Quick movie review: First Wives Club

4/10

Ok, lets deal with the important issue first. Why was a guy like me watching a chick flick like this considering he doesn't even like Atonement?

Sunday afternoons tend to feature an inordinate amount of room tidying, a pastime reserved normally for one of the circles of hell and lightened only by the guilty pleasues strand on filmfour.

Sadly, contrary to my recollection this movie isn't much cop. I mean, what is meant to be a fun feminist romp turns into a long winded pseudo-moral moanfest as the three leads take on the mission of ruining their ex husbands.

i've nothing against that since all of the straight men in this film are portrayed as crooks or bastards. To reach a new low, they even blackmail one of the husbands with his inadvertent statutory rape, as if avoiding jail and giving money to charity makes up for rape!

Ah yes. The charity. On watching the film again the whole thing was a lot more obviously an attempted sleight of hand by the writers as if to say 'its ok! They have been selfish the whole movie but now they've started a charity instead'

Needless to say they only do this once they've got what they wanted. Real charitable, ladies.

Oh, and the charity is a guilt trip. They lost a friend who committed suicide afetr her husband left her because she was so lonely (the oher girls didn't feel charitable at the time, it seems.

sigh... And noone should have a waistband as high as diane keaton in this film.

The only reason i can cope with the movie at all is that the supporting cast are good (if broadly drawn - there's even a mobster called Carmine) and you get to see sarah jessica parker's original body. And her nose.

Other than that, i think its themes have dated badly and its leads are average at best (goldie hawn even messes up a part clearly based on herself.

Thumbs down

A