It’s been 13 years since they first threatened to remake The Women, George Cukor’s classic 1939 ensemble bitchfest, and finally, after eight million cast changes, cameras will roll August 6.
And listen to this sad, washed-up ensemble: Smegma Ryan (do you think she’ll play the spurned divorcee?), Annette Bening, Deb Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, Eva Mendes, Candice Bergen. Not exactly the 2007 equivalent of Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Norma Shearer, Paulette Goddard and Joan Fontaine. Worse, the film is to be written and directed by Murphy Brown (remember that?) mastermind Diane English. And it’s going to be set in the present day. And it’s partially funded by Dove (so expect tons of soap-related product placement).
These are all unforgivable sins, but the news actually gets worse: According to Variety, “the gals aren’t as relentlessly catty this time around.”
Jigga-whut? The whole reason the original is remembered at all - and the Clare Booth Luce play on which it was based is still produced - is the relentless cattiness. If English waters this down into a story of female empowerment via friendship I’ll vomit up tubes of jungle red lipstick.
‘Women’ finally ready for makeover [Variety]
It was revived several years ago on Broadway with Cynthia Nixon as the spurned wife - credible job. But what sets the original movie apart and makes it a classic(and a classic should never be remade, that is why it’s a classic) is the great quips from Roz, Paulette and especially Mary Boland: “L’amour, l’amour.” Who could ever top that cast?
Next, they’ll remake “Mommy Dearest” as a wacky vehicle about the comic misunderstandings between a mother and her daughter. And they’ll cast Diane Keaton.
I wholeheartedly agree! I don’t want one iota of the glorious scheming, gossiping and backstabbing watered down. By the way, ‘jungle red’ was the color of Norma Shearer’s nail polish (’claws’), I don’t recall any mention of it as a lipstick.