A remake of the 1939 George Cukor film of the same name, this comedy about a society wife named Mary (Ryan) who discovers her husband is cheating on her isn't particularly fun or funny. Director English, who has had 13 years in development hell with the project to bring it up to 21st century code, was the creative force behind Murphy Brown, so it’s especially disheartening that her former, admirable body blows at the culture wars have been downgraded to The Women's confused seesaw between condemnation and celebration of plastic surgery. The change in Ryan's appearance is so significant as to be surreal, and by the time her character has a sit-down with her post-op mother, face swathed in the tell-tale bandages of a new lift and played – egads! – by that onetime warrior for the single working mom, Candice Bergen, my mind was sufficiently blown. This is girl power? I’ll not have what she’s having, thank you very much.
Opened 09/12/08