by Mark Bego
For the concert’s end, Bette saved “Stay with Me,” “Wind beneath My Wings,” and a beautiful version of “The Glory of Love” from For the Boys. She looked great and sounded great throughout. It was a fresh new twist on the constantly evolving Bette Midler Show. A well-balanced evening that combined all of Bette’s many musical facets, Diva Las Vegas was a huge critical and ratings success.
She rounded up the usual cast of characters for backstage roles as well. The choreography was handled again by Toni Basil, and the show’s special musical material was composed and arranged by Marc Shaiman.
Bette’s latest special was so popular, and so well-produced, that it became her most highly saluted television outing yet. On September 14, 1997, Diva Las Vegas was awarded an Emmy as the year’s Best Individual Performance: Variety or Music Program. November 15, at the Cable ACE Awards, held at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, Diva Las Vegas won the award as the Best Music Special or Series.
In Midler’s film career, First Wives Club was a tough act to follow. It was such a huge success that she kept expecting the studio to phone her and propose a First Wives Club 2-styled sequel for Hawn, Keaton, and Midler. According to Bette, the studio could never seem to get it together. Frustrated that no one seemed to be offering her a film role, she simply produced and starred in her own vehicle. She chose the broad comedy That Old Feeling.
Speaking of That Old Feeling, Midler said at the time, “It’s funny. It’s really funny. It has a lot. . . . it has everything. It has a lot of heart. It has Dennis Farina in it, who is a terrific comic. It was directed by Carl Reiner. We have really high hopes for it, because we know they [audiences] want to laugh. And, there’s a lot of laughs” (164).
Bette not only starred in That Old Feeling, she also produced it with Bonnie Bruckheimer and All Girls Productions. That Old Feeling gave Bette the chance to create the kind of screwball comedy that she always enjoyed. Directed by Carl Reiner (The Man with Two Brains, All of Me), the film is lighthearted and entertaining and gives Bette some inspired moments on the screen.
That Old Feeling opens with a glittering view of lower Manhattan, with the World Trade Center prominently shown. Then it cuts to a young couple getting engaged in a fancy restaurant. Discussion of wedding plans by the betrothed couple—Molly (Paula Marshall) and Jamie (Keith Marks)—finds the young girl explaining worriedly that her parents hate each other so much that she is scared to have them in the same room. Naturally, with a build-up like that, it is Bette who plays her difficult, volatile, and eccentric mother, Lillian. It also seems that the mother of the bride-to-be is a famous actress, with an immense ego and sharp wit. She is so famous and has such a devoted legion of fans that she is chased by Joey (Danny Nucci), a relentlessly stalking member of the paparazzi.
Having her own company produce the film assured Bette that she would look great in every shot and that she would be provided with juicy one-liners throughout the film—and she launches into them with gusto. Every second she is on the screen, she sizzles with comic energy. Reapplying her makeup for the big wedding, Bette quips to her new husband, Alan (David Rasche), “I’m not neurotic. I’m just a bitch—all right?”
Lillian hasn’t spoken to her ex-husband, Dan (Dennis Farina), in fourteen years. When they meet again at their daughter’s wedding, predictably they erupt into a screaming cat fight mid-wedding. However, while arguing, Lillian and Dan rediscover the passion that brought them together originally. A physical battle leads to humping on the hood of a limo—and finally sex in a red sports car.
Directed by Carl Reiner, with a screenplay by Leslie Dixon—who had written Outrageous Fortune—That Old Feeling is a comedy in the tradition of the ’30s and ’40s screwball classics, and the tone of the film is lighthearted fun. Although the plot of the film starts to lose momentum in the middle, it certainly has its share of comic moments.
Sneaking out on their spouses for “coffee,” Dan and Lilly start acting like teenagers tiptoeing off for sexual encounters—to the chagrin of their daughter. Along the way, Dan’s confused second wife, Rowena (Gail O’Grady), seems emotionally oblivious to the proceedings. In a sentimental scene in a hotel lounge, Bette sings a beautiful ballad, “Somewhere along the Way” to Farina—which also appears on the soundtrack album. Midler and Farina are a hysterical match on camera, but when the supporting cast is called upon to carry several scenes, the action sags and the laughs cease.
