She-Devil
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Movie Reviews of She-Devil
Movie Review: Heavenly Performances ... Hellish Script
Summary: 3 Stars
Despite hilarious performances from Meryl Streep, Roseanne Barr, and Ed Begley, Jr., this film adaptation of Fay Weldon's "The Life and Loves of a She-Devil" is sure to disappoint viewers who were lucky enough to catch the earlier British mini-series based on the same novel. The problem here is with the script, which doesn't really develop Roseanne's character as fully as it might. In the television adaptation, Ruth Patchett was an even more pathetic and disempowered character whose plot of vengeance against her cheating husband and his mistress was carried out with a certain sense of reluctance and a twinge of regret. This extra shading made Ruth more sympathetic and the comedy much, much darker. Here the tone is lighter, sometimes veering off course into slapstick, such as the speeded-up sequence in which Roseanne and Linda Hunt remodel the building that will become their place of business.Still, as noted earlier, the cast is uniformly excellent. Meryl Streep has a field day playing a manipulative homewrecking she-wolf dressed in (pink) lamb's clothing, and Roseanne is a hoot as the hopelessly frumpy housewife who finally decides she's mad as hell and isn't going to take it anymore. Ed Begley, Jr., completes this unholy trio as the unlikely object of both women's desire. Indeed, a lot of the fun comes from the incongruity of casting these three actors in the same movie.
The DVD offers a crisp widescreen video transfer and generally excellent sound, and includes the Original Theatrical Trailer. Definitely worth a look for the performances, but do keep your eye out for the mini-series, which hopefully will be released on DVD sometime in the future.
Movie Review: Worth a look
Summary: 3 Stars
This is certainly not the turkey some critics labelled it as when it was first released in the late 80's. It's actually pretty funny and immensely entertaining, but for me, the highlight is Meryl Streep, obviously having a ball here in her first ever comedy, giving an incredibly full out, hilarious caricatured performance. When she's on screen, you just don't watch anyone else.Movie Review: Get your Meryl fix elsewhere...
Summary: 2 Stars
Meryl Streep always delivers, even when her films don't. Such is the case with `She-Devil', a below average cliché ridden comedy about a scorned woman out to make her cheating husband pay. Sure, `She-Devil' has its fair share of funny scenes, and Streep is utterly delightful, but the overall `been-there-done-that' feel that the film leaves me with is very disappointing.
`She-Devil' tells the story of Ruth Patchett, an overweight mother of two married to an accountant named Bob who has a stray eye so-to-speak, an eye that stumbles upon the beautiful and famous Mary Fisher; an authoress who writes sleazy romance novels she claims are based off of her own bouts of passion. When Bob begins his affair with Mary he starts to find every reason he can to leave Ruth, and when he finally does Ruth takes it into her own hands to exact her revenge.
The performances are the only real highlight in a script marred with unoriginality. Roseanne Barr is quite funny as Ruth, but her character is more antics than heart. Ed Begley Jr. is decently heartless as Bob and Sylvia Miles is pretty funny as Mary's mother.
But, like almost everything else, this is the Meryl show. When the credits begin to roll the only name on your tongue will be Meryl Streep. She is hilarious here (I swear I prefer her when she's funny) and completely steals the show from anyone else on the screen. Sadly, she has done this character before, and much better. Just look at 92's `Death Becomes Her' where she plays practically the same woman (wealthy, famous, beautiful husband stealer) yet with much grander results (the film is leagues better as well).
In the end I can't recommend this film at all. It has some funny moments but there are so many other films that broach this subject in a much fresher and more satisfying way. If you are a die hard fan of the Streep (who isn't) then you might want to see this for that very fact, but she has such an eclectic and interesting resume that you are bound to find pleasure in just about any of her other films, so why waste your time here?
Movie Review: AVOID!
Summary: 1 Stars
Well if you have seen the great classic dark mini series, AVOID this comedy that isn't even a good one.