Death Becomes Her

Ok, call me crazy but wasn't this the first film that anyone had ever seen Bruce Willis play a character that didn't involve him blasting bad guys into the air with a machine gun? Don't get me wrong, I loved "Die Hard" and am a big fan of Bruce but it was just so refreshing to see him play a character that was so different to his previous (and, indeed, later) roles. His performance of the downtrodden, weedy "Ernest" is masterful as he strikes a perfect balance between the comedy and darkness of the film. If you like black comedies (like me), you'll love this! Whoever thought of casting such a genius combination of these three great actors in this film should be applauded. Hawn and Streep are excellently cast as the two feisty women competing over Ernest, desperately hanging on to their long-gone youth and stopping at NOTHING to get what they want - the bitch fight between the two gals is a scene NOT to be missed!

All in all, "Death Becomes Her" is a deliciously dark comedy with a brilliant cast, great direction and some pretty convincing special effects - considering it was made way back in 1992!

In 1978, in Broadway, the decadent and narcissist actress Madeline Ashton (Meryl Streep) is performing Songbird, based on Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth. Then she receives her rival Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn), who is an aspiring writer, and her fiancé Ernest Menville (Bruce Willis), who is a plastic surgeon, in her dressing-room. Soon Menville calls off his commitment with Helen and marries Madeline. Seven years later, Helen is obese in a psychiatric hospital and obsessed in seeking revenge on Madeline. In 1992, the marriage of Madeline and Menville is finished and he is no longer a surgeon but an alcoholic caretaker.

Out of the blue, they are invited to a party where Helen will release her novel Forever Young and Madeline goes to a beauty shop. The owner gives a business card of the specialist in rejuvenation Lisle Von Rhuman (Isabella Rossellini) to her. When the envious Madeline sees Helen thin in a perfect shape, she decides to seek out Lisle and buys a potion to become young again. Further, she advises that Madeline must take care of her body. Meanwhile Helen seduces Menville and they plot a scheme to kill Madeline. When Madeline comes home, she has an argument Menville and he pushes her from the staircase. She breaks her neck but becomes a living dead. When Helen arrives at Menville's house expecting that Madeline is dead, she is murdered by Madeline. But she also becomes a living dead and they conclude they need Menville to help them to maintain their bodies. But Menville wants to leave them.

"Death Becomes Her" is an American black comedy with excellent special effects even after twenty-three years after the release and great cast. The trash storyline is strange and original and the black humor may not be pleasant for everyone. But there are funny and witty quotes and situations and this film has not aged. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Morte Lhe Cai Bem" ("Death Fits Well to Her")

Fun little flick - for sure Death Becomes Her is not made for everyone, but well, if that mix of macabre horror fantasy comedy and whatever hits you, you will be well entertained. On top, we get a fine cast. Recommended, if you like such movies as The Witches of Eastwick, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Dark Shadows and the like.

I mean, I doubted this movie at first from the beginning in Broadway. But as it progressed, I was laughing so hard on certain scenes like when Dr. Menville is reporting the murder of Madelyn and she suddenly gets up and starts walking toward him. It was too funny and the effects were so phenomenal. I mean literally. But then again, it won an Oscar for its effects. I mean, the fight scene where the 2 start fighting with shovels and Helen breaks off the metal end of Mad's and she throws it right through her. "Yes! I mean No! Oh Damn!" That scene was just side-splitting. Overall it was a good black comedy and I'd recommend it to anybody. And Robert Zemeckis, I never knew he did such a great movie because he's a head producer for Dark Castle Entertainment and he's done some pretty bad movies from there like Ghost Ship and Thir13en Ghosts. But wow, he has really made an excellent movie.

When a woman learns of an immortality treatment, she sees it as a way to outdo her long-time rival.

This film was intended to be a sequel to the "Tales From the Script" television show, and although the TFTC name is not attached, you still get a strong sense of the humor we have come to expect. David Koepp and Martin Donovan (who last worked together on "Apartment Zero") had intended to write a few short films, like an anthology, but this story just grew... and Robert Zemeckis added his own brand of humor, with the dark side of Hollywood bubbling to the surface.

Along with Zemeckis comes some of his associates. That includes Dean Cundey, the cinematographer who started on low budget horror, then made John Carpenter's work look great, before moving on to the high-profile films of Zemeckis. And also producer Steve Starkey, who came up from the "Star Wars" films. Zemeckis is sort of the lesser-celebrated member of a triumvirate with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, but perhaps he should in many ways be more celebrated... his range and aesthetic are impressive.

There is no denying Robert Zemeckis is really a master of genre. He takes what could be a niche and makes it mainstream. "Back to the Future" is loved by all, not just science fiction nerds. And "Death Becomes Her" could have been horror, but with Zemeckis at the helm it was more mainstream, and is now classified as "fantasy / comedy" -- not even horror at all, despite the themes!

Although Meryl Streep was great (as always), she has said that it "was like being at the dentist" having to work in such a way to accommodate the special effects. She vowed never to work in such a film again, and for the most part I think she has stayed true to this vow. Which brings up an interesting divide between the actors of Streep's level (constant Oscar nominees) and those who appear in genre films again and again. Maybe Oscar acting is not better, but merely employs a different skill set?

Speaking of Oscars, "Death Becomes Her" won the Academy Award for Visual Effects. That is so well-deserved. Anyone who watches this film should be impressed by what they were able to do. Why is it that today (2016) we spend millions of dollars to make things look like animation, but already in 1992 they had perfected a way of making it look like heads were falling off and holes were being blown through people? We are regressing!

Scream Factory comes through with a Collector's Edition blu-ray. Although the features on the disc are a bit scant for a collector's edition, they were able to put together a series of interviews to make a retrospective. Streep and Goldie Hawn did not participate (not surprisingly), but Zemeckis did, which is really quite a coup. And David Koepp! And legendary cinematographer Dean Cundey, who had come with Zemeckis from "Back to Future"! Fans of the film who want to know a bit more about what went into this picture are strongly encouraged to pick it up.