Postcards from the Edge

Postcards from the Edge follows Suzanne Vale, a Hollywood actress whose drug dependence has landed her in treatment after an overdose. To keep working, she must move back in with her mother, Doris Mann, a former musical star whose own drinking has long strained their relationship. Doris still treats her daughter like a child, and the two women clash while Suzanne also deals with the men in her life and the pressures of an industry that watches her closely.

Mike Nichols directed the film, the tenth of the eighteen features he made, arriving between Biloxi Blues and Regarding Henry. Carrie Fisher wrote the screenplay, and Nichols produced with John Calley for Columbia Pictures. Meryl Streep plays Suzanne opposite Shirley MacLaine as Doris, with Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss and Rob Reiner among the credited cast of sixty-six. The production cost about 22 million dollars and took in roughly 39 million worldwide, a modest return. On IMDb it holds 6.7 from about 21,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.6 from 306 votes. A critics' rating of 7.4 from 87 reviews places it somewhat above those audience scores.