I was invited by my friend, Tara from When Tara Met Blog to host a small viewing party to celebrate the DVD release of Liz & Dick and as I’ve always been intrigued by the life of Elizabeth Taylor, I jumped at the chance to host!

Release Date: May 14, 2013
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 90 minutes

Glamorous. Infamous. Scandalous… For nearly a quarter of a century, Elizabeth Taylor (Lindsay Lohan) & Richard Burton (Grant Bowler) were Hollywood royalty and their fiery romance – often called “the marriage of the century” – was the most notorious, publicized & celebrated love affair of its day. Swarmed by paparazzi worldwide, their love affair was played out entirely in front of the media – from their meeting on the set of Cleopatra through their marriages and divorces. Despite their roller coaster romance, Taylor & Burton shared an undeniable love greater than most people could ever dream of.

In honor of Liz’s passion for diamonds and her perfume line, I received a special diamond ring bottle stopper which is adorable! Cue the champagne and sparkling cider! For the viewing party, I went to Target and stocked up on my family and friends’ favorites: bagel bites, ice cream, and popsicles! My kind of people. I also bought a ton of popcorn and drinks that everyone enjoyed. I must say, this was quite a success!

Now while Liz & Dick is just as much a look into Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s love affair as it is a comeback for Lindsay Lohan, what I actually found to be most incredible about this film was the lengths the crew went to in regards to the hair, makeup, and wardrobe, recreating Liz’s looks impeccably (if you’re not counting Lindsay not being aged as the film progresses). If anything good can be said about this film’s it’s this. That’s what really kept me intrigued.

We all know the roller coaster story of Elizabeth’s love life so seeing it play out was fun simply because we love the familiar but I honestly wasn’t thrilled with the casting. While I’m aware of the age difference between Taylor and Burton, Lindsay Lohan still seemed too young to work with Grant Bowler. I would have preferred to have seen someone else in Bowler’s place for this reason and because he’s too good to appear in a Lindsay Lohan film period. I’m saying that as a Lohan fan. Bless her heart, she tried and she did a good job but it still fell flat (although I do think the middle of the movie had the better acting). Probably because the entire time you’re watching, you can’t believe that this is the same actress who charmed us all in The Parent Trap.

A point came in the movie when we all began to just talk about how we all hope that Lindsay gets better obviously for her own well being but also so she can make movies that she’s proud of when she looks back on her career instead of a stream of comeback movies that fall flat. We also of course talked about Elizabeth Taylor which led to Debbie Ryan which led to talk of Carrie Fisher’s one woman show, Wishful Drinking which I highly recommend you see if you haven’t yet. Anyway, the film was a good depiction of the life of Liz and Dick so if you consider yourself a fan of this roller coaster of a celebrity relationship, this is the film for you.

Special Features:

Interviews (21 minutes) – There are six interviews with the cast and crew of Liz & Dick including cast members, Lindsay Lohan and Grant Bowler, Director, Lloyd Kramer, Writer, Christopher Monger, Executive Producer, Larry A. Thompson, and Costume Designer, Salvador Perez Jr. which I played as the viewing party came to an end which is a shame since the most interesting interview there was turned out to be the very last one with the costume designer. If you do find yourself with the DVD, be sure to check out all of the interviews!

I also received an extra copy of Liz and Dick as well as A Novel Romance starring Shannon Elizabeth and Reel Love starring Burt Reynolds which I planned to give away with the help of Lindsay Lohan and Elizabeth Taylor trivia but my guests needed to brush up on their pop culture. So together, we decided that since I am trying to make this the year I donate the most books and DVDs to my local library, we’d do just that! So I encourage you to do the same! After you catch Liz and Dick, be sure to take this and gather any other DVDs, Blu-rays, and books in your home to donate to your local library! Watch and pass on the entertainment! Thank me later!

Also, huge thanks to everyone who participated in the viewing party as well as Tara at When Tara Met Blog for putting together such a fun event!

Own Liz & Dick on DVD today.