Bette Midler invents chaotic Italian TV and nobody was ready.
In this spoof of a television talk show, Midler portrays the Italian bombshell hostess, Mondo Beyondo. Her guests include monologuist David Cale; Bill Irwin, mime, comedian and clown; and the bizarre Kipper Kids.
Acting
Midler's unhinged commitment to Mondo's accent and chaos.
Production
Gleefully cheap TV-studio aesthetic, intentional garishness.
Direction
Schlamme keeps the train wreck gloriously on track.
Director
Thomas Schlamme
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Kipper Kids were real married performance artists Brian Routh and Martin von Haselberg—yes, that's Bette Midler's actual husband making complete chaos with eggs on her own special.
This aired on HBO during Midler's peak 'Divine Miss M' era, when she could literally do whatever she wanted and network executives just said 'yes ma'am' and backed away slowly.
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