I agree that Liza was very good in The Sterile Cuckoo and she certainly earned the Oscar nomination. However, Maggie Smith was really magnificent in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969 and the prize appropriately was hers.
Minnelli deservedly won the Oscar in 1972 for Cabaret, but sadly she chose her follow-up projects poorly. Lucky Lady, A Matter of Time, and New York, New York were major box office bombs and really bad movies. She kind of redeemed herself with a fine supporting performance in Arthur some years later, but everything she did afterward was pretty abysmal.
Whatever box office appeal Minnelli had following her triumph in Cabaret, it was long gone by the time Stepping Out debuted in 1991. The reviews ranged from pans to mixed to mildly approving and its total box office take was $246,000, making it a spectacular failure. Liza was quite good in it (as was Shelly Winters). It was also a treat to see stage performers like Bill Irwin, Ellen Greene, Jane Krakowski, Andrea Martin, and Carol Woods on the big screen. Unfortunately, the film itself was very slight, painfully predictable, and very formulaic, not enough dancing and too much emphasis on backstories. You can't really blame Paramount for pulling the plug on it. |
