The 5 Must-See Movies of January

Publicity still from HBO

Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (January 7th)

Synopsis: An intimate portrait of the life and relationship between Hollywood’s best known mother/daughter duo, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher.

Just writing that synopsis left me misty-eyed. Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens’ documentary Bright Lights premiered at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival last year, receiving positive reviews as it toured the festival circuit. HBO snapped up the rights with plans to air it in March. Unfortunately the deaths of its stars, Fisher and Reynolds, left the documentary in limbo. There were talks of pushing the date back to allow time for people to grieve, but the network decided to move the date up to January 7th.

The documentary, filmed in 2015, follows Fisher and Reynolds as they navigate their lives together; Fisher said in her 2010 one-woman show Wishful Drinking that her mother lived next door to her. Using archival footage and talking head interviews the trailers illustrate the close bond between the two that lasted until their mutual deaths. If it’s anything like Wishful Drinking, which HBO is also airing this month, this should be poignantly bittersweet and hilarious. I’m already expecting to have my tissues handy. If you don’t currently have HBO or access to their HBO app, it might be time to make friends with someone who’s got them.

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