The Women (2008)

It´s like as someone said: "I will prove that all these talented, gorgeous, established actress can make a clown of them selves in a movie that makes "Clueless" looks like an Ingmar Bergman movie." So sad. Why Bette? Why Annette?

The original 1939 "The Women" garnered some really die hard followers. There are message boards still going on it. "I have two questions; first, what did she say about _______; and, second _________." Someone comes along a few posts later and says she can answer the first part of the question, and does, but not sure yet about the second. It's that embedded. Most of the fan-atics of the original warned against any attempt to remake something so perfect. They jumped on "The Opposite Sex," and trounced that rather thoroughly. It was a bad movie. But, their full fury is earned here. It turns out their dire prediction of failure is vindicated in both cases. At least "The Opposite Sex" changed the name before they changed it all around. Here, it's not only a change-around, but an even further deterioration in flow, timing, direction, authenticity with added errors in casting and performance. Don't directors know how to say "cut" anymore? This should be followed by a firm instruction as to what's really going on here, how the characters feel in this scene, and, let's start again from – whatever point. They used to say at the end of filming that it's in the can, meaning the finished reel is in its metal case and ready to be distributed. Sadly, this weak effort with its canned performances was finished before production ended, and quite unready for distribution.

10_It's unfunny.09_No men ? That made things boring, forced, and a bit strange especially while a scene like the one in which the 2 maids were repeating all the wife and husband's argument, let alone the endless one-side phone calls, the "he said to me.." lines. Overall it's a dull move that mirrors a complex the movie's she-makers suffer where men for them are "very obnoxious so let's make them invisible", or "we can succeed totally without them". Did you notice how it has no character of a positive man, albeit as a remote intimation ?! Even (Debra Messing)'s husband wasn't there for her delivery ! 08_An extremely monotonous pace. The director made nothing special.07_ Concedences. (Annette Bening) knew about the affair from the shop's girl by coincidence. Then (Meg Ryan) knew about the same affair from the same shop's girl also by coincidence. Then (Bening) and (Ryan) met the affair itself, (Eva Mendes), at another shop by coincidence as well. And that was done in just the first half hour ?! Well, I got the pattern, this movie has a coincidence every 10 minutes !06_ What's going on ? At first you think that this is a movie about 4 women. Then we have the main story of one of them. Then at the last 10 minutes we come back with them?? In any case, it couldn't be a comedy, or any enjoyable different movie about 4 women either! 05_(Candice Bergen) ??? What the hell she's doing here ?!!!04_(Jada Pinkett-Smith) as lesbian ? OK, that was only for winning extra bucks from the box office, more than anything. And her acting ?? It looked exactly like a lousy parody of her real life husband Will Smith. Terribly lousy !03_The long, very long, 3 screams of (Debra Messing) while the intolerable scene of giving birth. And they were stupid enough to put that in the trailer. What kind of a twisted mind that saw that as a good thing ?! This is drastically annoying and no fun. It deserves a Razzie award apart. God have mercy on the ones who had to watch it in the theaters! 02_(Meg Ryan) ?? OH MY GOD. She used to be a sweetheart…once. Now she looks unsightly and creepy. I thought this is an odd look-alike who has her same sweet spirit and cute reactions, or this is really her yet wearing a frightful mask that made her face as a nasty caricature! If they give me the choice to be a woman with wrinkles or to be The Women's (Ryan), I'll choose anything but the last. You can say that again about (Annette Bening). The thing isn't about the shock of the sight only, it's rather about features that stop acting anymore. I felt all the time as if I watch (Death Becomes Her 2), or a horrific documentary about the actresses above 40 in Hollywood ! It pushed me to keep thinking; that's more important issue to make a movie about than the one I'm watching, naming it "The Freaks" instead, with a tagline that says "Forget Dracula. Forget Frankenstein. Now we have Botox and Plastic Surgery. And they're BETTER", at least it would be an explicit Horror !01_The heroine comes back to her husband through a phone call ??? Anyone agrees to shoot that is an idiot !Now I have an opinion of a friend of mine. I always be aware of her viewpoints about movies, since she told me one time "Men in Black ?? This is so boring. I fell asleep in front of it after the first 5 minutes" (?????!!!!!!!!). She told me about The Women "what a great movie", so when I told her smiling "I didn't like it", she replayed so seriously disgusted "Men !". I believe she has 2 things in common with this movie's makers; they're the only creatures who actually love this movie, and they hate men ! It's a mix of soft colors and deformed women. Yet the worst part isn't its pedantry, it is its fact as a silly romantic tackiness, with nothing new except its ugly – once lovely – stars, and its viewpoint about what a great place the world is without men !. In brief, save (Eva Mendes) in that black underwear, this is awful. I can't think of anybody who may watch it again, even my crazy friend !

The Women is a well intentioned remake gone wrong. The storyline remains similar to the original, with Mary Haines finding out her husband is cheating on her with a shop girl. The rest of the movie details how Mary copes with this knowledge and eventually tries to build a new life for herself with the help of her mother and friends, while trying to maintain a good relationship with her pre-teen daughter.There are multiple problems with this movie, the biggest one being that the characters are all incredibly bland. Mary Haines isn't a particularly well developed character and her problems are lame. Even without her husband, Mary is gorgeous, maintains her beautiful Connecticut mansion and finds the time to start an entire clothing line. Her supposed rival for her husband, Crystal Allen (Eva Mendes) is beautiful, but never seems to be a real threat, nor has much of a personality. Mary's friends are mostly one note as well. Sylvie is a completely self involved person who makes Mary's problems all about herself. Alex barely has a presence, and her distinguishing character traits are apparently that she is black and a lesbian. Edie is the free spirit who really enjoys having children. Little to nothing else is made known about her except for a "shocking" revelation at the end of the movie. It never is clear why Edie and Alex are even friends with Mary and Sylvie. None of them seem to have common interests, and each one seems designed mainly to appeal to a certain demographic. All in all, this is one to perhaps see once and then forget. The original is much better and less obsessed with brands and trying to send out a positive message to women, while falling flat.