BetteBack: Film Team Reunites For ‘Boys’

`Boys’ reunites a film team
Article from:Chicago Sun-Times Article date:December 8, 1991

LOS ANGELES “I’ve never been accused of modesty or understatement,” said director Mark Rydell, whose newest all-stops-out film is “For the Boys” (now at Chicago area theaters).
“I tend to go for the jugular,” he said. “Nothing pleases me more than to see people laugh with exhilaration or weep with emotion.”

There’s nothing modest about Rydell’s “For the Boys,” a portrait of America over five decades centered on two entertainers celebrated for their USO tours. The movie reunites Rydell with two of his previous stars, Bette Midler (“The Rose“) and James Caan (“Cinderella Liberty“).

The offscreen drama lay in the two stars’ need to re-establish themselves – Midler as a dramatic actress and Caan as a dependable professional. Both actors, known for their exacting standards, thought that Rydell would bring out their best performance.

“She knew that was a good area for her,” Rydell said. “She had this sweet little story, but a limp script. . . . I saw an opportunity of making not just an entertainment, but a picture of substance.”