Rating: 
Summary: "If only she'd called me. If only I was listed!"
Review: In 1996, Hugh Wilson directed a very funny comedy about three friends that were all dumped by their husbands for younger women in the film "First Wives Club". Based upon the 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith (1949-2004), the three friends (who had met in college) are brought back together after their fourth friend, Cynthia Swann Griffin (Stockard Channing), jumped from her penthouse apartment in Manhattan after her husband left and she felt totally alone. Upon learning about each others similar marital problems, the surviving friends, which include the boisterous Brenda Cushman (Bette Midler), the movie actress Elise Elliot (Goldie Hawn) and the timid Annie Paradis (Diane Keaton), decide to work together to attain vengence upon their ex-husbands. Brenda's ex-husband, Morton 'Morty' Cushman (Dan Hedaya), wants to marry the very young and shallow Shelly Stewart (Sarah Jessica Parker). Elise's ex-husband, Bill Atchison (Victor Garber), is dating the very young aspiring actress Phoebe LaVelle (Elizabeth Berkley). Annie's separated husband, Aaron Paradis (Stephen Collins), is having an affair with Annie's therapist, Dr. Leslie Rosen (Marcia Gay Harden). To assist them, the trio of first wives enlist help from their friends, which include the interior decorator Duarto Feliz (Bronson Pinchot), Annie's daughter Chris Paradis (Jennifer Dundas), the socialite Gunilla Garson Goldberg (Maggie Smith) and Brenda's Uncle Carmine (Philip Bosco).Though the plot was somewhat weak and the acting and screen writing were not Oscar-worthy, "First Wives Club" is still very entertaining and engaging. The most memorable acting comes from Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker and Victor Garber. The film did receive an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score. Memorable scenes in the film include Cynthia on her balcony, her funeral, the trio at the restaurant, Elise visiting Bill's office, Annie's visits with Dr. Leslie Rosen, Morty's commercial, Shelly with Gunilla, Morty's apartment, the auction, the fight, Annie's purchase, Chris' announcement and the closing scenes. Other memorable characters include Annie's mother Catherine MacDuggan (Eileen Heckart, 1919-2001), Dr. Morris Packman (Rob Reiner) and Brenda's son Jason (Ari Greenberg), as well as cameos by Ivana Trump, Kathie Lee Gifford, Gloria Steinem and former NYC mayor Edward I. Koch. Olivia Goldsmith also made an unaccredited cameo. Overall, I rate "First Wives Club" with 4 out of 5 stars. It's a fun film that both women and men can enjoy, though women may enjoy it more since the men in the film are the bad guys.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious and Entertaining
Review: Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton star in FIRST WIVES CLUB, a movie about three women who's men have traded them in for younger models, and they set out to get revenge. The movie starts when Brenda (Bette Midler), Elise (Goldie Hawn) and Annie (Diane Keaton), all find out their friend Cynthia has commited suicide. At the funeral they meet up again, as they were college friends, and they start hanging out with each other more often. Annie's marriage is in the dumps, she's seeing a therapist, and later finds out the therapist is seeing her husband! Brenda is separated from her husband Morty but is still raising her son, and Elise is divorcing her husband Bill who in turn wants alimony. These women, furious, decide to take a stand and fight back, and they sure do! There are some really memorable moments like when the ladies go to a lesbian bar, when they break into Morty's condo and escape on the window washer stand, and more. Other stars in the movie include Sarah Jessica Parker, Eileen Heckart, Stephen Collins and more. And yes the book is much different, but this movie is still very entertaining. Overall a great movie, one of my favorites.
Rating: 
Summary: The thrill of sexist violence
Review: This movie dramatizes and glorifies sexist violence against men. It is anti-men hate on film. If your a female who hates men, believes that men are bad, and loves to see men hurt, this movie is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet Revenge?
Review: I enjoyed the "First Wives Club"! Directed by Hugh Wilson in 1996, it's a movie many women can identify with about four college friends; Cynthia Swann Griffin (Stockard Channing), Elise Eliot Atchison (Goldie Hawn), Brenda Morelli Cushman (Bette Midler), and Annie MacDuggan Paradis (Diane Keaton). After graduation, each busy with her own life, time races by and the four lose track of each other. When Cynthia commits suicide Elise, Brenda, and Annie are reunited at her funeral and begin rekindling their friendship. Getting reacquainted they learn that each of them has been tossed aside and replaced by younger woman in their men's lives, after many years of marriage. Brenda is separated from her husband but hopes to reconcile, Annie and her husband are in therapy and also separated, and Elise, an actress who worries she is past her prime, is faced with splitting everything and making alimony payments to her soon to be ex-husband. During a pity party, they realize it would be much better to spend their energy in getting even than to staying angry, feeling sorry for themselves, or following Cynthia's lead. To accomplish their goal a strategy tailored to each man is set in motion. I especially enjoyed the scene where Elise delivers the proceeds from the sale of their assets to her husband!
Although the girls start out seeking revenge, their focus begins to shift as the self-confidence they had in their youth is resurrected and they realize that life, like each of them, still has much more to offer. A great ending!
Rating:
Summary: For women who hate men.....
Review: I hated this movie. I didn't so much hate it at the beginning when they were in the middle of getting together and all, but when they started doing all that bad stuff to their ex-husbands. This movie did NOT make me feel good at all. It depressed me. It enraged me. I never saw the 3 guys ever do anything back. What they did to those guys was just plain mean. I mean, what the hell did the death of their 4th friend have to do with their ex-husbands cheating on them? I mean, it's one thing to teach them a lesson when they're still married, but when they're divorced, that means they are ENTITLED to have the freedom to go for other women. Men get dumped by women all the time for better-looking guys, but you don't see these guys putting their ex-wives through that kind of hell. I don't understand how women can actually like this movie. It's just awful and mean.
