Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds

Amazing documentary.It was bittersweet but so heartbreakingly beautiful (minus the Eddie Fisher segment, he was as useless there as he was his entire life).I came away with a newfound appreciation for Debbie Reynolds. She was a workhorse to the very end. I can only hope I find something I loved so much that I would still do it to the very end of my life. That's inspirational.I love that she died with her son by her side. In the end, he was the only one who truly loved her. He was her guardian angel. Protected her. It's only fitting that his calm, loving presence is there to usher her over. Carrie's love was fickle, conditional as seen by how easy it was for her to throw her mother away. Todd's love was truly unconditional. He was not only a son, he was her strength. He kept her going. And for that, I am so grateful for him.Carrie was her usual acerbic self. She was an original. I admit that I always felt she took immense pleasure in intentionally hurting and embarrassing her mom (estrangement, abandonment, Postcards From the Edge, coddling of Eddie, befriending Elizabeth, writing her books, etc.). She was also a better daughter to Eddie than she ever was to Debbie.This film didn't change that assessment but it did open my eyes that everything isn't black and white. Although she disliked her mom for many years that does not mean she hated her. Just because she tarnished her legacy with her spiteful books doesn't mean she was incapable of loving her. Being there for her father does not mean she didn't love her mom.Being a horrible daughter while high and out of her mind due to her mental illness does not mean she's a cruel, hateful person. Even though she was an ungrateful, spoiled, arrogant, self righteous young adult does not mean she didn't grow into a loving, caring daughter. Her love for her mom was buried deep inside and wasn't shown until Debbie had one foot in the grave. Better late than never.Debbie loved her children. Only one truly loved her back. The other loved her sporadically. None of her husbands ever did. But despite all that, Debbie had a loving spirit. I just wished she had experienced for herself the joy of being loved back. Hopefully in Heaven, she's surrounded by all the love and then some that she was denied here on Earth.P.S. I know they made up and put the past behind them. For me, the damage that was done was long lasting. As a fan, I have the right not to romanticize their relationship. At the end of the day, Debbie Reynolds had a hard life. And a large percentage of that pain was at the hands of her own daughter (and her father that she coddled while simultaneously throwing her mother under a bus). I don't forgive Carrie for that. My lack of respect and forgiveness of her has nothing to do with whether or not they made peace. That's not my business. From the outside looking in, her behavior is something I wouldn't forgive. I would've wrote her off and never rebuilt the relationship. The same can be said about Debbie's reconciliation with Elizabeth. That wasn't a friendship I would've bothered saving. Debbie was an extraordinary woman who was a better person that I'll ever be. Both Carrie and Elizabeth knew they didn't deserve her goodness, and to their credit, they both appreciated the second chance to do right by her. That's more than what I can say about her lowlife ex husbands.

Found out that I have a lot in common with both Debbie and Carrie! What a precious documentary about a mother and daughter. <3

Whoever did the music sound engineering for this product did an outstanding job. The credits music at the end is so clear, it's as if Reynolds was in the room singing.However Bright Lights isn't mostly about music. It tells the story of the dwindling end of Carrie's and Debbie's careers, underscoring the lasting damage of the Reynolds-Fisher divorce on the family.For insights on the Carrie-Debbie relationship I don't think you can do better: Very clever use of interviews linked to vintage film and family movies.Carrie Fisher's struggle with mental illness and substance abuse is a central theme. Another is Debbie Reynold's comebacks after two husbands ripped her off; and her struggle for years to found a museum of motion picture art on her collection of costumes and memorabilia. (Helped by her sympathetic son Todd.)In cinema-verite style, Bright Lights cameras catch pieces of their lives as daughter and mother, and friends and neighbors. That approach sometimes feels a bit too much like "reality tv," with out-of-focus shots, and scenes that needed editing or feel too intrusive.It does offer a close account of how they lived, which Fisher herself (and perhaps Debbie in her nightclub act) revealed much of already in her books and screenplays.It was sad, though very moving, to see the brave Debbie Reynolds ignore her old body's aches and pains to continue to perform. She worked to survive the debt created by exhusbands and the museum project--and because she loved performing and wouldn't willingly quit.Watching her increasing difficulty ascending and descending stairs to a stage, an old performer's life seems to have more in common with a welder's than a painter's. I certainly came to respect the sheer labor involved in her efforts.As Carrie adroitly says of Debbie, "Old age is awful for everyone, but she falls from a greater height." (Breathtaking vintage film footage of young Debbie Reynolds proves her physical vitality once had been thrilling.)Carrie Fisher has always seemed tragic. Starting with many advantages, she was sidelined by a devastating mental illness and related substance abuse. But she continued to make something of her life and experience anyway. That unsinkable effort makes her seem like she was indeed her mother's daughter.

Unfortunately this dvd was incompatible in England on my DVD player seller very helpful and am awaiting a refund good.customer service and prompt refund

I followed Debbie Reynolds career from the 50's. This was lovely to watch, so nostalgic.

Great quality of the DVD.

I have been a Carrie Fisher fan a long time - not because of Star Wars, but because she owned her mental illnessHer Mom was amazing for the support and love to her daughter, even during the 10 years they didn't speak.I love "Wishful Drinking" too, what a laugh at a really F*)ed up life!

Loved this bio of Debbie and Carrie. Reveals their tight relationship, their very opposite personalities - one the consummate class act and the other honest and raunchy, yet both so lovable. I enjoyed this vid very much.