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Review of “The Women”

The Women is a rarity for a mainstream Hollywood film, and one of the most aptly titled: it’s a film made primarily by women, starring only women, aimed squarely at women.

Written and directed by Diane English, and starring a cast of powerhouse Hollywood actresses (Meg Ryan, Annette Benning, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing and Jada Pinkett Smith, with Candice Bergen, Carrie Fisher and Bette Midler in supporting roles), it’s the ultimate “chick flick.”

The film opens on Sylvia (Annette Benning) as she prowls the floor of Saks Fifth Avenue. Sexy, professional, and bursting with Samantha-esque (of Sex in the City) confidence, she learns (via a chatty nail technician) that her best friend’s wealthy husband has been cheating on her.

Said friend (Mary, played by Meg Ryan) is preparing for an elite, ladies-only luncheon at her Connecticut estate, where we meet other best friends Edie (Debra Messing), the artist-earth mother and Alex (Jada Pinkett Smith), a best-selling book author and lesbian. In short order, Mary finds out about the affair herself, and her friends confront Crystal – the other woman – in a hilarious scene at a perfume counter at Saks. Played by Eva Mendes in full tart mode, Crystal is the sexy, sultry, shallow villain of the piece.

Mary gets conflicting advice on how to deal from her closest pals: Sylvia encourages Mary to “Kick her ass!” when they hilariously find themselves in the same lingerie store as Crystal, while her mother (Candice Bergen) encourages a more old-school approach.

Meanwhile, Sylvia (really, our second protagonist) struggles against corruption and stagnancy as an executive editor at a high fashion magazine. Edie and Alex serve as supporting characters, forming a strong female foursome that vaguely recalls Sex In The City.

It’s certainly a slice of (heterosexual, white) female wish fulfillment, with all the fashion, gossip, and genuine female bonding along the lines of the aforementioned blockbuster, though The Women does offer slightly (very slightly) more diversity in terms of the characters.

As the sole lesbian character, Alex is portrayed without stereotypes or excessive attention paid to her sexuality. She’s smart, stylish, attractive and very successful – like any of the women in the film. Despite the fact that she is a queer woman of color, she is never treated any differently, and clearly belongs to the core group of friends.

Refreshingly, no one has any problem with Alex’s orientation (or race, which is never mentioned). The best part – she isn’t a token character, she’s an important part of the tight-knit clan, a close and loyal friend with plenty of screen time and more than a few scene-stealing lines. She brings a date to the initial luncheon – an attractive ex-supermodel. Soon after arriving on the scene, she has a very fun speech detailing the reasons women are better in relationships than men: “When we get lost, we both ask for directions, when we watch TV, we watch one show at a time – and the sex…” she declares slyly.

She’s out and proud, walks with confidence, and checks out other women without skipping a beat with her compadres.

However, not all is well in the world of The Women.

As AfterEllen.com editors Trish Bendix and Sarah Warn noted in a blog post last week, women of color are few and far between in the film. Eva Mendes and Jada Pinkett Smith are the only women of color in the movie, and while Alex is positively represented, Crystal is nothing but an example of the tired “Latina lover” stereotype.

Crystal is the bad guy and the “other woman” through and through, and she’s defined entirely by her relationship to a man. This is the most infuriating aspect of a movie that is otherwise fairly progressive and pro-feminist.

It’s also worth noting that everyone besides Alex and Crystal is wealthy, white, thin, and heterosexual. Body image issues are brought up briefly in a conversation between Sylvia and Mary’s young daughter, who is struggling with her weight (despite being thin).

Sylvia does acknowledge that the pictures of models in her magazine are unrealistic, and this is certainly a worthy topic to bring up in such a mainstream forum, but when the rest of the film is full of rail-thin white people, the message is somewhat lost. Finally, lesbian audiences may have a difficult time reconciling the androcentricity of it all.

While there are no men whatsoever in the film, there’s certainly a lot of talk about men, pleasing men, and forgiving men for their misdeeds. For such intelligent, accomplished and moneyed women, they certainly put up with a great deal.

It does fit in with the usual “chick flick” tropes, but it’s a bit disappointing nonetheless.

Admittedly, none of these issues will bother anyone looking for a mainstream, woman-centric “buddy movie,” or a nice dose of good old girl power, which is certainly what the target audience is looking for. There’s enough estrogen here to drown out all but the most stalwart “chick flick” hater. The cinematography is simple and effective, and the staging is reminiscent of a theatrical play (which makes sense, since the script is based on a old stage play, as well as a 1939 film of the same name). The music leaps off of the speakers and underscores nearly every scene (at the very least, every transition) with the kind of fun, devious marketability viewers have come to expect from mainstream movies.

The acting is excellent across the board, as would be expected with a cast of this caliber.

Annette Benning and Meg Ryan are phenomenal, Benning as the cool, controlled, conflicted Sylvia and Ryan as the talented, messy, well-intentioned Mary. Debra Messing is pure fun as the perpetually pregnant Edie, and Jada Pinkett Smith handles her Sapphic role with so much sass and ease that watching her breeze through the film is a joy. Candice Bergen is classy and fun as always, and both Carrie Fisher and Bette Midler steal their brief scenes, clearly enjoying themselves immensely.

The Women is worth supporting since it’s a film so steeped in, well, women.

It’s truly rare to see a Hollywood flick that was written and directed by a woman, stars women in literally every role, and does, legitimately center on the bonds among women. It’s worth noting that Diane English went to development hell and back to get the movie made, and the film shines far above expectations usually associated with troubled projects.

It’s a funny, sometimes cheesy, and ultimately very sweet film about friendships among females, and worth a look for anyone who appreciates this type of movie.

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