Stella (1990)

★ 5.7 1h 49m IMDb

Barmaid Stella Claire and blueblood Stephen Dallas have very little in common -- except they've fallen in love. When their relationship fails, Stella decides to raise the child they had, Jenny, alone. But Jenny and Stella are far from the perfect mother-daughter pair.

Stella

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Cast

Bette Midler
Bette Midler as Stella Claire Age 80 · Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, USA [now Hawaii, USA] Bette Midler (/bɛt ˈmɪdlər/ bet MID-lər; born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career, Midler has received numerous accolades, includi...
John Goodman
John Goodman as Ed Munn Age 73 · Saint Louis, Missouri, USA John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received numerous accolades, includ...
Trini Alvarado
Trini Alvarado as Jenny Claire Age 59 · New York City, New York, USA Trinidad "Trini" Alvarado  (born January 10, 1967) is an American actress best known for her performances as Margaret "Meg" March in the 1994 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women...
Stephen Collins
Stephen Collins as Stephen Dallas Age 78 · Des Moines, Iowa, USA Stephen Collins is an American former actor born on October 1, 1947, in Des Moines, Iowa. He is best known for his role as Eric Camden, the family patriarch on the television series "7th Heaven," whic...
Marsha Mason
Marsha Mason as Janice Morrison Age 84 · St. Louis, Missouri, USA Marsha Mason (born April 3, 1942) is an American actress and theater director. She received four Academy Award nominations as Best Actress for her performances in Cinderella Liberty, The Goodbye Girl...
Eileen Brennan
Eileen Brennan as Mrs. Wilkerson Died 2013 · Los Angeles, California, USA Eileen Brennan (September 3, 1932 – July 28, 2013) was an American actress who was known for her versatile performances in film, television, and theater. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Bes...

Audience Reviews

kevin2019 7/10 Jan 02, 2026
"Stella" sometimes resembles a television movie of the week, especially in relation to the deliberately manipulative melodrama we are subjected to and this could have been more damaging than it actually is. That is because the film manages to part ways with all things conventional and what begins to unfold is an absolutely fascinating and compelling study of the constantly evolving and shifting relationship dynamics of a disparate set of characters each with their own personal problems to overcome. It is regrettable in a way that more depth hasn't been given to the character Ed Munn and the plight he is so obviously facing. After all, we are given an insight into the lives of Stephen and Janice, so it is unfortunate this isn't reciprocated with Ed and Stella just to balance this element of the film out a little more.

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