“The Women”

D: Diane English
S: Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing and Jada Pinket Smith

HOW do you stop the stellar wattage of a cast that includes Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard and Joan Fontaine? In her contemporary reworking of George Cukor’s 1939 classic, “The Women,” director Diane English doesn’t even try.

Instead, she recruits actresses who are known for their winsome screen appeal or acting prowess to resurrect Cukor’s estrogen-powered comedy of manners in the 21st century. The performers in the updated version are nowhere near as iconic as those mentioned above, but many of them are just as talented: Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, Bette Midler, Candice Bergen, Carrie Fisher and Eva Mendes.

The story revolves around Mary Haines (Ryan) and her three gossipy gal pals in Manhattan’s high society: Fashion editor Sylvie Fowler (Bening), the ever-pregnant Edie Cohen (Messing) and lesbian author, Alex Fisher (Smith).

Promising future

A housewife for 13 years, Mary has given up a promising future in fashion design, only to discover that her Wall Street millionaire husband has been cheating on her—with the sexy and beautiful perfume girl, Crystal Allen (Eva Mendes)!

Mary finds solace in the nurturing companionship of her friends, but they too have problems of their own: Her best friend, Sylvie (Bening), is on the verge of losing her job as editor of a top fashion magazine, but if she gets syndicated gossip columnist, Bailey Smith (Carrie Fisher), to work for her, her luck—and her publication’s sagging sales—just might turn around! But, is Sylvie willing to “share” intimate details about Mary’s messy domestic life and betray her friend’s trust?

Sylvie and Mary’s problems are by no means inconsequential, but English’s light handling of the material takes a lot of the thematic edge out of her protagonists’ dire situations. Surely, Carrie Bradshaw and company could share some helpful tips with these women about making compromises, not holding grudges, fighting back, getting even and moving on.

The movie lives up to its title—none of the important characters is male. In fact, you won’t see any man in it at all—not even the two-timing hubby who wreaks havoc on Mary’s fairy-tale life! Interestingly, the issues (power, self-esteem, roles in society, etc.) are just as relevant and topical as they were in the 1930s: Are women better off now as they were then?

Insight

You won’t get a lot of cohesive or instructive insights from the episodic treatment of each woman’s story, because instead of clarifying their relationships, their sketchy back stories only add to the narrative clutter. For instance, Smith’s role is, for the most part, decorative—she almost doesn’t serve a purpose, other than add spice to the characters’ racial diversity and sexual orientation.

However, it’s the winsome cast that buoys up the film’s predictable and somewhat dated exposition: Unsurprisingly, Ryan is in fine comic form, but it’s Bening who deftly mixes drama and comedy to convey her character’s anxiety, guilt and confusion.

The production’s most notable performances are turned in by the irreverent Midler as a feisty Hollywood agent, the witty Bergen as Mary’s wacky mother, Mendes as the unapologetic mistress, Fisher as the manipulative entertainment journalist, and Cloris Leachman as Mary’s loyal housekeeper. You don’t always understand them, but you’ll have a hard time taking your eyes off them!