The Six Wives of Henry Lefay (2009)

A grieving daughter tries to arrange her father's funeral, while putting up with all of his ex-wives.

Director:

Howard Michael Gould

Writer:

Howard Michael Gould

Stars:

Tim Allen, Barbara Barrie, Elisha Cuthbert

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Allen	...	Henry
Barbara Barrie	...	Mae
Elisha Cuthbert	...	Barbara
Jenna Dewan	...	Sarah Jane
Jenna Elfman	...	Ophelia
Edward Herrmann	...	Goodenough
Andie MacDowell	...	Kate
Chris Klein	...	Stevie
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Effa
Larry Miller	...	Lipschutz
Eric Christian Olsen	...	Lloyd
Lindsay Sloane	...	Autumn
Paz Vega	...	Veronica
T. Anthony Quinn	...	Officer Pinky (as Tony Quinn)
Peter Kybart	...	Minister

Storyline

Henry Lefay has been married before. Depending on how you count, he's been married either five or six times. So when Henry is vacationing in Mexico and gets killed in a para-sailing accident, things get awfully complicated for all the wives involved. His daughter, Barbie, feels guilty for getting mad at him over his womanizing ways, and she feels responsible for keeping the funeral an honorable and dignified affair. But one crazy ex-wife, one hateful ex-wife, two first wives, one current wife, and one future wife all have their own plans for how Henry Lefay should be put to rest.

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Plot Keywords:

funeral | womanizer | cheating husband | ex husband ex wife relationship | mother daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

An outrageous new comedy about the ultimate ladies man.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, nudity and some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 June 2009 (Israel)

Also Known As:

My Dad's Six Wives

Filming Locations:

Banner Stationers, Main St., El Segundo, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brillstein Entertainment Partners, Holly Wiersma Productions, Ring Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Ophilia is having a tantrum and throwing staffed animals at Henry, a quick cut goes to a man with ice cream in his left hand and his right hand dangling at his side. Within a split second, the ice cream is open and he has a spoonful in his right hand near his face.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lipschutt: Gorgeous hotel, huh?
Henry Lefay: Yeah. I spent my honeymoon here. Actually, two of my honeymoons were here.
Lipschutt: We went to Pittsburgh, but very much like this.

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Connections

Version of The Tudors: His Majesty's Pleasure (2008)

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Soundtracks

Champagne At Midnight
Written by Dan Rosengard

User Reviews

Everyone loves a corpse

Weekend at Bernie's. Death at a Funeral. Grand Theft Parsons. Call me sick, but there's something hilarious about dead people. And if you feel the same way, you'll enjoy this movie even if it isn't exactly Citizen Kane.

In the opening scene, our titular character Henry, while bragging about his 6 ex-wives, dies. In the second scene we learn that his estranged daughter "Barbie" (wonderfully played by Elisha Cuthbert in a role that may remind you of the adorably neurotic Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally") must organize his funeral which is to be attended by, you guessed it, his 6 ex-wives.

From there you can probably guess how things turn disastrous, and that's the fun of this movie. It's so delightfully predictable that you needn't stretch your brain cell too far to have a good time. Presented in an interesting collage of flashbacks of Henry's life and vignettes of the days leading up to the actual funeral, the movie gives us some funny, over-the-top characters. My favorite was probably Wife #2 "Ophelia" (hilariously played by Jenna Elfman), a vodka tonic swilling socialite who always seems to be just 1 Xanax away from being a serial killer. Tim Allen himself plays a memorable role as Henry Lefay, not exactly a likable guy, but very fun to watch as he makes a total arse of himself.

There's a serious undertone in a subplot about the daughter Barbie and her inability to commit to romance herself, despite the fact that she's dating an absolute dreamboat "Lloyd" (Eric Christian Olsen) who will likely have all the ladies in the audience swooning and all the gents nervously checking around their seats to see where they dropped their sensitive side.

In all, this is a fun romcom driven not so much by its plot as it is by the absolutely insane characters in the story. Don't miss small but memorable performances by Barbara Barrie ("Grandma Mae") and Edward Herrmann ("Mr. Goodenough" the funeral director) who are both respected veterans of the 1960s Alfred Hitchcock hour as well as more TV credits than you can shake a remote at. "The Six Wives of Henry Lefay" is an adult yet family friendly film without any gratuitous nudity (well OK, we do see Tim Allen's bum as he runs naked from a knife-wielding psycho) and without any profanity (well OK, there is one F-bomb but it is perfectly placed and thoroughly hilarious). Safe to watch with your kids or your parents... but definitely not your ex-wife.