Veteran producer/director Diane English (The Lathe of Heaven, Murphy Brown) helms this contemporized remake of George Cukor's beloved proto-feminist comedy drama The Women (1939), an adaptation of Clare Boothe Luce's play. The English version follows the gossip, bitchy wisecracking, and overall disillusionment that erupt among a group of socialite friends when their dearest and most envied learns of her husband's marital infidelity at the hands of a backstabbing shopgirl. The all-female cast is
fronted by Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Candice Bergen, with supporting roles inhabited by Bette Midler, Cloris Leachman, and Carrie Fisher. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
The funniest thing about The Women is that Mick Jagger is one of the producers. There was a knowing laugh in the theatre as his name sprang up in the opening credits -- our last chance to laugh, as it turned out, for the next two hours.
In the end, English just wants to make a nice chick flick with some sassy lines. Genuine nastiness has been eliminated, while not-very-funny banter is retained.
Though aspects of the 1939 comedy seem silly and shrill now, they were at least consistently entertaining. Where the original was deliciously loopy and melodramatic fun, this one is watered-down, sappy and earnest.
A lazy film that makes the most obvious points about the war between the sexes and, as a result, makes the characters much less interesting than they might have been.
Containing as much wisdom as it does wit, English's sparkling screenplay takes what was a fairly shallow story and creates a snapshot of modern (albeit wealthy) women's lives.
Any film about a group of women -- friends or not -- gets my attention. Fireworks are guaranteed. Sure enough, Diane English makes her feature debut with a classic, filling it with a ripper cast, each of whom adds their weight in TNT to the detonations.
A juicy exploration of women's roles in the 21st century -- at work, at home and in the bedroom and although men figure in the storyline (natch), it is women-only who grace the screen. Three generations of them.
Cast: Meg Ryan, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, Natasha Alam, Carrie Fisher, Candice Bergen, Bette Midler, Annette Bening
Director: Diane English
Summary: Shocked by the discovery that their pal Mary's (Meg Ryan) husband is having an affair with a beautiful young shop girl (Eva Mendes), a tight-knit
circle of New York socialites comes up with a devious plan to help Mary win back her man.
My Thoughts: "Great cast of female actresses. Some had strong performances some not as strong. But I enjoyed the story and the friendships between the girls. This is a girl driven film that I am not sure any guy will want to watch, unless forced to by their better half. But I must say, if I was to come face to face with my husbands mistress there would be little conversation happening. But I guess the way Mary Haines handles it is a bit more classy. I just don't have patience for talking when I see red lol. It's a funny film with strong females. Great chick flick."
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