Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe First Wives Club (1996)
Director: Hugh Wilson
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
It's 1969 and four young women, full of peace, love and ambition, are about to graduate. Cut to present-day New York, and the bleary spectacle of Cynthia (Channing), the gang's leading light, thrown over by her husband for pert-breasted wife number two. Lonely as hell, she takes a short walk off a tall building. At her funeral, superstar Elise (Hawn), mouthy frump Brenda (Midler) and doormat Annie (Keaton) realise they too are dizzyingly close to the edge; now saggy and a bit loose at the seams, they've been turned in for younger models. What to do? You've got it - revenge: they're going to kick those badfellas where it hurts - in the pocket. This comedy finds all three stars in wryly cartoonish form, with Keaton particularly charming/irritating. One-liners aside, however, there's no disguising the film's social smugness or predictability.Author: CO'Su
User reviews of this film
-
- Giusy said...
- Posted on Dec 10 2008 16:00 The witty script and the memorable performances of three great actresses make this an outstanding comedy. On one side the therapeutic seek for revenge of the three female satisfies hidden instinct, on the other the portrayal of abandonment, though with irony and somewhat lightness, makes us really wonder what we would do if we were thrown apart for a girl who weights twelve pounds and hasn't reach puberty yet.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Hugh Wilson
Producer: Scott Rudin
Cast: Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, Stockard Channing, Maggie Smith, Dan Hedaya, Eileen Heckhart, Philip Bosco full cast
Duration: 103 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Jackson's This Is It: review
Kenny Ortega's posthumous concert film is a rousing eulogy for one of pop's great enigmas
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'
Danish director Lone Scherfig was an unlikely choice for a very English affair like 'An Education'. Cath Clarke meets her
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now