Rich and Famous

Rich and Famous is a 1981 American drama film directed by George Cukor, the final film of his career. The screenplay by Gerald Ayres is based on the 1940 play Old Acquaintance by John Van Druten, previously adapted in 1943 by Vincent Sherman under its original title, starring Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins. The film was released to commercial failure and mixed critical response. Plot Two women find their friendship is tested when one rises from obscurity to success while the other stagnates in a stalled career. Liz Hamilton, a young woman with literary ambitions, and Merry Noel Blake, an all-American blonde beauty from Atlanta, are close friends who met while they were freshmen at Smith College in the 1950s. Soon after graduation, Liz writes a critically acclaimed book and drifts into unfulfilling relationships and one-night stands, including an empty encounter in an airplane lavatory, a fling with a teenaged hustler, and an affair with Chris Adams, a young reporter for Rolling Stone. Meanwhile, Merry fulfills her aspiration to a life of domesticity caring for a husband and child by marrying Doug Blake and moving to a beach house in Malibu, California. Although Merry is happy, she can't help but envy Liz for her glamorous career as an author. Merry decides to write a book of her own, relying on Liz's assistance. The trashy roman à clef about the Malibu colony finds a publisher and becomes a huge best-seller. Merry soon is a darling of the media, and her fame and fortune surpass those of Liz (who is experiencing a severe case of writer's block), leading to jealousy between the old friends and problems in Merry's marriage.