Review: ‘LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story’ Targets the Decade That Made Minnelli an Icon & the Found Family of Friends That Saved Her

Bruce David Klein’s documentary LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story tracks the rise of Liza Minnelli as an icon, defined by her hot streak in the ’70s.

Liza Minnelli is a once-in-a-lifetime talent for her rich voice and effervescence. . .and also for the fact that she came from a once-in-a-lifetime talent known for the same. How did lightning strike twice?

There isn’t a week that goes by when some celebrity offspring doesn’t blatantly reject the term “nepo baby,” but the phrase has never been thrown around Minnelli because there’s no denying her talent — she was going to get to the top no matter what. In fact, as Bruce David Klein’s documentary LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story posits, being the daughter of Judy Garland often held her back. But unlike her mother, Minnelli’s found family of friends saved her from an untimely demise.

The Best Nepo Baby of All

Focusing on her success in the ’70s, Klein tells Minnelli’s story through the people who shaped her life, including Kay Thompson who acted as a surrogate mother following the death of her own, Halston who helped her become a fashion icon, and Bob Fosse who directed her to an Oscar, among others. Each chapter features interviews with Minnelli herself, old friends like Mia Farrow and Ben Vereen, and new ones like Darren Criss (“This is the gang now!”). LIZA never feels like it’s following a linear timeline or aiming to reach some pinnacle; it ends around the early ’80s and doesn’t examine her impact beyond that time (even if we do see two clips of her as Lucille 2 on Arrested Development).

Beyond “A Barrel Full of Sequins and Glamor”

Composer John Kander describes Minnelli as down-to-earth despite representing the image of “a barrel full of sequins and glamor,” and throughout the doc, she exhibits a charisma that extends beyond the stage. No celebrity gives candid interviews the way she does.

And the most surprising aspect is what a wonderful friend she is. When Gwen Verdon had to have surgery and couldn’t perform in Chicago (scored by buddies John Kander and Fred Ebb), Liza Minnelli surprised audiences as Roxie Hart, learning the part in a week to save the show. While her mother incidentally coined the term “a friend of Dorothy,” I’m surprised “a friend of Liza” hasn’t taken off.

LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story is playing in select theaters, including The Harris Theater in Pittsburgh.