The Women | Romance, Drama, Comedy | DONNE TEMPO
The Women
The film, a remake of the 1939 classic, goes one big step further by keeping the original's key conceit. It's all women, all the time. No men show up as co-stars, supporting players - even extras.
It's a gimmick that handcuffs the story in places, but it rings true about today's evolving movie scene. Women, indeed, are doing it for themselves.
Meg Ryan, in her juiciest role in ages, stars as a married woman named Mary who learns her husband is having an affair with a Saks Fifth Avenue "spritzer girl" (Eva Mendes).
The news rallies Mary's circle of friends, including a career-driven editor named Silvia (Annette Bening), the always pregnant Edie (Debra Messing) and Alex (Jada Pinkett Smith).
Happily, the foursome doesn't mimic our favorite "City" girls, although you'll wish the dialogue in "The Women" echoed their richly comic exchanges.
Mary isn't sure what to do next. Her mother (Candice Bergen) counsels her to stay the course, while Silvia tells her to confront her husband's mistress. Meanwhile, Mary's young daughter is showing signs of adolescent distress -- and a burgeoning eating disorder.
"The Women" dials up the female empowerment angle for modern audiences, but its rapid-fire dialogue isn't sharp enough for a cast oozing with talent. Bening fares best, snapping off one-liners and inhabiting the most complex character in the bunch.
Ryan's Mary isn't nearly as lovable as intended, and the actress's frozen visage hinders our ability to feel her pain. It doesn't help that Mary flies the coop mid-film to attend yoga camp, leaving her poor daughter behind to lick her emotional wounds.
The less said about Pinkett Smith's cardboard character, the better, and while Mendes supplies the necessary va-va voom, her character is equally mistreated by the screenplay.
The film does capture the juggling act many women must master today, and while a happy ending is all but assured it doesn't arrive without some serious pre-conditions.
"The Women" provides a curious twist to the standard rom-com format. The playbook gets shuffled mightily as the key relationship is between Mary and Silvia. Their arc proves just as dynamic as the best romantic comedy coupling. Theirs is a deep and long-lasting friendship which endures some realistic, and heart-tugging complications.
Writer/director Diane English of "Murphy Brown" fame shrewdly turns to an old pal to give the film an added boost. Bergen's character reels off some bitter truths that Mary isn't ready to hear, but her few scenes stand out as the best in the film. Bergen, as glamorous as ever, is a calm center in the movie's sudsy storm.
"The Women" won't make anyone sing along like "Mamma Mia!" or forget "Sex and the City's" female bonding. But it's still classic chick flick material with an appropriate, and trendy-worthy twist.
"The Women"
New Line Cinema
Three Donne mandalas out of five
Web site: www.thewomenthemovie.com/
— Christian Toto
