It stars Sally Field as a mature soap star, joined by Kevin Kline, Robert Downey Jr., Elisabeth Shue, Whoopi Goldberg, Cathy Moriarty, Teri Hatcher, Garry Marshall, Kathy Najimy, and Carrie Fisher, as well as cameo appearances by TV personalities like Leeza Gibbons, John Tesh (both playing themselves as Entertainment Tonight hosts/reporters), and real-life soap opera actors Stephen Nichols and Finola Hughes.

To make the audience hate Celeste's character, Montana and David come up with a plot in which she will accidentally kill a young, destitute deaf-mute, played by the newly-cast Lori Craven.

Despite the objections of head writer Rose Schwartz and Celeste herself, the scene plays out, but is interrupted by the latter's recognition of Lori as her real-life niece.

Network honcho Edmund Edwards sees potential in the relationship and makes Lori a regular cast member, hoping to boost the show's flagging ratings.

The site's critical consensus states, "Soapdish may not be as addictive as the serialized dramas it's spoofing, but a talented cast helps make this affectionate sendup feel fresh.

[6] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.[7] Rita Kempley, writing for The Washington Post, called it "pure joy, a lemon-fresh spoof of daytime drama that does the dishing and may even soften your hands.

An uproarious look behind the scenes of a fictional soap opera, it soaks the conventions of the genre with unfailing zest to leave a shine so bright you can see your face in it - art mirroring life and all that.

"[9] Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman gave it a letter grade of C− and said that it "makes the tackiness of soap operas seem far more desperate than funny.

[11] In 2016, Meredith Talusan of BuzzFeed cited it as an example of transphobia, placing Soapdish in a long line of films depicting "the transgender-woman-as-villainess trope in American movie comedies.

On January 10, 2022, it was announced that a Soapdish television series was in development at Paramount+, with Goldberg reprising her role as Rose Schwartz, and Jennie Snyder Urman serving as co-writer.