The Women (2008)

The kennel line ending the original begins this version, as Annette Bening's character picks up her little dog from an encounter with another dog on the streets of New York. All relationships between the women have been updated from the original (see my post of 9/21/08). Even the 1939 sweet daughter, known as Little Mary, is now a rebellious pre-teen called Molly. When Candace Bergen, as Meg Ryan's character's mother, expresses the same pre-feminist views as Lucile Watson did as Norma Shearer's character's mother, Ryan says, "This isn't some 1930's movie!" Perhaps you will not go see this, as the critics savaged it. I and 5 other women in the shopping mall theatre had a number of hearty laughs at the 3:15 show today. Sometimes a chick flick with lush sets and costumes (in full color this time) is just what one needs. I had a good time. It's not particularly art. But it doesn't always have to be. One imdb blogger wrote, "Holy product placement, Batman!" Dove and Lexus were big. There is also a bonus (a short scene at the end after the credits). It was related to the Dove product placement, but it had a good message, about real beauty. In the original George Cukor version there were no men on screen. In this (adapted, written, and directed by Murphy Brown's creator Diane English) there is only one non-female. I'll let you guess.

The Women (1939)

It seemed wise to see this before the remake. Contrary to popular belief, I don't know a ton about old movies; I started seeing a lot in the mid 70s, and that's what I know about. The only actresses I knew from this version without looking them up were Rosalind Russell, who was delightful in this tail of cattiness, and Joan Crawford. Imdb has a long list of quotations from this but my favorites were, "He could crack a coconut with those knees...if he could get them together," and Joan Crawford's parting shot, "There is a name for you, ladies, but it isn't used in polite society...outside of a kennel." Whatever they have done to bring it into the 21st century will change it a lot. This one was entertaining. The black & white photography had all those shades of gray--I only wish I could have seen those fabulous dresses in color.