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:

divorce | reference to madonna | new york | woman | perfume | 

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Taglines:

The new comedy about finding out what you really want.

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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

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Blythe Danner, Marisa Tomei, Queen Latifah, Whitney Houston, Ashley Judd and Sandra Bullock were all in the running for various parts in the film.

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Goofs

In the kitchen scene while Meg Ryan is eating the butter with the chocolate, the sugar bowls lid is shown on and off the sugar bowl without her touching it.

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Quotes

April Cohen: Mommy, I'm tired of shopping. Can we go? I wanna go.
Edie Cohen: We can't go. Aunt Sylvie is stalking somebody. When she's finished, we can leave.

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Connections

Version of Stage on Screen: The Women (2002)

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Soundtracks

Hey Now
Written by Red Garland (as William Garland)
Performed by Red Garland
Courtesy of Concord Music Group, Inc.

User Reviews

Nobody Doesn't Like Saks!

This movie is a remake of and 1930s movie of the same title and which is a great film. This is not a great film, but it's a good film and holds up well since it's been out for quite awhile now.

Mary Haines has a husband who begins having an affair with a "spritzer girl" from Saks Fifth Avenue. This is the basic plot of both films. In addition, the film has NO male characters - this is also true of both films.

How Mary handles this is different in the 2008 version because women have different lives than they did in the 30s. Duh.

But I like the updated ideas and updated relationships. The 2008 version does not have some of the biting humor of the original but it also lacks some of the sappiness, too.

Bette Midler has a tiny part which mimics the original and which was cut for the 2008 version. I'd have loved to see more of her!

Don't expect a lot, but expect a few giggles.