It's 1950. A young woman (Lolita Davidovich) leaves her rural West Virginian childhood home with a guitar and hopes for a singing career. Burlesque club owner Red Snyder finds her working at a diner. He pushes her to perform more risqué and she runs away from the sleazy promoter. She ends up in New Orleans performing under the name Blaze Starr where she catches the eye of flamboyant Governor of Louisiana Earl Long (Paul Newman).Paul Newman is really chewing up this role. Lolita Davidovich is a fiery redhead. These are great characters. The story and how it's played out isn't the most compelling. This needs more tension in the drama. Earl is a wild character but he's not particularly funny. These are good performances but the drama could be more intense. It's a bit too long and has a bit too much filler.

Blaze is a based on the memoir Blaze Starr: My Life as Told to Huey Perry by Blaze Starr and Huey Perry.The the film stars Paul Newman as Earl Long and Lolita Davidovich as Blaze Starr.It was written and directed by Ron Shelton.The film is a comic-strip re-telling of the curious late-1950s relationship between famed striptease artist Blaze Starr and Lousiana governor Earl Long. Their romance is counterbalanced with the story of Long's efforts to win voting rights for Louisiana's black citizens. The governor's political enemies ruin his chances at re-election, then try to put him out of the way permanently with a trumped-up insanity charge. But with faithful Blaze at his side, Long confounds his foes by winning a congressional seat. On the eve of this triumph, Earl Long dies, bringing this boisterous story to a sobering conclusion.This is noted mostly for the offbeat casting of Paul Newman.He was at his best here.His performance elevates the film into higher levels.Watch it for him alone.

Mix a flamboyant, famous politician of the late '50s - played by one of Hollywood's most famous actors - having an affair with a famous stripper and what do you have? An interesting story, but a movie that still lacked a lot of spark in a number of areas.I can't blame the actors so my best guess is Director Ron Shelton. He wrote the screenplay for this and has the distinction of directing the only sports movies I ever disliked - all of his! This guy's resume of bad movies is brutal. Look it up!You could see Paul Newman really relished playing Louisiana Governor Earl K. "Huey" Long, who was scandalized after it was divulged he was having an affair with the notorious stripper, Blaze Starr, played well by newcomer Lolita Davidovich. Some think Davidovich stole the movie from Newman, but I don't know if I would go that far.However, to me, this was another Newman movie that was overly profane in the language department, a little over-the-top in a performance and just lacking something that made me care about the characters. Starr was portrayed as someone you liked, admittedly, but when has Hollywood not made a stripper or prostitute look good? Newman's role as the flipped-out governor was overacted. One thing, though: Paul Newman is never boring whoever he's playing.I like movies about eccentric characters but this film just had too sleazy a look and feel for me to enjoy it. In the end, who better to blame than Shelton? This just wasn't the appealing story it should have been.

Spoiler I never knew of Bill Cliton, before he was president, but the scandals, and how he deals with the press reminds me of this movie. It is a laugh how Newman can play a nut. I like the scenes where he shoots the lawn mower, and how he gets out of the mental hospital. This liberal minded, womenizing politician reminds me of a car salesmen. Must Rent 8/10