As the farcical film progresses, the other cast members also switch romantic partners, and Midler and Farina begin battling again. As frustrated Lilly, Bette has a humorous food-gorging scene. And in one funny segment, the sleazy paparazzi photographer Joey shows off his file of Midler pix, including a humorously weight-enhanced fat shot of her.
The final sequence—a comic clash at an airport terminal—is cute in sort of a “drawing room comedy” way, with Midler and Farina using their daughter’s honeymoon plane tickets to fly away together. That Old Feeling comically crackles in several spots. And when Bette is on camera, she is witty, sharp, and laugh-out-loud funny.
When the film was released, the critics seemed to love it. The New York Times called it “[A] raucous, high-spirited romantic comedy. . . . Mr. Reiner and Ms. Dixon pack a lot of comic smarts into That Old Feeling and their expert cast makes the most of it. . .” (98). USA Today said, “Bette Midler flings the usual zingers with fang-baring zeal in a part that plays to her brassy strengths” (98). And in the Los Angeles Times, John Anderson claimed, “She’s seldom been more Bette than as the brassy, sassy, and lethally theatrical Lilly of That Old Feeling, a schticky situational comedy that pays tribute to director Carl Reiner’s roots in television while giving some well deserved exposure to a lot of talented people. That Old Feeling is a very traditional comedy in a surreal sort of way. [It] is generally fun, thanks to old pros Midler and Farina” (168).
A big and cartoonish film, That Old Feeling was a fun screen romp for Midler that seemed to come and go in and out of theaters with little fanfare. It was originally supposed to be released on Valentine’s Day, but was later rescheduled for April 1997. The first weekend, the film grossed less than $5 million at the box office and dropped off from there.
On April 30, Bette showed up as a guest star on the Fran Drescher hit comedy The Nanny. Again she was dabbling in the TV sitcom arena and obviously testing the waters for future projects.
Along with contributions from two of her prime rivals—Paul Simon and Madonna—Bette in 1997 was heard on the charity album Carnival! The Rainforest Foundation Tribute. Bette contributed the song “Sweet and Low” to the LP. It was a song that Midler later explained had special meaning for her, as it was one of her mother’s favorites.
On February 6, 1998, Bette performed in New York City at the Theater at Madison Square Garden to launch the National Basketball Association’s All-Star Weekend. As off-the-wall as that sounds, there were other rumors afoot that spring. One of them claimed that Midler was considering doing a staged version of the Bette Davis/Joan Crawford horror film Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Who would they have cast to play “Blanche” to her “Jane”? Cher? However, it didn’t materialize that season.
What did materialize, however, was her first album for Warner Brothers Records. And it was well worth the wait! Entitled Bathhouse Betty, it was the best Midler album since the 1970s. For all of the Midler fans who were waiting for a worthy update of her classic, multi-mood Divine Miss M formula, this was it.
According to Bette, she arrived at the formula of Bathhouse Betty from the feedback she received from her last album, Bette of Roses: “With the last record, I had friends calling me up saying, ‘There’s no variety.’ Now they say there’s too much. The only thing I don’t do in this record is sing in Chinese. I want to do what I want to do. I don’t want to do what the demographics tell me to do. I’m too old for those games” (169).
To assure the most variety possible, she chose to open up the producing tasks to a new breed of people—and just for safety
’s sake, to include a couple of cuts by her long-time producer Arif Mardin. Among the new producers she worked with on Bathhouse Betty were Ted Temple-man, Brock Walsh, David Foster, Chuckii Booker, and her own musical director Marc Shaiman.
According to Bette, the album’s peculiar title actually came from the words a crazed fan shouted outside her Manhattan home. “He was outside my house screaming, ‘Bathhouse Betty! Bathhouse Betty!’ It’s funny—I’m the only person who’s ever been stalked who was listening. Now there’s going to be a million guys coming out of the woodwork, saying, ‘It was me! It was me!’ ” (169).
A wildly mood-swinging album, it opens with the touching Leonard Cohen/Bill Elliott/Jennifer Warnes ballad “Song of Bernadette.” It is based on the legend of Bernadette, who once saw the “queen of Heaven,” only to have no one believe her story. However, this spiritually driven song has such an optimistic message of faith in love that it comes across as beautifully inspirational.