Rating:
Summary: Wives get their revenge and earn strength
Review: Director: Hugh Wilson Stars: Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, Stockard Channing, Maggie Smith, Dan Hedaya, Sarah Jessica Parker, Victor Garber, Stephen Collins, Elizabeth Berkley Released in 2001 College friends lose track of each other after graduation until one of them, Cynthia Swann Griffin, played by Stockard Channing, commits suicide after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. Elise, Brenda, and Annie, played by Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton respectively, reunite at the funeral and find that their lives are not as great as they may seem on the surface. The three have a fun filled lunch and discover their middle-aged husbands have dumped them all for younger women. They decide that it is time to quite being mad and unhappy and start getting even. They support each other in this endeavor and find they have strengths they have forgotten about. Elsie, an actress with financial means to back this endeavor is fun and paired with Brenda and Annie make their ex-husband's and soon to be ex-husband's lives miserable. Elsie who is having to split her assets with her soon to be ex-husband as well as pay alimony decides to sell all of their assets to Annie for a dollar. Annie then auctions it off to build enough reserves to buy her soon to be ex-husband's partners out of their share of an advertising firm. The three women find the self-confidence they lost over the years and decide to help other women in similar situations find their strengths and lost self-confidence. Watching these three great actresses get their revenge is entertaining and added bonus is the witty, bitter character Gunilla Garson Goldberg played by Maggie Smith, who has been made wealthy by her several ex-husbands. First Wives Club is a movie that is fun to watch again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Great, Great, Great, movie
Review: I love this movie. Me and my mom saw this in the theater and it was so funny. Me and my mom are huge chick flicks fans. But this is our favorite. We watch this whenever were sad or when we just want to laugh. Goldie Hawn is one of my favorite actresses if not my favorite. So really with the cast that they got, how could this movie go wrong. I didn't give it 5 stars is because it is a chick flick and guys wouldn't like it.
Rating:
Summary: More Truth than Fiction
Review: There could not be enough films/movies/books dealing with this topic in a nation where over 50% of marriages end in divorce. The next time, however, it might be made more clear how the hypocrisy of wedding vows are never quite evaluated as they actually are: men get adultery, women get housework; men get their way, women get the kids. While it was cast as a comedy, no one dares cast it as the reality too often is, for the sadness it would create. He breaks marriage vows; she keeps them. Same story, over and over and over. Why gays prefer marriage is a mystery since there are far too many broken marriages to count. No wonder the attorneys like it. Perhaps it will work better between gays than it works between heterosexuals where his comforts are met, his money is expected to be his, and you don't make enough for it to matter. Of course, gays probably suspect their marriage will be different, but it seems to come with the territory. Men want freedom; women want security. How this can possibly work with two gay males is unknown; but it may work with two gay females, and be more stable than with heterosexuals. Kids will still be caught in the middle, and torn between the two! Redesigning marriage vows might help with the expectations, as well as the grounds for divorce, but all marriages appear to be measured the same in courts anyway, so unique vows or not, the ending is the same.
Rating:
Summary: "Don't get mad...get everything"
Review: I love this movie! Not only was the cast excellent (3 stellar actresses in the prime of their lives...also of note a pre-Sex and the City Sarah Jessica Parker, and a pre-7th Heaven Stephen Collins), but the story was funny and touching and there was a great message. These women are great rolemodels. Now I saw this in the theater when I was 12; so this clearly was a movie my mom dragged me to see, but I'm glad she did. And I'm glad it's on DVD. But, I wish there could have been SOMETHING in the way of extras. The film was a definite hit, and I remember seeing bloopers on ET or something back in "96, not to mention the trailer alone has about 5 or 6 deleted scenes. So why no extras?! Well, there is the trailer (which has the deleted scenes, clearly filmed, just irrationally not on the disc). However, the movie alone is worth the buy and it's great to see actresses over 30 in a great movie playing great characters. I just wish there were more. Maybe it's time for a sequel. How about seeing the First Wives happily remarried and still helping others get even (now that they've "got everything")?
Rating:
Summary: The First Wives Club
Review: This is a rip-roaring, rollicking, hilariously funny movie, which is set out in good taste! The beginning is sad, but sets up the plot of the movie, to which Bette Midler as Brenda, Goldie Hawn as Elyse, and Diane Keaton as Annie bring to an unexpected but rewarding conclusion. The women turn their misfortunes around and go after their exes in a beguiling manner. The three of them paired together have made a movie that is a tribute to all those middle aged women whose husbands have left them for younger women. It brings together all of those in the audience who have been in the same situation. The scenery is upscale Manhattan. The homes/apartments appropriately reflect the lifestyles to which Brenda, Elyse and Annie were accustomed before their divorces. Brenda's ex-husband has a business which Brenda helped setup. Elyse is a famous actress whose ex-husband rode on her coat tails to climb his way up to director. Annie's ex-husband has a successful advertising business, thanks to Annie. The wives are longtime friends, brought back together after the death of another of their classmates. Over lunch -- and a few drinks -- after the funeral, Brenda, Elyse and Annie find that they have something in common -- that their ex-husbands built their businesses, reputations and wealth from their wives' businesses and family connections (and their wives' sacrifices over the years) only to be dumped by their husbands for younger, sexier women. The wives come up with a devious plan and are primed and ready to go after their ex-husbands with everything they've got! With the help of friends -- and Annie's lesbian daughter -- they set a fast paced approach in carrying out their plan. The movie is full of twists and turns, with their antics leaving the audience on the edge of their seats, begging for more and waiting to see what the wives are going to do next! The exes are speechless -- and angry! It is a battle-of-the-sexes and the sparks fly constantly! The wives get mad and they get even! Oh, sweet justice! Oh, what fun!
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