Sunday 27 December 2009

The women and the massive fail...


'The Women' got a lot of loud voices raised while it was being shopped around. Even Nikki @ DeadlineHollywood.com started posting about how it should be released, and eventually it seems to have had some good luck. And I'll admit I was curious. Here was another 'power-chick-flick' being promoted to us with loads of references to the 'Sex and the City' franchise, fun quirky trailers and name dropping.
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But heaven knows what Diane English was smoking when she did this. Because it was far from good. Or quirky. Or all that funny. It was actually (no offence, heaven knows I probably couldn't have done it better) kinda painful... :(
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The plot basically follows Meg Ryan's character as she finds out her big-shot husband of x-years is cheating on her. She finds herself getting advise from her girlfriends (Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing, Anette Bening) and gets more and more conflicted until she snaps, finally chases her dreams, makes up with the friends she threw bitch-fits on, and sorta... well, lets stay spoiler free. But to sum it up, anything you predict about ten minutes in will probably happen, and it'll be cringe-worthy watching it un-fold.
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The script is weak, the dialogue is messy and cliched. While all the actors and actresses in here are amazingly talented and brilliant folks they all seem to be either mis-cast or not have enough concrete time/material to find their role. And it makes even the cheesiest SatC lines look brilliant in comparison.
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Too short, too fluffy, too predictable. And anything with substance is pushed through almost nervously fast, as if staying focused on something specific or deep would wreck the humour...

Although, on the plus side Meg Ryan is always intriguing to watch and, to her credit, she does bite her teeth into the role. And Sylvia's (aka Anette Bening) line of "I am the man I want to marry!" is quite perfect. Still, it's kinda a bummer to see a starry all-women cast in this 'power' flick fall so short.
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On a happier note, there's 'Women in Trouble' by Sebastian Gutierrez to look forward to, about eight different women (from strippers to... well, more stippers) in trouble of all sorts. It looks like either a massive fail or a quite funny hit of an indie, but most importantly it looks intriguing (on a budget tho)... Who knows, maybe it'll at least give some more laughs to the 'power chick' theme.
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Trailer below (ps Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in it too! How can that go all wrong?)


'Women in Trouble' (2009) official trailer below




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