Liberace (Michael Douglas) is a Vegas star, known for his virtuoso piano playing as well as his flamboyant costumes and staging. Young animal trainer Scott Thorsen (Matt Damon) can't believe no one else notices that the star is also flamboyantly gay, but Liberace's manager (Dan Akroyd) is the hardest working man in showbiz. Liberace, known as Lee to his friends, takes a shine to Scott and woos him with his extravagant lifestyle, but Scott soon discovers it's not easy being queen to the queen. First there's the jealousy, Lee's raging narcissism, the demands for Scott to look a certain way, including plastic surgery to look more like Lee, the "California Diet" of pills to lose weight, the paranoia, the infidelity, and the insecurity of knowing that he has no legal protections afforded by marriage.
It's big, it's splashy, it's extremely gay. Douglas is phenomenal and there is a smorgasbord of stars in every bit part, including the late Debbie Reynolds. Your mileage will vary based on how tabloid-y you like your stories. This started to go off the rails for me in the last third, but I was not bored for a second during it.
It's currently streaming on HBO Max.
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