"Don't get mad -- get everything!" -- Ivana Trump.
Cynthia (Stockard Channing), who was dumped by her husband for a young bimbo, throws herself off of a roof. At her funeral, three old college friends reunite: housewife Brenda (Bette Midler); another housewife, Annie (Diane Keaton of Annie Hall); and actress Elise (Goldie Hawn, outfitted with huge fake collagen lips). The three women each discover that they have been left by their husbands for other women, and are in much worse circumstances than they were before. They decide to team up to get justice and essentially blackmail their ex-spouses, whose activities have not exactly been on the up and up, into giving them more money and so on. But they also have a broader, more feminist goal in mind. You can certainly find dozens of things to quibble about when it comes to First Wives Club so it's best to just take it as an amusing and farcical look at the ugliness of divorce. It's pointless to accuse the film of being one-sided, as its premise looks at wives who have been discarded for younger replacements after many years of marriage and find themselves all at sea -- it is not the husbands' story. However, the soundtrack may have ladies warbling "sistahs are doin' it for thermselves" but in this picture Brenda and her pals get help from her Uncle and his mafia cronies! I question the wisdom of any of these three gals wanting to get back with their errant ex-spouses, and while a big bitch-fight sequence when the three friends go off on each other has funny dialogue, it comes off as contrived and silly. However, the main point of the film is its three sharp and funny lead performances. The spouses are played by Victor Garber [Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows], Stephen Collins, and Dan Hedaya, who seems capable of playing one and only one characterization no matter what movie he's in. Eileen Heckart as Annie's mother offers one of her rare mediocre performances. There's an interesting, if awkward, sequence in a lesbian bar -- Annie's daughter (Jennifer Dundas) is openly gay -- and Ivana Trump has an amusing cameo.
Verdict: Fun, essentially amiable movie despite some really stupid aspects. ***.
Agreed, Bill, this one has some plot poits that stretch creduity, but the performers are so winning. It's a winner. And one of my favorite moments doesn't even involve the three star ladies, its the scene where Maggie Smith, playing the snooty American social maven, attempts to teach manners to the Sarah Jessica Parker character: "Fork!" I still chuckle at that one.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely have to see this one again soon, Bill.
-Chris
Yes, yes, I don't know how Maggie Smith escaped my mention except that the picture did have a rather large cast. That is a very good scene as you mention, and Parker is wonderful as well.
ReplyDeleteSmith only had a couple of scenes but she was, as usual, marvelous.
Thanks so much for the comments, Chris!