The First Wives Club (1996)

Director:

Hugh Wilson

Writers (WGA):

Olivia Goldsmith (novel)
Robert Harling (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 September 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Getting even... this fall.

Plot:

Reunited by the death of a college friend, three divorced women seek revenge on the husbands who left them for younger women.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Midlife Crisis | Suicide | Reference To Sean Connery | Yuppie

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 13

7:00 PM

BRAVO

Cast

Bette Midler	...	Brenda Cushman
Goldie Hawn	...	Elise Elliot
Diane Keaton	...	Annie Paradis
Maggie Smith	...	Gunilla Garson Goldberg
Dan Hedaya	...	Morton Cushman
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Shelly Stewart
Stockard Channing	...	Cynthia Swann Griffin
Victor Garber	...	Bill Atchison
Stephen Collins	...	Aaron Paradis
Elizabeth Berkley	...	Phoebe LaVelle
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Dr. Leslie Rosen
Bronson Pinchot	...	Duarto Feliz
Jennifer Dundas	...	Chris Paradis
Eileen Heckart	...	Catherine MacDuggan
Philip Bosco	...	Uncle Carmine Morelli

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements, some mild language and sensuality.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG (certificate #34443) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-8 | Germany:12 (w) | Ireland:12 | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In an interview, Bette Midler mentioned that all three main cast members wanted to make a sequel, but the studio was not agreeable, as they viewed the success of this film as a "fluke". Midler also said that just before the movie opened, she was told it would not do very well because the film was competing against action movies with male stars such as Bruce Willis. This film opened at number one and out-grossed those action movies.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the funeral, when the waiter brings the ladies drinks, he sets down a vodka during "just fine, couldn't be better" (Brenda's drink is already on the table). In the next shot, he finishes placing Brenda's drink, then the vodka, then reaches for Annie's. The next shot shows that Annie magically has a drink and the waiter is gone. Also, both the Virgin Mary and the Bloody Mary have celery stalks though Brenda's disappears during the "seperated?" line.

Quotes:

Bill: Nice car, used to have one myself.
Shelly: Thanks. So, what's going on in there? Is it just a lot of battered women dancing around or what?
Bill: Yeah, sort of. Not really my scene.
Shelly: Me neither.
Bill: So, are you here with anybody?
Shelly: Not really.
Bill: How old are you?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Benchwarmers (2006)

Soundtrack:

Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves

Instructive - maybe not; hilarious - definitely!

Like Nine to Five, First Wives Club purports to be making a statement - albeit in comedy mode - about a serious feminist issue, but like that movie is simply an opportunity to portray women getting back at men who have taken advantage of them - and why not?! While the film may have little practical application to the majority of women who are "traded in" for newer models, but whose men are not as well heeled as the husbands in this film, it does provide them with 100 minutes of escapist entertainment from three great American actresses - OK Bette Midler may not be the best actress in the world but she's certainly hugely entertaining.

Midler plays one of three 60s college friends, who meet 25 years later and find that they've each been deserted - her businessman ex-hubby keeps her short of cash while buying skimpy designer dresses for his skimpy girlfriend (Sarah Jessica Parker). The other two in the triumvirate are Diane Keaton as a diffident door-mat, and Goldie Hawn as an alcoholic and facelifted filmstar. But this is one movie where there is no doubt about the characters undergoing an "arc" during its course, and hardly anyone emerges unaltered. Along the way, there are lots of laughs, a few tears, and an unforgettable rendition of You Don't Own Me. Elsewhere on IMDb, some ungenerous souls have used the word hysterical to describe this movie; hysterically funny is nearer the mark.