The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996): Dir: Barbra Streisand / Cast: Barbra Streisand, Jeff Bridges, Lauren Bacall, Mimi Rogers, George Segal: Clever romantic comedy regarding relationships and our warped expectations. The two faces of the mirror could have a variety of meanings but the theme that emerges the strongest is the sex and marriage issue. Barbra Streisand removes sex to demonstrate the value of friendship. She plays a teacher who lives with her mother and is insecure with regards to her appearance. Jeff Bridges sits in on a teaching session and admires her methods. They strike up a friendship and agree that sex is ruining relationships. When they do marry the pressure of sex invades her. Intelligent film delivered with wit and humour by Streisand. She previously directed The Prince of Tides and Yentl. She plays a smart yet sympathetic woman of independence and insecurity. Jeff Bridges completes the chemistry as her husband. Strong supporting work by Lauren Bacall as Streisand's mother who brings comic wisdom. Mimi Rogers plays her sister whose husband was the sight of Streisand. Both roles are more or less comic placements yet portrayed with great care. Outside the leads, other roles are either brief or flat. While somewhat predictable it is still a wonderful portrait of relationships that make the mirror worth looking into. Score: 8 ½ / 10

Partly Based on the 1958 French film Le Miroir à Deux Faces written by André Cayatte and Gérard Oury, which focused on a homely woman who becomes a beauty, which creates problems in her marriage. 'The Mirror Has Two Faces' is simple, sweet and a majorly entertaining film directed by the Legendary Barbra Streisand.'The Mirror Has Two Faces' works big time, because it has a story to tell... a story that has it's share of WOW moments, no wonder this film was a box office super-hit during it's release way back 1996. With a running time of 126 minutes, here's a film we'll not forget for at least the next 2 decades! Streisand's direction is perfect, so is her signing and her acting. An all-rounder! Jeff Bridges pitches in an Incredible performance. The Academy Award-Winning Actor never disappoints! Lauren Bacall is fantastic as Streisand's old and groovy mom. Pierce Brosnan is very okay, mainly because he gets nothing to do but stock his wife everywhere! On the whole, 'The Mirror Has Two Faces' is a classic... Two Thumbs Up!

This mediocre romance was Barbra Streisand's announcement to the world that middle-aged people can fall in love too.O.k., fair enough, I don't begrudge her the sentiment, but the film she made to express it is all soft. It exists mostly as a vanity project for Streisand, who goes from frump to glamour puss over the course of its two-hour running time. Jeff Bridges is always winning and likable, and so he is here as Streisand's love interest. His presence is almost enough to make up for the tired and generic theme song.The film is probably most famous for NOT bringing Lauren Bacall a much-anticipated Oscar, which went instead to Juliette Binoche in one of the biggest upsets in recent memory.Grade: C

The Mirror Has Two Faces is one of those old fashioned romance stories, in which Barbra Streisand and Jeff Bridges prove that love can be had in middle age and romance might even be better at that point.Both Streisand and Bridges are a pair of Columbia University professors, she of English, him of Mathematics. They've come to opposite conclusions about life and love. Barbra wants some love in her life, but Bridges having been burned a little too often in relationships is swearing off sex. I like what director Streisand did with Bridges's character. I can identify with the students in his class, you spell it B-O-R-I-N-G. There are some people who are turned on by math, I'm not one of them. I sat through too many teachers who could not pique my interest in the slightest and many who were like Bridges as Barbra describes him, having his own math party at the blackboard. No one ever made it relevant for me in my academic career.Barbra didn't do too bad with the rest of the cast which includes her mother Lauren Bacall, her sister Mimi Rogers, her wolfish brother-in-law Pierce Brosnan, best friend Brenda Vaccaro, and Bridges best friend George Segal who is a cheerful middle aged hedonist and loving every minute of it.Lauren Bacall got her one Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress and I thought sure she would cap her career with that Oscar. She lost to Juliette Binoche for The English Patient. But Bacall is absolutely stunning as the mother who Barbra convinces that her life isn't over either.For the acclaim it got, The Mirror Has Two Faces should have gotten a lot more, including a Best Director nomination for Barbra Streisand. And this review is dedicated to all of us who had to sit through a boring professor having his own private math party at the blackboard.