The modern remake of Clare Booth Luce’s play (1936) and movie (1939) “The Women” was a fabulous ode to the gloriously complicated situation of the modern woman.
Though not laugh-out-loud funny, “The Women” was like one big inside joke that a theater full of un-introduced women could understand and relate to internally.
In “The Women,” we are faced with a not-so-strange conflict. The main character, Mary Haines (Meg Ryan) discovers that her husband is cheating on her with a drop-dead gorgeous perfume spritzer (Eva Mendes). In turn, Haines’ three best friends make up the support team. The plot develops quite uneventfully, mostly focusing on the dialogue between the friends and Haines’ attempt to answer the daunting question faced by any victim of disloyalty “what do I do now?”
Ryan brings a performance that was cute but not necessarily funny. Like in her other films such as “You’ve Got Mail” (1998), “Sleepless In Seattle” (1993) and “French Kiss” (1995) Ryan plays the somewhat na’ve yet playfully confused character whose cuteness men seem to fall in love with and women wish they could embody.
It was hard not to expect that “The Women,” centered around four successful and glamorous New York besties, would replicate this summer’s “Sex And The City” movie. Similarities in characters paralleled as you had the less glamorous, mom-ish Edie Cohen (Debra Messing) channeling Cynthia Nixon’s “Sex And The City” character Miranda Hobbes, and it was easy to find a physical resemblance of Mary Haines to the similarly curly-haired, blonde, ultra-thin, 40-something “Sex And The City” star Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker). And let’s not forget Sylvia Fowler (Annette Benning), the somewhat frigidly friendly, children and serious relationship-fearful twin of Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall). The only character who seemed to stray from the “Sex And The City” line-up was Alex Fisher (Jada Pinkett Smith), the hard-edged lesbian who seemed to always be irritated by her girlish friends.
However, aside from the character similarities, “The Women” sets itself apart. With little to no sex talk and male characters who were only mentioned but never actually seen, “The Women” uses female characters and their relationships with one another to send an empowering and unifying message.
While “Sex And The City” used women’s sexual emancipation and their freedom to discuss it as a means of empowerment, “The Women” uses individuality, life’s conflict and most importantly, other female friends as a means of glorifying the greatness of women and the strength we can find in each other. Sylvia Fowler epitomized this idea in a scene where she and Mary Haines (Ryan) are shopping for lingerie. “I am the man I want to marry,” said Sylvia with a smirk.
With a media that has recently been dominated by the Sarah Palins and Hillary Clintons of the world “The Women’s” ability to highlight the success of women in a lighthearted way is not only relevant but refreshing. In no way do I consider myself a preacher of the “I am woman hear me roar” motto, but “The Women” made me stop and want to give myself a hug; then go home and hug my friends.
