Search - Lily Tomlin: The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe on DVD

Lily Tomlin's amazing show

tv fan | Minneapolis | 02/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the masterpiece of the Tomlin and Wagner team. Jane Wagner the writer and Lily Tomlin the amazingly versatile performer. I'm a mega Lily fan ten times over and this movie is why. For those unfamiliar with "Search" you should know that this is a filmed version of a one-woman show originally produced on Broadway in 1985. On stage Lily used NO costumes or props WHATSOEVER. She appeared as you see her in just a simple blouse and slacks. For this film they incorporated Lily in costume for some parts so the viewer gets the best of both worlds; to see it as it was performed live on stage and also to take advantage of seeing what the characters look like were Lily performing for a film. It is really neat to watch.
But the main reason for watching this film is for the performance and the material itself which is thought provoking, funny, touching, intelligent, interwoven, philisophical and brilliant. Lily won a Tony award as Best Actress In A Play in 1986 for her performance. She deserved it.

Watch this film and be knocked out."

Rare and special combination of acting and writing abilities

Conscious Reader | Lummi Island, Washington, USA | 07/01/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a profound, hilarious, frank, compassionate and loving look at human beings and our strange relationship with normalcy and the absurd. Lily Tomlin's performance has to be seen to be believed--and you will believe! And Jane Wagner's words are a privilege to hear. Wonderful insights, and some witty quips you'll be eager to repeat."

This video is a must-see!

Conscious Reader | 11/17/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tomlin's act, in which she portrays 12 separate characters, is pulled off without technical wizardry or extensive props. She is able, quite remarkably, to convince the viewer that she IS all of these women and that she inhabits their worlds. This is easily one of the funniest and most sophisticated skits I've ever seen. Watch it and you'll never view life (or Post-It notes, for that matter) in quite the same way."

Lily Tomlin's brilliant film

D. Pawl | Seattle | 04/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had the great opportunity and fortune to see Lily Tomlin perform live, where she brought some of the wonderfully spicy characters from this film (which was originally a very successful, long-running play) to the stage. This film is really hard to describe. It is truly like no movie I have ever seen, and definitely not at all Hollywood. (i.e. no burning buildings, car crashes, obligatory sex scenes, pimps, or drug dealers....though, there are a couple of hookers as featured characters) This film is all Lily--literally. She is every character from the Midwestern farmwife, to the fifteen year old punk rocker, to the aerobics instructor, to three very diverse feminists taking a look back at the last twenty years as times change, and so do political views. A friend of mine in theatre who had a colleague who worked with Lily when she toured with this show told me she would spend hours literally staring at the black staircase and bare set, planning the choreography of every movement, expression and retort. Also, she required that the staircase be repainted every night....though, this may sound a little obsessive, after you see the film you will see how much she must have worn out the stage! Just the floor alone gets a real workout with all of her dancing, prancing, jumping, and pacing. It also really makes you think. Are there signs of intelligent life in the universe, or are we all just kidding ourselves?"