The Women (2008)

A wealthy New Yorker wrestles with the decision to leave her cheating husband, as she and her friends discover that women really can have it all.

Director:

Diane English

Writers:

Diane English (screenplay), Clare Boothe Luce (play)

Stars:

Meg Ryan, Eva Mendes, Annette Bening

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meg Ryan	...	Mary Haines
Annette Bening	...	Sylvie Fowler
Eva Mendes	...	Crystal Allen
Debra Messing	...	Edie Cohen
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Alex Fisher
Bette Midler	...	Leah Miller
Candice Bergen	...	Catherine Frazier
Carrie Fisher	...	Bailey Smith
Cloris Leachman	...	Maggie
Debi Mazar	...	Tanya
India Ennenga	...	Molly Haines
Jill Flint	...	Annie
Ana Gasteyer	...	Pat
Joanna Gleason	...	Barbara
Tilly Scott Pedersen	...	Uta

Storyline

Based on a very clever comedy by Claire Booth, wife of Time Publisher Henry Luce and later Ambassador to Italy. One of the surprises was an all-woman cast, novel in the 1930's. And although there were no men in the cast, most of the dialog was about them. The story is rather thin and depended on the fact that divorce, in the 1930's, was not only difficult but almost impossible in New York. Mrs. Stephen Haynes learns that her husband is seeing a salesgirl at Saks, and reluctantly divorces him, abetted by her friends, all of whom have romantic problems of their own. In the 1930's New York women who could afford it went to Nevada, where residency could be established quickly and divorce was relatively easy. The 1939 film, starring Norma Shearer, Paulette Goddard, Rosalind Russell, and Joan Crawford, was a hit. This one, with an even better looking cast, is definitely not, largely because someone tried to move a 1930's situation comedy into the present.

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Plot Keywords:

usa | united states | disappointment | divorce | new york | 

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Taglines:

Get your friends together and celebrate "The Women".

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sex-related material, language, some drug use and brief smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

Candice Bergen previously played Meg Ryan's mother in Rich and Famous (1981).

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Goofs

(at around 1h 45 mins) After the birth scene, the infant is passed from the bassinet to the girls, the baby has it's arms hanging limply by it's side. As the infant is given to the mother the baby is totally swaddled and it's arms are inside the blankets.

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Quotes

Catherine Frazier: I ordered you a gimlet. I know you don't drink in the afternoon, but you will eventually, so why not start now?

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #7.66 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Half Fare Hare
Written by Carl W. Stalling
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

User Reviews

Badly Lit Women And Other Problems

Insane really. Even if you haven't seen the original George Cukor movie with Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine and a cast of a thousand other stars you may dismiss this forced, politically correct, depressing comedy. Depressing for many different reasons. Meg Ryan for one. What has she done to herself? Her face can hardly move. That alone puts her miles away from Norma Shearer. Annette Bening should be suing the DP and Debra Messing, what the hell was she doing here? Actresses with no connection in the public's subconscious trying to pass for friends, totally unconvincingly. Eva Mendes in the Joan Crawford part is an outrageous piece of miscasting. What a terrible idea! Her character is like a trans-gender performer without any taste or subtlety. Bizarre to think that a woman adapted and directed this women.The only positive things I can mention are a short but very funny appearance by Bette Midler and Cloris Leachman as the housekeeper.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Women

Filming Locations:

Bosse Sports - 141 Boston Post Road, Sudbury, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,115,210, 14 September 2008

Gross USA:

$26,902,075

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$50,007,546

Company Credits

Production Co:

Picturehouse, Scion Films, Inferno Distribution

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1