its true) as a manic schizophrenic channeling all the better breakdown scenes from Lady.