Yesterday we received the sad news that actor Kirstie Alley had died at the age of 71. The Cheers, Veronica’s Closet, and Look Who’s Talking star had been suffering from cancer, and was undergoing treatment at Florida’s Moffit Cancer Center, with an official announcement posted on her social media confirming her passing.
“She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead. As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.”
Fans of her work have been revisiting her best shows and movies, though there’s one late 90s classic that can’t be found anywhere. We’re talking 1998’s Drop Dead Gorgeous, a dark comedy in which Alley nails it as a homicidal former beauty pageant champion.
Since its release, the unheralded gem has gone on to become a cult classic, and is the exact kind of low-key offbeat comedy you’d expect to find all over streaming services. And yet, when fans went to hunt it down, they were left empty-handed:
It’s baffling:
It’s not even available for purchase or rent:
A little research indicates that the last time the movie was officially available was on Hulu in mid-2020. It’s since been removed, and hasn’t returned anywhere. Why this particular movie is so hard to find is unknown: it was distributed by New Line Cinema, (who are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery), and doesn’t feature any IP that’d throw up rights issues.
Let’s hope there’s someone out there able to get Drop Dead Gorgeous on streaming ASAP, as we want to remember Kirstie Alley at her best.
