There is only one person in entertainment who comes to mind when you hear the name Liza (always with a Z!). The daughter of the timeless Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli carved her own path forward through a childhood in the spotlight from her superstar mother and director father Vincente Minnelli. After a career spanning decades, Liza has left a lasting legacy of movies, television, music, and theatre. Liza’s wide array of roles garnered her an iconic status of her own. Like her mother before her, Liza fostered acceptance and adoration in the queer community on a personal and professional level. Bruce David Klein gifts the audience an in-depth documentary with the subject still very much alive and vital. The opening scenes reveals how Liza operates as she controls the camera angles and fusses with the mirror to ensure her look is up to scratch. It’s an adorable moment that captures the essence of her “diva-ness” setting the tone for the rest of the feature.
Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story starts officially after the death of her mother Judy Garland in 1969. Each chapter of her life after this defining point is divided up into chapters prefixed by quotes from Minnelli and luminaries such as Bob Fosse. Each quote links to a story or an anecdote about her life. The audience is given deep dives into Minnelli’s fashion (often designed by Halston), her infamous husbands, artistic collaborations from Broadway to award winning movies. Underneath it all is Liza’s obsession with stepping out of her parents’ shadow and becoming her own performer. The conversations aren’t afraid to dive into some of the darker elements of her life: the miscarriages, drug use, rehab visits, and her infamous marriage to Peter Allen.
Through all of this, Minnelli remains relatively unscathed. Her eternal childlike positivity is showcased as she gleefully bounds off stage after a performance, diving right into the arms of her husband at the time. Liza’s joie de vivre is confirmed by her many friends, collaborators, and castmates who are interviewed for the project. Among them Ben Vereen, Mia Farrow, Jim Caruso, Joel Grey, Chita Rivera with her close friend Michael Feinstein who provides the narration for documentary. Michael Feinstein provides further glimpses into Minnelli’s close relationship with her friend and mentor Kay Thompson. The interviews and reminiscences are fascinating, but nothing compares to when Liza speaks for herself giving intimate insights into her personal life and her meteoric rise to fame in a manner that can only be delivered through her unique and fabulous storytelling.
With every cut to Liza, she adjusts the camera, garnering for the right angle, pointing and instructing where the lighting should be placed in a commanding and directorial style clearly inspired by her father and many legendary directors (including Fosse, Martin Scorsese, and Alan J. Pakula) she has worked with. Liza is remarkably frank about her Studio 54 party life. When re-telling of anecdotes she erupts randomly into song, proving she still has the pipes.
Liza’s career and personal ups and downs are captured as the documentary moves through the decades, focusing on her enduring legacy and the millions of multi-generational fans who revere her. Close family and friends marvel at her character and her willingness to drop everything to be present when they are in need. Liza’s quest was to find genuine friends who wanted to get to know the real her, not the “performer in the sequin dress.”
We are lucky enough to get a glimpse of the truly terrific absolutely true duality of Liza with a Z and Liza Minnelli. The accumulation of archive footage mixed with interviews from long time collaborators and famous admirers (Darren Criss and Alan Cumming who played the Emcee in Cabaret on Broadway for several seasons) ensure fans get a deeper look into the icon, while also ushering in new ones set to discover the Queen of Broadway.
Liza : A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story is screening as part of the Mardi Gras Film Festival 2025.
