Wishful Drinking

Book reception

Wishful Drinking received generally positive reviews from critics. The January 2009 New York Times review described it as a "funny, sardonic little memoir", but "pretty slight, padded out with big type, extra space between the lines and some family photographs, and it displays at times an almost antic need to entertain. The paragraphs are short, and the jokes – the puns, the wisecracks, the deadpan one-liners – come rattling along at the rate of one every other sentence or so." Salon.com reviewer Rebecca Traister found the book quite funny in large part, but was disappointed that "instead of pushing aside the twinkling craziness of her outside life to meaningfully reveal the crazy on the inside, as she has always done so well, Fisher is now gathering all the starry stuff around her for comfort and reassurance about who she is and what she means."

Stage adaptation

The book followed Fisher's one-woman play in which Fisher had been performing. Developed originally at The Geffen Playhouse with Josh Ravetch co-creating and directing the world premiere, it moved to Berkeley Repertory Theatre near San Francisco at the beginning of 2008, the production opened in a limited run on Broadway at Studio 54 on September 22, 2009 (previews) and October 4, 2009, and closed on January 17, 2010. After its successful San Francisco Bay Area run and before moving to Broadway, Wishful Drinking played at, among other venues, the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in September 2008, and Seattle Repertory Theatre April – May 2009.

Production rights dispute

While the show met with critical and popular success Off Broadway in New York, Fisher soon found herself embroiled in a battle with producer Jonathan Reinis over its production rights. Each claimed lost revenue at the hands of the other. In the end, Joshua Ravetch had co-created the show, collaborating with Fisher from the inception and it was his collaboration and directorial debut at The Geffen Playhouse which toured the country and became a hit on Broadway. A financial settlement was made to Ravetch for an undisclosed amount.

Film documentary

HBO cable television released a filmed documentary of the stage show, directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, and first broadcast in December 2010. The 76-minute film was released on DVD on September 13, 2011. The film production and DVD received a mixture of reviews. In the Los Angeles Times, Robert Lloyd described the performance captured: "Fisher can be broad, but that is also the person she plays everywhere now: a little larger than life, worn but not worn out. She's funny as an actress, and as a writer makes memorable phrases". Boston Globe reviewer Matthew Gilbert wrote, "Fisher’s obsession with her parents and stepparents can be a little tiresome, to be honest, even while her tales of Hollywood absurdity remain outrageous ... Fisher even starts to seem boastful about her dysfunction ..." Continuing, "Fortunately Fisher does have some self-awareness about the potential for her show to seem like a narcissistic screed. That helps." DVDTalk reviewer Jason Bailey wrote of the released DVD, "To put across the brilliance of Wishful Drinking, all Bailey and Barbato really needed to do was put Fisher on stage, and turn on the cameras. They do that skillfully and unobtrusively". The DVD's content received 4/5 stars, video quality 3/5, audio quality 3.5/5, extras 2.5/5, replay 4/5, with final advice of "Highly Recommended".