It was produced by Ted Templeman, who was responsible for all of the great Doobie Brothers albums on Warner Brothers Records in the 1970s—like Livin’ on the Fault Line and Takin’ It to the Streets. The background singers on this cut include the longest-running Harlette—Ula Hedwig—and Patty D’Arcy, who was featured in For the Boys.
Not lingering in any one mood or mode for more than five minutes; the next song jacks up the beat, as Bette Midler’s first foray into danceable rap. If ever there was a song that was 100 percent ideal for Miss M, this is it: “I’m Beautiful.” Loaded with full-of-herself chorus lines like, “I’m beautiful, DAMN IT!” this was the ultimate sign that the Divine Miss M was truly back in full form.
Written by Brinsley Evans and produced by Arif Mardin, this snappy, bitchy rap proved once and for all that Midler was at the top of her game. As she explained it at the time, “I rap lite on ‘I’m Beautiful.’ I have an excellent sense of time. I was thinking of taking up the bass or drums because I like rhythm. The problem is, I have nothing to say. What am I going to rap about? My hairdresser? My nails? Actually, that could be fun!” (169).
And speaking of hairdressers, that’s exactly how she came upon the song to begin with. “My hairdresser tells me what’s happening,” she admitted. “He brought me ‘I’m Beautiful,’ I was determined to do it because I really liked the message. Did you know that’s Zero Mostel [‘sampled’ on the song] saying, ‘Flaunt it, baby,’ from The Producers?” (169). The song is laugh-out-loud funny to hear, and Midler clearly projects the joyousness of singing such a fun message of self-deification.
After the goofiness of “I’m Beautiful” comes one of the most touching ballads that Bette has ever sung. “Lullaby in Blue” is about a mother trying to explain her life to the daughter she gave up for adoption several years previously. Sad, bittersweet, touching, and incredibly heartfelt, it is the album’s “Hello in There”-styled moment. Written by Brock Walsh and Adam Cohen, and produced by Walsh, “Lullaby in Blue” is perfect for Midler.
Spotlighting her Hawaiian roots, Midler presents a song that was written in 1925 about the fiftieth state, “Ukulele Lady.” She had never recorded a Hawaiian-styled ode, and the song conjures up images of grass skirts, flower leis, and brassieres fashioned of coconut shells.
Mark Shaiman’s production contribution on Bathhouse Betty comes on “I’m Hip,” which reprises the formula of “I’m Beautiful” in a ’50s jazz mode. With Midler comically singing that she’ll do anything to be hip—from narcotics, to meditation and macrobiotics.
One of the 1930s chestnuts that Midler sang back in the days at the Continental Baths was “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman.” It was revived in the 1960s when it was recorded by Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles. Bette was originally going to use this song on the opening of her Live at Last album, but changed her mind and did “Oh My, My” instead. It was worth the wait for this one, presented by her like a song suited for a singer in a smoke-filled bar and lounge.
A big and bawdy performance is what Bette gave to the 1955 song “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show.” Not to be confused with the hit of the same name by the 1970s trio, Honey Cone, this one has Bette—in the context of the song—getting rid of her lover at three o’clock and having a new man by her side by the time the clock struck “four.” A jazzy Ted Templeman production, this song is as big and brassy as Midler herself and shows off her full talents—complete with a wailing horn section.
Other excursions into the bizarre find Bette singing about the life of a boxer on the song “Boxing” and about the relationship between shoe size and penis size on the snappy “Big Socks.” “Boxing,” which was a Ben Folds Five song, finds Midler singing of her career in the ring. It didn’t necessarily suit her, subject-wise, but it was fun to hear her present an off-the-wall story song. “Big Socks” is a lunatic upbeat song in which Bette pokes air in the supposed relationship between “big feet” and “big meat.” Unabashedly singing about male sexual organ dimension, Midler tells an underendowed suitor to take his equipment “back to the kiddie section.” Only Bette could sing this kind of quirky material with a straight face and musically pull it off.
