Liz & Dick (2012)

IMDb plot summary: The torrid relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Directed by Lloyd Kramer. Starring Lindsay Lohan, Grant Bowler, Theresa Russell, and David Hunt.

Let me make this clear right up front: This is not a very *good* movie. Its structure is lopsided, its acting erratic, its script is uneven. But there's something kind of weirdly fascinating about it. Maybe it's because it's so frequently wobbling on the edge of being a total mess (mirroring the lives of its characters) and it taps into the same vein as terrible reality TV shows where we can't quite look away. Maybe it's simply that the story is actually an interesting one, at least enough to keep its viewers paying attention for the short runtime. Lindsay Lohan is a mostly-adequate Elizabeth Taylor and Grant Bowler is pretty good at impersonating Burton. Of course, that doesn't mean that the acting itself is good, but the impressions are decent enough that I seldom found myself thinking, "There's Lindsay Lohan made up to look like Elizabeth Taylor."

So... not a great piece of art, but I was drawn in for reasons I can't quite articulate. I just wish it had been better executed.

2 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Liz & Dick < Melinda and Melinda
Liz & Dick > Dinner for Schmucks
Liz & Dick > Mystic Pizza
Liz & Dick < The Man With One Red Shoe
Liz & Dick < The Perfect Score
Liz & Dick < 10 Things I Hate About You
Liz & Dick < Dear Frankie
Liz & Dick < Love's Labour's Lost
Liz & Dick > Deja Vu
Liz & Dick > Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
Liz & Dick > A Christmas Carol (2004)
Final spot: #1491 out of 2399.