"Boom!" says the Angel of Death. "The shock of each moment of still being alive."

"Gasp!" say I. "The shock of La Liz's outre wardrobe."

It takes a skillful creative team to make the subject of death entertainment fare. Sure, it was done with ease in Broadway musicals such as "Titanic", "The Civil War," and "James Joyce's The Dead" (cough, cough), but, generally speaking, death is not a mood elevator. And since "Boom!" is all about death—but doesn't employ the Hollywood sympathy tactic of having an adorable youngster or beloved canine perish—the average viewer could get a little uncomfortable with the film. That is, those viewers who aren't already dozing from its gassy dialogue.

So, why would I recommend 1968's "Boom!?" Because it's a guilty pleasure for the not-so-average viewer, a delicious, frothy, campy romp starring screen legend Liz Taylor, and it's best viewed with the audio muted and Indian sitars playing in the background. Whether La Liz is spewing her non-stop venom or making silly pronouncements, you don't really need to hear her dialogue, e.g., "Sissy Goforth is not ready to go forth!" The film may as well be dubbed in a foreign language, and it wouldn't diminish its appeal.

"Boom!'s" co-star was Liz's occasional-hubby Richard Burton and its director was Joseph Losey, who gave us the wonderfully engaging "The Servant" just a few years earlier. Written by Tennessee Williams during the illness from cancer of his lover, the story was first staged on Broadway in 1964 for a fabulous five-day run as "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore" starring camp royalty Tallulah Bankhead and fifties heartthrob Tab Hunter.

"Boom!" is a study of wealthy Sissy Goforth, who's "escorted six husbands to the eternal threshold." This is a day in the life of Sissy. Actually, it's the last day in the life of Sissy, and she's fighting the futile struggle against the soon-to-be victorious illness that racks her body in pain and makes her cough and demand injections. She's in denial of her state up until the very end of the film, but she has tantrums galore, like when she tosses the portable X-ray machine over the terrace into the sea below.

Sissy isn't a nice person. In fact, she's mean-spirited and demanding, always screaming, "Estupido!" at her staff, and even tells one maid, "Ow! Sh*t on your mother!" We learn she's had a steady stream of lovers and even had one shot to death recently for trying to steal her jewelry. She's very protective of her possessions, so, it's no surprise to the viewer that she's not pleased about seeing poet stranger Christopher Flanders (Burton) wash up onto the beach of her tres moderne villa set atop the cliff of an Italian isle. Even after her dogs nearly tear him to shreds (to the amusement of her dwarf security guard played by Michael Dunn), she feels no sympathy for his savaged condition.

You see, Sissy is dictating her memoirs to her battered secretary (played by Joanna Shimkus, who married Sidney Poitier) and, being the center of the universe that she is, has little interest in trespassers. She's almost dismissive of Flanders until she gets a gander at his goods while he's swimming nude. So, even though she can barely walk, is drugged to the hilt, and has something foreign in her body sucking the life out of her, Sissy figures she might as well take on a new lover, if only for the night. Flanders keeps telling her he's hungry, but she won't feed him. He is, after all, only there for her amusement.

Every scene is punctuated with rage, but the film is not without its intentional humor. One funny touch includes Indian or Greek folk music you think is the film score, but, moments later, Sissy is turning off the stereo and the music ceases or you see the musicians off to the side performing.

Tennesse Williams had two Kabuki stage assistants in the original Broadway production who were dressed in black and were seen by the audience, but not seen by the players. Although "Boom!" doesn't have these cast members, the Kabuki element is introduced as a seemingly fanciful motif. Flanders has no clothes (the dogs tore them to pieces), so Sissy gives him a black Kabuki robe, complete with sword, to wear. She, too, dons a garish Kabuki ensemble (with headgear spikier than Hellraiser's face) and even offers some sloppy Kabuki poses for her dinner guest, whom she does feed.

The dinner guest is an aging queen aptly named "The Witch of Capri," played by the inimitable Noel Coward (the role was originally offered to Katherine Hepburn). The Witch tells Sissy about Flanders' reputation as "The Angel of Death" who visits with women right before they bite the dust. He's also deliciously catty and even tries to get Flanders to return with him to Capri, alluding to Flanders' bisexuality. Coward's most memorable moment in "Boom!" is something you might want to turn on the audio to hear. He's drunk and howling like a wolf at Flander's bedside. Charmingly cuckoo.

La Liz changes garments (Tiziani of Rome) so often that this "day in the life" may actually be more symbolic than circadian. Her clothes are always white, except in the scene after she's seen Flanders nude. There she's wearing black and demands he kisses her in exchange for a cigarette. Uh, meaning, anyone?

Ah, Death. We deny it, rail against it, and, even if we're the richest person in the world, we don't escape it. Sissy's not putting up a brave front and neither is she a sissy over her impending death. She's always been a class-A b*tch, who, by the end of the nearly two-hour film, you're rooting for to die and die painfully. But, while she graces the screen, either stomping or staggering from one white room to another in the sixties Euro-sumptious villa, you can't keep your eyes off her or the daisies pasted to her face. Flanders is merely superfluous. He softly says, "Boom," a few times, and you know that, even through Burton's hangover, he can see how ridiculous he sounds. Of course, our fabulous La Liz character does die at the end, but not before announcing, atop a mod-fab staircase, "The milk train doesn't stop here anymore." (Wow, I'm gonna say that when I die, too!) As she wastes away in her bed, Flanders tells her a story about his raison d'etre, while pilfering her oversized diamond jewelry.

Sure, there were scenes in "Boom!" where you wonder, what purpose did that serve? Actually most of the scenes will leave you thinking that, but it matters not. Vile Sissy gets the vapors every other minute, screams, hurls things, humiliates everyone, and looks just marvelous every second she does all this. She's a queen's dream role model in this mess of a fabulous movie, which Tennessee Williams said was the best film adaptation of any of his plays.

And, I must admit, this film version has me wetting my pants in excitement over the sure-to-be-in-the-works Broadway version of "Boom! the Musical"

Kabuki note:
Epinions Top Reviewer and glamorous superstar Mrs. Norman Maine has been preparing a Kabuki musical herself. Although indefinitely postponed, her fans are confident that she'll be able to "get the show on the road," as they say.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age