Let's Kill Ward's Wife

Greetings again from the darkness. What would it take for you and your buddies to talk about killing someone? Perhaps you already have … you know, in a joking way … maybe while playing golf together. That's what happens to Ronnie (James Carpinello), David (Patrick Wilson), and Tom (Scott Foley). A couple of cracks about wanting to kill Stacy (Dagmara Dominczyk), wife of their buddy Ward (Donald Faison), leads to further discussion and an uncomfortable google search.

Since all that is pretty gloomy, you should know that this is a comedy. It's a very dark comedy (given the title) that is filled with a stream of one-liners and some outlandish behavior from a group of people who will never be considered criminal masterminds. On top of that, it comes across as some kind of psycho-sexual, spouse-swapping filmmaking project for first time feature writer/director Scott Foley.

Let's see if we can connect the dots: In real life, Foley is married to Marika Dominczyk (she plays David's wife in the movie) who is also the real life sister of Dagmara Dominczyk (Ward's wife) who is the real life wife of Patrick Wilson. James Carpinello's real life wife is Amy Acker (she plays Tom's wife), and we also get the real life daughter of Carpinello/Acker and the real life son of Foley/Marika … plus the younger sister of Marika and Dagmara. That's more crossover than most community theater productions!

You may recognize Scott Foley from TV's "Felicity" (or many other projects), and this is his first feature film as writer/director. The cast is obviously having a great time, and in that manner, reminds a bit of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (Joss Whedon's 2012 version), which was also cast with a group of close friends (including Amy Acker, who also stars here). There are also similarities to VERY BAD THINGS, the 1998 film that brought out the worst traits of its characters. However as stated, this one is filled with offbeat humor and can best be described as black comedy. We even get Nicolette Sheridan as an on-the-prowl aging actress.

Some excellent films are referenced here, including: PULP FICTION, FARGO, SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, and TRAINING DAY. Clearly this film is not near the level of any of those, but they are used to keep the dialogue amongst friends presented in a grounded way for such an outrageous premise. This one won't make you think much – and please don't let it convince you that murder is a good idea. It might, however, generate a few laughs, and that's always welcome.

Slightly dark but charmingly funny with a great cast and dialogue. I love Scott Foley and as soon as I saw that he directed and wrote the screenplay I decided to check it out and I'm glad I did. I won't go into spoiler territory other than to say murder as never been so charming and breezy. Definitely worth checking out.

As an evidently low-budget writer/producer/director independent film, "Let's Kill Ward's Wife" is not a bad effort. It's watchable, although a little slow and heavy on exposition. The production values are adequate with reasonably clear audio and relatively few annoying jiggly-cam shots, although I found the color a bit washed-out. The cast has an easy camaraderie and there are some genuinely funny moments.

However, it feels more like a made-for-television movie than a theatrical release. It's too conservative and middle-of-the-road for the material. It's not funny enough to be a comedy, nor black enough to be a black comedy, nor suspenseful or mysterious enough. The actions of some characters have the effect of re-energizing their sex lives, but the scenes are too tame to seem credible. Scenes that should be shocking and gruesome seem like something out of a parody or a movie from the sixties.

The inciting moment happens far too late. All of the characters are quickly involved in an unlikely plot with few qualms and little hesitation. The conflict that motivates the characters seems weak, particularly regarding the females in the group. Everybody seems motivated by some sort of herd mentality and loyalty to their friends. There isn't enough sense of good people being trapped into heinous acts by circumstances beyond their control.

The ending is not particularly satisfying because the script lacks a strong theme. There is an imbalance between their actions and the consequences of those actions. The characters haven't grown or developed through their experiences. We don't know what they would do in similar circumstances in the future or why and we're left with no better understanding of what we should do in similar circumstances in real life.

Don't get me wrong it's not amazing, but we enjoyed it. It's doesn't take itself to seriously and those watching it shouldn't either. Perfectly watchable movie.

Scott Foley did a fine job creating this lighthearted murder story and each actor pulls it all together. This is a fun but not so funny story of a group of close friends finding themselves involved in an accidental on purpose murder. Now they must dispose the evidence and here is found the brilliance of the story.

Maybe how the friends pull it all together isn't quite believable but you find yourself wanting them to get by with it - for reasons you will see at movies start.

It's an adventure, murder, mystery, and scheming story that is sure to keep you watching. My only disappointment was the ending at the bar - did I miss an important detail?