There's been a lot of discussion recently on the DVDTalk readers' forums between critics and reviewers about one's own personal feelings regarding artists in general, and how those feelings may or may not shape views on a particular film or TV show. Having already written about Barbra Streisand for DVDTalk (please click here to read my review of A Star is Born), I've made no bones about my feelings for her immense talent before the camera, and her questionable stances as an "artist" behind it. And certainly, when I received the DVD of Inside the Actors Studio: Barbra Streisand, from the hit Bravo show hosted by James Lipton, these recent discussions immediately came to mind. After all, Inside the Actors Studio: Barbra Streisand is nothing more than Streisand talking about herself. It's not a fictional piece. There's no question that what she says here, encompassing her beliefs on acting, music, stardom, and yes, even politics (oh god), are fair game.

Thankfully, I won't engage in any kind of discussion of her views here, because Inside the Actors Studio: Barbra Streisand is so vapidly noncommital in "exposing" Streisand that nothing controversial is revealed or even suggested during its extended 95 minute running time. If you're familiar with the show, you know that the host, James Lipton (a Broadway writer and lyricist, and Dean Emeritus of the famous Actors Studio Drama School in New York), brings on top actors and performers in their field, wildly praises them, and then lets them speak about their work (sorry; their "craft"), unfettered by anything remotely approximating a challenging question. That's why so many big names like Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Tom Hanks, and yes, Barbra Streisand appear on his show (not at all unlike Larry King's puffery). It's a cake walk where actors know they're going to get stroked like its Oscar night.

What's frequently hilarious about the show (which was perhaps best satirized by Will Farrell on Saturday Night Live years ago), is Lipton's obsequious, almost slavering fawning on the guests, praising to the skies even the most marginal performers (his Chris Rock interview has to be seen to be believed). So when Barbra Streisand deigns to appear on his show, I assumed it was time to get Lipton a lobster bib. And I wasn't too far wrong. Lipton spends almost the first ten minutes of the show assuring us that yes, blinded as though we may be by Barbra's brilliance and almost god-like countenance, she is, stunningly, just like us: demure, shy, and vulnerable. Which of course begs the question: if you need almost ten minutes to reassure your audience that the subject of the show is after all, not a monster but a regular human being (albeit, a brilliant one), perhaps one doth strain too much?

But then, that's how Streisand always seems to come off to the public. Lipton makes such a big deal about chasing Streisand for ten years to do the show, and her hemming and hawing about "coming East" to eventually appear, that you'd think it wasn't just a travel decision by a fairly famous celebrity, but a religious second coming that we should rejoice for, dammit! Perhaps that's why Streisand often comes off so badly in press reports. With too many people fawning over her, enabling her, stroking her, anyone might appear as a pretentious monster from time to time. And certainly, Inside the Actors Studio is exactly the kind of show that feeds egomania and self-obsession in actors. Posing as a "serious discussion" on the craft of acting, it's really no more than an up-scale People Magazine interview, letting artists come on and pontificate about their own self-worth. It's rather embarrassing when you think about it, although in today's self-obsessed society, with its celebration of endless revelations about one's own feelings, and problems, and growth (thank you, Oprah), it's perfectly understandable. If you think that's excessive, try and imagine the real, true stars of days gone by - people like Bogey, Stewart, Crawford, Gable, Garbo - coming onto a show like Inside the Actors Studio and seriously discussing acting. They'd laugh right in Lipton's face on their way to their comfortably shielded private lives, courtesy of their mother studios.

Fortunately, Inside the Actors Studio: Barbra Streisand largely skirts the totally false, smarmy Oprah "personal revelations" format, to give us the totally bland, "Facts on File" rundown on Streisand's career achievements. From her first unsuccessful attempts to break into movies, to her first gig at The Lion nightclub, to her appearance at Bon Soir, to her Broadway breakthrough in I Can Get it For You Wholesale, to Funny Girl, to the number one record albums, to Funny Girl the movie, and to further triumphs, Inside the Actors Studio: Barbra Streisand dully marches from one signpost in Barbra's career to the next, with almost no insight offered by either Streisand or Lipton for those achievements.

Either the questions were carefully vetted by Streisand prior to the actual taping (which would go along with her requirements for most other interviews), or Lipton was brought to an even higher level of genuflection than normal before a cherished star, because Inside the Actors Studio: Barbra Streisand comes off largely scripted. Big lapses in her career and her personal life are curiously left out (Elliott Gould is never mentioned by name; nor is James Brolin - yet oddly, hairdresser/movie producer/paramour Jon Peters is), while a lot of time is spent on trivia that frankly is uninteresting. The final segment, where students in the audience get a chance to question the star, is, as usual, quite a hoot, with Streisand looking really uncomfortable fielding wild-card questions. As for the "honesty" of this DVD towards the process of exploring Streisand and her persona (after all, Streisand says that's her favorite word in Lipton's set of ten questions taken from Bernard Pivot), the DVD producers "bleep" out Barbra's favorite swear word. Whether this was contractual on Barbra's part, or some misguided effort from the DVD producers to make this a "family" DVD, that "bleep" succinctly sums up the revelatory value of watching Inside the Actors Studio: Barbra Streisand.

The DVD:

The Video:
The full frame video image for Inside the Actors Studio: Barbra Streisand looks okay, although it starts to break up on a large monitor.

The Audio:
The English mono audio track accurately reflects the original broadcast presentation.

The Extras:
There are no extras for Inside the Actors Studio: Barbra Streisand.

Final Thoughts:
Bland, utterly devoid of meaningful revelations or even a hint of controversy, you would probably get as much info on Streisand from an US Magazine article as you do here in Inside the Actors Studio: Barbra Streisand. Fans of Lipton's groveling may enjoy it, though, but I suspect Streisand fanatics will snatch it up regardless of content. All others: rent first before buying.