For some odd reason I never was aware of Carrie's "Wishful Drinking" show before after her untimely passing. So when I did happen to find it, I jumped at the chance to watch this. And I was sort of thrilled, because I have never seen her perform in something like this, much less did I actually know that she also did this kind of work.It turned out that "Wishful Drinking" was a nice show on a couple of different levels. First and foremost, it was nice and open view into Carrie's life, past and struggles, and she didn't really wrap much in bubble wrap. And it was also a fun show, with a good amount of laughs and enjoyment.I was genuinely surprised to see Carrie do this, and must admit that she excelled at it, and she felt very much at home on the stage. Watching "Wishful Drinking" does offer a good look into the real Carrie Fisher, especially if you haven't read her autobiographies beforehand. There are some very personal issues being aired, and they are delivered with honesty and often an approach that is spiced up with a pinch of comedy.Now, this is not a stand-up comedy routine, so you should not expect that kind of show if you sit down to watch this without knowing what it is about."Wishful Drinking" is a very honest show, and one that all fans of Carrie Fisher should take the time to watch.

The 1-2 punch of Carrie Fisher's and Debbie Reynolds' deaths was a fitting, but tragic, end to a year unprecedented in the number of famous/recognizable people who passed on. And for nerds, Carrie's death cut especially deep. As is the case when a celebrity dies, interest in their work surges for a time as people re-explore (or discover for the first time) why we fell in love with these people in the first place. Like most people, I'm familiar with Carrie Fisher through her work as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, but only recently did I realize that she was a prolific writer. WISHFUL DRINKING was her first directly autobiographical work, based on a life which many people might envy if it weren't for all of the mental illness, drug addiction, etc. And based on this stand-up special, she was also a brilliant comedienne. Essentially a chronological overview of her life, it was filled with hilarious anecdotes and delivered with her trademark self-deprecation. Rarely have laughter and sadness coexisted so closely. And now that she's gone, the ending takes on a new poignancy. If you're a Carrie Fisher fan, I highly recommend checking this out if you haven't already (and her books, too).

Carrie Fisher does an one-woman show in front of an adoring crowd. She starts with a story of finding a friend dead in her bed five years ago. Somehow, she makes it funny. Then she brings out a big board trying to decipher the relationship of her parents Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds with their connection to Elizabeth Taylor and their various marriages. This is probably the highlight for me. She also brings in her own failed marriage, her family, her addiction, and her mental struggles. Her father Eddie Fisher would die 3 months after the taping. Her raspy dry wit works for the most part especially when she's interacting with the audience. Her monotone voice does grate as the show keeps going. Overall, Carrie is very sassy, charismatic, and scary honest about her life.

Carrie Fisher's one woman show "Wishful Drinking" is one of the most devastatingly frank pieces of theater in recent memory. At heart, this monologue was a sort of catharsis for a woman that has lived most of her life in show business. Coming from that rarefied environment, Ms. Fisher does not mince words in telling her audiences aspects of a life she has lived, most of it in the public eye. She bares her soul in an account that is hilarious, as well as sad. One can feel her pain as she goes on to tell the story of her life.Ms. Fisher, an intelligent woman, has put together a fun show in which she interacts with her audiences in ways that endears her to the people that come to see her. She recalls her golden childhood lived in that make believe world where her famous parents, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds created, only to see it come to a complete stop when her father left home to pursue a glamorous star that happened to be a close friend. Her illustration of the people in her life on a big board, and how everyone is related, is one of the best segments in the show.Her own experience with the man she loved, Paul Simon, is also examined for the pain it caused her. Her claim to fame, as Princess Leia is another hysterical chapter of her life. The relationship with George Lucas is examined by bringing aspects one never knew. We get to know funny details about that chapter of her life with her disarming delivery of the way it really was.The show was directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato as Ms. Fisher performed in front of a live audience in South Orange, New Jersey.