Heads-Up

[onyxlynx]

Next Friday, August 7, Oakland Paramount will be showing The Women and I'm thinking of going to see it, as I haven't seen it in 20-30 years (not that it wasn't shown enough on TV; mostly that I've been without that device for several years now, and I wasn't interested in my teens/early twenties--I did manage once to sit up to 3 am to see Grand Hotel, but didn't experience it as a movie until the '80s.  In a theater), and the remake did not exactly cover itself with glory.

The synopsis (I kept typing 'sysops' there.) contains the following sentence:  "This movie is so catty there should be a scratching post at the theatre's entrance!"

I expect funny clothes, stereotypes, and somewhat contemptuous attitudes toward women (Clare Boothe was satirizing; also something of a conservative; she married Henry Luce, who founded Time, and was an ambassador during a Republican administration).  I plan to be grateful that I live now and not then (for many reasons).

It may be that mere cattiness isn't all that funny anymore.

Comments

[kittenbiscuits]

I've seen this movie twice in the past couple months just because they have shown it quite a bit on TCM. I have mixed feelings about it. It seems like every time I see it there are parts that I like more and more but then with each viewing completely different moments totally piss me off more. Maybe it's the ending that grinds me. Actually, I know that's what it is.

You really should go see it even if it's just for the experience of seeing it in a theatre. Plus the clothing. OMG, the clothing.

What I love about the film is that there isn't a man in sight. Not even in pictures hanging on the walls. Even the animals in the film were female.

[laughingrat]

Oh, I envy you! I find "The Women" entrancing and pretty disturbing (if it's not TMI, the last time I watched it I actually sobbed in disappointment at the ending), but the reason it has the power to move me is because it's so *perceptive*.

Aw, I can't talk about this movie coherently. I mean, I get that the author was actually trying to satirize women's behavior without even remotely criticizing the society that caused the behavior in the first place. But the picture she painted is so clear and sharp that despite her intentions, the movie winds up shining a pretty harsh light on the contemporary culture.

Anyway, it's one that would be so great to see in a theater--it's witty, interesting to look at, and has some awesome acting. I wish the local classics series would run it sometime! :)

[kittenbiscuits]

Maybe we're on the same page about the ending?

I so want to talk about it, but I hate to spoil it for those who haven't seen it.

[onyxlynx]

Normally I don't care about spoilers, but in this case, I don't remember the ending.

We can certainly discuss it August 8.

[kittenbiscuits]

the 8th it is.

:D

[laughingrat]

Yes, totally. Especially if it's been a long time since the OP hasn't seen it, I don't want to ruin the emotional punch (or lack thereof--she might feel differently!) for her.

Ha--I remember watching the movie for the first time right after undergrad. My roommate at the time, who really deserves the credit for introducing me to classic film, rented the movie because she remembered it fondly. I got really pissy about halfway through and she made me leave the room because I wouldn't stop heckling the television screen. :-D

[kittenbiscuits]

I always roll my eyes to the point of total and absolute irritation.

Literally.