Postcards From the Edge

R

Now Playing

1 hr. 41 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

83%

36 Reviews

Tomatometer

66%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Hollywood actress Suzanne Vale is on a slippery slope as a recovering addict. On exit from rehab, it is recommended she stay with her mother, who has become a somewhat champion drinker herself. Suzanne therefore struggles to maintain her sobriety and her sanity in the company of Doris.

Read More

Read Less

Now in Theaters

Now Playing

Buy Tickets

In Theaters

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Apple TV

Rent Postcards From the Edge on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

Uniting a pair of powerhouse talents with a smart, sharply written script, Postcards from the Edge makes compelling drama out of reality-inspired trauma.

Read Critics Reviews

D E

Stinker. If not now vintage and Meryl Streep in it it would be complete stinker plus plus plus.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/27/24

Full Review

Audience Member

From the brilliant mind of the late Carrie Fisher comes a mother-daughter bonding flick but not the most traditional Meryl Streep, Shirley McClain, Dennis Quaid, CCH Pounder, Gene Hackman, Oliver Platt The great Meryl Streep is Suzanne; actress but she’s also a druggie She suffers an overdose and gets admitted into rehab Her mother played by Shirley MacLaine is a Broadway musical actress and social drinker, she steps in to help her get back on her feet. Although Suzanne wants to get out from under Doris’ shadow. Love the repertoire between McClain and Streep as mother and daughter. Sharp dialogue from Carrie Fisher herself since it was a semi-auto-biography. Both of them are constantly at each other’s throats but there’s love hidden underneath the resentment they’re displaying. McClain takes on the Debbie Reynolds role which is something you don’t see all the time. She worries for her daughter constantly relapsing and falling in and out of love repeatedly. Even Hackman gives a heartfelt speech about addiction and recovery. It’s true we always adore our mothers from birth but some of us want to get out from their orbit, one generation always clashes with one another, mothers don’t want to lose their daughters before their time, why can’t we share people?, it’s important we enjoy our turn once another’s is over, we shouldn’t take something and make it into nothing, we claim it all starts with our mothers since the dawn of time but at some point we gotta say it starts with me, life isn’t like the movies where you have a realization and suddenly things go right you have to have the realization on your own The movie thanks to Carrie Fisher puts a humorous spin on mommy issues, truly a universal thing we can all adhere to heck life imitates art and Vice versa sometimes in a funny manner Streep and Maclaine make quite the mother-daughter opus in a world of show business and personal struggles

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/13/23

Full Review

Ben Q

A Must-See film. Streep and McClaine's performances are outstanding, and the screenplay by Carrie Fisher is very witty.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Mike P

Terms of Endearment meets Valley of the Dolls; with a dash of The Player; this mother/daughter love/hate relationship movie; a reconciliation movie for women; like the aforementioned Terms; with a dash of Player's satire on Hollywood culture; and a satire on the drug use; ala Dolls; and loosely based on Carrie Fisher's autobiography. Not as gritty or edgy as the ads made it seem; this is really a sweet, laid back rom-com set in a rehab center; which follows the misadventures of Merryl as she stumbles through recovery; and sorts out her messy relationship with her mother. This is mostly light; silly stuff; but it's exceedingly well acted; and it's very likable; with a spiky, sparkling script by Carrie Fisher. Not as important or portentious and incisive as it wants to be, but it's fun.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/08/22

Full Review

andrea m

A nice heartwarming movie with lots of humor and great performances. It's the quintessence of Hollywood: an Hollywood actress wrote the script about an Hollywood actress and her relationship with her Hollywood-actress mother, then it was turned into an Hollywood movie by Hollywood itself, adding Hollywood cameos and songs. Very pleasant to watch thanks to it's witty dialogue and uplifting tone.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

marisol m

Does anyone nail mother-daughter dysfunction better than Shirley MacLaine? Good luck countering that argument. 'Postcards' is focused more on social coping and the job strain of addiction recovery rather than the habitual trappings of substance abuse, which works as its strength and gels effortlessly with Nichols's penchant for finding the humor in his protagonists' suffering. Plus, I'll always have a soft spot for stories about films within a film. There's also an awareness that wasn't present in Nichols's previous Heartburn that frees this particular adaptation of a celebrity penning their own life story. The second Suzanne utters "I don't want life to imitate art. I want life to be…art"? Sue me, but I was instantly sold. On top of being an acting showcase for all involved, 'Postcards' is vibrant, cognizant, rich, dramatized cinema I can get behind.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Mike Nichols

Director

Meryl Streep

Suzanne Vale

Shirley MacLaine

Doris Mann

Dennis Quaid

Jack Faulkner

Gene Hackman

Lowell Kolchek

Richard Dreyfuss

Doctor Frankenthal

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

60%

43%

Punchline

50%

79%

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling

71%

77%

The Big Chill

TRAILER

for The Big Chill

92%

94%

Stand by Me

TRAILER

for Stand by Me

61%

70%

The Last Supper

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Sarah Paulson’s Five Favorite Films

Betsy Brandt’s Five Favorite Films

Meryl Streep’s 10 Best Movies

View more photos

Lynden Barber

Sydney Morning Herald

"Postcards" won't solve the fundamental dilemmas of human existence, but it passes the time agreeably.

Nov 2, 2022

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

There's not much depth here, but Nichols does a fine job with the surface effects, and the wisecracks keep coming.

Oct 5, 2011

Full Review

Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

In this era of postverbal cinema, Postcards proves that movie dialogue can still carry the sting, heft and meaning of the finest old romantic comedy.

Oct 5, 2011

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Postcard's From the Edge is a tiny Guignol, and unfortunately it doesn't know it. [Full review in Spanish]

Nov 10, 2022

Full Review

Keith Connolly

The Sunday Age

The basic story has its moments of poignancy, but the general tone is flip, facile and wryly witty. Of course, humor is a very movable feast -- all I can say is that this old grump laughed his fill.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 2, 2022

Full Review

Rob Lowing

The Sun-Herald (Australia)

When Streep and MacLaine are on screen together, it's hard to know who to watch. Both actresses bring a crucial authority to their roles, which also gives the fluffy plotline some ballast.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 2, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Hollywood actress Suzanne Vale is on a slippery slope as a recovering addict. On exit from rehab, it is recommended she stay with her mother, who has become a somewhat champion drinker herself. Suzanne therefore struggles to maintain her sobriety and her sanity in the company of Doris.

Director: Mike Nichols
Screenwriter: Carrie Fisher
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 12, 1990, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $36.9M
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

Most Popular at Home Now