She finishes off the album in ballad mode with “That’s How Love Moves,” “My One True Friend,” and “Laughing Matters.” The best of the three here is “My One True Friend,” which was written by a stellar trio of true songwriting pros: David Foster, Carole King, and Carole Bayer Sager. The sentimental number about friendship and devotion “My One True Friend” was used as the theme song for the 1998 Merle Streep film One True Thing.
In fact, the whole film heavily features songs by Bette Midler. In addition to hearing “Do You Wanna Dance?” and “Friends” on the soundtrack, Miss M also contributed the brand-new “My One True Friend.” According to Bette, “Meryl Streep called me up and said, ‘I’m doing this movie, and we want to use your songs.’ What do you say to that? ‘No?’ ‘I’ll get back to you’? ‘My people will call your people’? You say, ‘Of course, Meryl! How’re things? How’re the kids? Of course!’ ” (169).
The Bathhouse Betty album was a huge hit with Midler fans. It really marked a return to the kind of album that first established her recording career. The heavily varied material on this disc and the sincerely devoted performances by Bette make this one of her all-time great albums. Furthermore, the Japanese version of this album features a bonus track, called “Happiness.”
The song “I’m Beautiful” was a natural selection for a single—and what a huge hit single it became. Remixed in seven different varieties, and put on a special CD single, “I’m Beautiful” became Midler’s first Number 1 single on the Dance charts. Not only was she beautiful; she had a hit, DAMN IT!
Trying to get herself—and her music—some radio air time alongside a whole new generation of stars was proving daunting for Midler. She observed during this era, “People past a certain age have been shut out of the business. I remember when rock came in, Benny Goodman and Frank Sinatra couldn’t get on the radio. It must’ve been painful. Now I know what it feels like” (169).
She also claimed at the time that she was already planning her next album. “I want to sing ‘Moonlight in Vermont.’ I’d like to sing some true Hawaiian music, and I would like to sing ‘I like Bananas because They Have No Bones.’ ” When she was asked if she had any duets she was considering recording, she replied, “Missy Elliott. I like her a lot. She makes me laugh. She’s really musical and kinda sorta fearless. I like the way she looks. I like the way she carries herself” (169).
In December of 1998 Bette was busy promoting her Bathhouse Betty album, which hit Number 32 on the Billboard pop charts in America. The week of the fifth of December in the U.K., her British single “My One True Friend” appeared on the record charts, at Number 58. On December 7, she was seen on the TV special The Billboard Music Awards, which was being broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada. On the show she was seen in another location—via satellite—at the Las Vegas outpost of the Hard Rock Cafe, sing
ing her song “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show,” accompanied by the band the Crown Royal Revue.
On December 11, she appeared in New York City at a concert staged by radio station WKTU. The event was billed as “Miracle of 34th Street,” as it took place at the Hammerstein Ballroom, just down that street from Macy’s department store. Also on the show was the Swedish group Ace of Base, Deborah Cox, and Cher. Cher was in the middle of her massive international come-back tour, with her huge number one hit “Believe.”
The divas hadn’t appeared on the same bill in years and had long since fallen out of favor with each other. That night Cher was performing three cuts from her Believe album. Since several of the songs on the album—particularly, “Believe”—featured audible postproduction special effects, Cher chose to lip-synch her three songs to her recordings, instead of singing them live. Bette Midler, on the other hand, was going to perform her songs live.
First of all, Cher went onstage before Bette, which Midler took offense to, then Cher kept everyone waiting a half-hour while her makeup went through an emergency retouching. Furthermore, Cher forbid any cameras to be used while she sang, in an edict to the press and the public.
Not one to miss a chance to sling a little mud, Midler supposedly snidely said that night: “I’m a star! I’m not someone who used to be famous and is trying to become famous again.” The item was first reported in the New York Daily News and then was picked up and repeated in People magazine. Although People carried the disclaimer “Midler reps deny she made that crack,” it was perceived as being accurately quoted (170). Pass the Meow Mix!
On December 17, 1998, Bette appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, to further promote her album Bathhouse Betty. The week of January 16, 1999, the RIAA certified Bathhouse Betty as having gone Gold in the United States. Viva la Bette!
Midler was on hand at the 1999 edition of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame presentation, held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. After the induction ceremony, she got up on stage and boogied with the rock & roll class of 1999.