Sunday 21 September 2008

The Women

I saw the original version of The Women when I was in my late teens and all I remember was being awestruck by how glamorous, witty and slick it was. Also the fact that there were no men anywhere to be seen did not go un-noticed. The 1939 classic starred the great Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell and Norma Sheerer as wealthy socialites who came to blows when one of them becomes romantically involved with the other's husband. Along with power and gossip, one of the themes in the movie is the comradeship of females and how they bond together during a crisis and this is an element that is displayed in the remake that was released last week. The modern day version of The Women has an amazing cast such as Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett and Eva Mendes on board. Meg Ryan plays Mary Haines whose husband is having an affair with Crystal played by Eva Mendes. Mary's pals, Sylvia played by Annette Bening, Edith played by Debra Messing and Alex played by Jada Pinkett Smith all rally round to provide support and a plan for vengeance.

As the title suggests The Women circa 2008 is a real girlie girlie film and one that you should go and see with your gal pals. It is engaging right from the start and packed full of real laughter moments. If flicks such as The Devil Wears Prada are your type then you will love this. Another thing I loved about The Women is the way they tackle the image of females in the media. You have Mary Haines' young daughter showing the affects of the media's unrealistic representation of women by almost starving herself and you also have Sylvia who is editor of a top fashion magazine trying to break the mould of skinny models on the cover. The leading ladies show wonderful charisma in what is a truly enjoyable film.

4 cool comments:

Anonymous said...

you've sold me on the original, i'm getting it from my DVD rental service now!

Kwana said...

Did you enjoy it as much as the original ondo lady? It's been pretty controversial overhear.

Brown Girl Gumbo said...

Great review! You've made me want to go see this for sure now. I was a bit on the fence at first.

Ondo Lady said...

I did actually. With the first one it was a novelty to see a film that was so lady like and had all the qualities I love in a film; fashion, gossip, scandal and drama. But over the years we have got used to films like that but The Women 2.0 added a comedic theme to it and tacked issues such as the image of women in the media.