Lindsay Lohan 'Woeful' In Liz Taylor Biopic

Lindsay Lohan's outing as Elizabeth Taylor in the TV biopic Liz & Dick has premiered on the US channel Lifetime to almost universal derision.

The much-heralded film, starring Lohan as the movie star and little-known New Zealander Grant Bowler as Richard Burton, charts the volatile love story of the twice-married couple.

The Mean Girls star has drawn parallels between her own troubled life and Taylor's, saying in an interview that everything she had gone through made her "ready to play Liz".

The film charts Taylor's drink-fuelled relationship with Burton while Lohan has spent brief spells in prison, on probation and in rehab since two 2007 drink-driving convictions.

Liz & Dick was billed as her comeback movie but after a string of bad industry reviews Twitter users joined in the criticism during Sunday night's screening.

Kat Corbett said: "It's like watching the kid from The Parent Trap in a school play being stalked by a gladiator with a drinking problem."

Nicholas Dressel's comment was: "An actress who will never win an Oscar playing an Oscar winning actress in a movie that will never win any award."

While Sophie Perrault said: "Bad actors playing good actors or good actors playing bad actors? OR bad actors playing bad actors? I can't tell anymore."

BrianEsEnFuego said: "Just finished watching #LizandDick and all i can think is how sad it is that LiLo can't even be nominated for Razzies for this. senseless tragedy."

Lohan joined the Twitter activity, answering fans' questions online as the film was shown.

And prior to the screening the critics also laid into Liz & Dick.

The Hollywood Reporter said: "Lohan is woeful as Taylor from start to finish. But, whatever you do, don't miss Liz & Dick. It's an instant classic of unintentional hilarity."

The San Francisco Chronicle's reviewer said: "It's so terrible, you'll need to ice your face when it's over to ease the pain of wincing for two hours."

The Los Angeles Times commented: "Unfortunately Lohan and co-star Grant Bowler have about as much sexual chemistry as Kermit and Miss Piggy and none of that couple's tenderness."

Ken Tucker, on Entertainment Weekly's website, described it as "a peculiar, drab, damp little TV movie".

He added: "No effort seems to have gone into Lohan's preparation other than to have her eyes tinted Liz-violet."