Le club des ex

If you watch "The First Wives Club" because you need a good laugh, perhaps you should try another film. Yes, it clearly has some funny moments but it also is filled with dark ones--and a message you wouldn't expect to find in a simple comedy. You KNOW it's going to be a dark film at the beginning, as a lady whose husband has left her takes her own life. This horrible event brings some of her old friends to the funeral--and there they compare notes and see that they, too, were used and cast aside by their husbands--husbands who have no replaced them with trophy wives. So, the three friends (Bette Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn) concoct a plan--a plan that involves fleecing their unfaithful ex-husbands and creating a club for wives going through the same sort of situations they have.

As I said, there are some dark moments and some funny ones. But the film never falls to the level of slapstick or becomes mostly comedy--but a mix. Some may not like this and the film is a bit heavy-handed at times, but the overall film is well worth seeing and has a decent feminist message. Worth seeing.

The short cameo appearance of Stockard Channing as she takes leave of this life after being dumped by her husband for a younger model galvanizes three of her friends Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton to take some action other than sit on their alimony which can be a sometimes thing.

Belaboring the obvious what they all have in common is that they were all first wives, veterans of marriage who get dumped by their husbands going into midlife crisis. The First Wives Club is open to any women who feel they've been put through the ringer in their divorces, don't just get mad, get more than even.

Goldie Hawn is an aging actress who goes through all kinds of makeup and plastic surgery just to stay young. Graduate to character roles Goldie, better than you did that. Diane Keaton is this sunny optimist whose world was her marriage and she still tries to maintain her sunny outlook on life. Midler is the most bitter of all as her family money and connections help start Dan Hedaya's successful furniture business.

It's Hedaya who suffers the most, but he's also the most likely in the end to realize what a jerk he's been. Of all the supporting roles I liked Philip Bosco best as Midler's Uncle Carmine. It irks him how his niece has been disgraced for as he puts it, he started his business with a lot of merchandise that fell off the back of a truck.

Goldie Hawn's best scene is with her cosmetic surgeon Rob Reiner who tells her she's over the legal limit for botox. Hawn is beginning to sound like Gloria Swanson on being an aging actress, but no way is she ready for any closeup believe it or not Mr. DeMille.

In fact her ex who is a producer has the chutzpah to want Hawn to play mother in his next picture opposite Elizabeth Berkley the teenage bimbo he wants to go back to his teen years with.

Maggie Smith who is a marriage veteran herself who keeps herself nicely from alimony is friend to these women. Watch some of her work with the world's worst interior decorator Bronson Pinchot.

In the end the women get into a worthwhile endeavor and do realize revenge is sweet but there's more to life than getting even.

The First Wives Club is built nicely on the foundation of the good chemistry developed between the three first wives. And they get good ensemble support as well. A nice comedy from the 90s.

Such a fun movie! Hawn, Midler, and Keaton shine as three jaded women who decide to get back at their ex husbands in the most boss way. The first wives club has laughs, drama, and heartfelt moments. The scene on the window washer is comedy gold. The storyline has a good pace and doesn't try to get too complicated.

This older film still holds up well after 20 + years. It has an edge to it that makes you laugh, but not all the jokes hit home every time. It is fun seeing the performers who went on to even greater acclaim later on, such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Victor Garber. And, of course, you can't miss with a powerful threesome like Goldie, Diane, and Bette. Two thumbs up for this one.

This is a silly movie with plenty of entertaining comedy. Any male-bashing in it is clearly intended in good fun, even if it's dead serious for the characters. I found absolutely nothing offensive about this film, recognizing it for the light-hearted fun it is. A lot of men ARE scum. This just isn't the sort of comedy where generalizations and stereotypes are dangerous and offensive. In contrast, I was rather frustrated by Waiting to Exhale, because I felt it was too serious in its male-bashing. The women in First Wives Club seemed clever and delightfully devious, whereas the women in Waiting to Exhale seemed to prefer to sit around discussing how evil men are and plotting bits of petty revenge that showed how superior they are, not to mention setting fire to their husbands' property. First Wives Club takes a more constructive and intelligent approach to the problem and does so with much hilarity. I don't see how anyone can be offended by something as fun as this. I also find a comparison to Birth of a Nation to be very stretched, particularly since the attitudes in First Wives Club are not as dangerous, and, as I have reiterated several times, they are not intended to be serious. Overall, I would rate this film at least a seven.