Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (November 7, 2023)
Remakes always present a dicey proposition, and that proves even more accurate when the original flick possesses a truly devoted fan base. I don’t think that 1939’s The Women is a film known terribly well by the masses, but it boasts a dedicated cult following.
Would they embrace its 2008 remake? Apparently not, as the update took in a weak $26 million in the US.
The Women focuses on Mary Haines (Meg Ryan) and her personal life. Mary’s pal Sylvie (Annette Bening) learns that Mary’s husband Stephen is having an affair with a Saks salesgirl named Crystal Allen (Eva Mendes). Sylvie keeps this a secret but finds out when she visits the same manicurist (Debi Mazar) who told Sylvie.
Mary also undergoes negativity at work. She thinks her boss – who’s also her dad – will hand over the reigns for the family business. Instead, he gives Mary the boot.
This leads to concerns about Mary’s well-being and the support of her friends. In addition to Sylvie, we see the assistance of super-fertile Edie (Debra Messing) and artistic night owl Alex (Jada Pinkett Smith) as well as Mary’s mother (Candice Bergen). The tale follows Mary’s issues, how she – and her gal pals – deal with them, and a few related tangents.
Would this update on The Women exist without the success of Sex and the City? Maybe, but it seems doubtful.
The scent of Carrie and pals covers Women, as it presents a stunningly similar affair. Sylvie feels an awful lot like a less slutty Samantha, and with her long curls, Ryan’s Mary even looks like Sarah Jessica Parker.
The Women offers such a superficial affair that it makes Sex and the City look like War and Peace. It takes all of Sex’s negatives and amplifies them.
Women focuses relentlessly on the insubstantial aspects of female relationships and glorifies looks/clothes while it pretends to condemn them. Sex may promote the superficial as well, but it lacks this project’s blatant hypocrisy.
And that two-faced nature will get to the viewer. For instance, after a film packed with “all women are beautiful flowers” nonsense and attempts to scorn restrictive weight standards, we see a fashion show that features the usual skeletal models.
Wouldn’t it have been a bolder move to provide models who didn’t look so gaunt and unappealing? Apparently no one involved with the flick sees this odd contradictory message, probably because they were too busy reveling in their own back-patting.
Women boasts a pretty stellar cast, but don’t expect them to redeem the material, as no real characters appear. Instead, all we find is a collection of caricatures, each one wackier than the last.
The film includes too many roles for any of them to present anything more than a few minor quirks and traits. Bening and Ryan get the most substantial parts, but they remain one-dimensional.
Still, that tops Messing, Smith and Mendes. Their roles occupy half a dimension at best.
The film desperately wants to be clever and wacky, but just seems desperate. All the actors come across as loud and broad.
Perhaps this intends to act as an homage to the quick-talking, showy performances of the late 1930s, but it doesn’t work. The performances feel forced and unnatural.
Much of the time, the story delivers little more than a collection of quips and one-liners, at least until it officially Gets Serious. Then it turns into a turgid tale of All the Woes of the Female.
Hoo boy, does the flick delight in the pain women must suffer – almost always due to the transgressions of men. Granted, The Women never becomes as male-bashing as it could’ve, but it definitely makes sure to frequently remind us how much agony guys cause and how wonderful and supportive women are.
Of course, the movie’s “Women Rule!” message still comes down to a standard story in which females seem to be incomplete without men. For such potentially empowered ladies, they all appear awfully focused on guys.
All they do is think about, talk about, and wonder about men. And this is supposed to inspire and empower women?
In a tremendously contrived move, the cast includes not a single male – well, at least not until the very last seconds of the film. In fairness, the 1939 Women also eschewed anyone with XY chromosomes as well, so I can’t lay the blame totally on those behind the remake.
However, just because the original flick omitted males doesn’t make it any more sensible for the remake. The level to which it goes to avoid showing men becomes absolutely absurd, and it actively harms the storytelling.
For instance, rather than show a fight between Mary and Stephen, we find an awkward, poor second-person telling of the conflict. The lack of men turns into a real distraction just because it’s such an obvious, smug conceit.
Seriously – the characters walk the streets of Manhattan and encounter only ladies. How idiotic and unrealistic is that?
While I recognize I don’t fall into the target audience for The Women, that doesn’t excuse all its problems. I can watch flicks meant for other demographics and still appreciate them if they’re well-made.
Nothing about The Women succeeds, unfortunately. It turns into a superficial, moronic tale of female empowerment with no real redeeming value.
