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The First Wives Club

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The First Wives Club
Directed byHugh Wilson
Screenplay byRobert Harling
Paul Rudnick
Produced byScott Rudin
StarringGoldie Hawn
Diane Keaton
Bette Midler
Narrated byDiane Keaton
CinematographyDonald E. Thorin
Edited byJohn Bloom
Music byMarc Shaiman
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
September 20, 1996
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million[1]
Box office$181,490,000[1]

The First Wives Club is a 1996 comedy film, based on the best-selling 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith. Narrated by Diane Keaton, it stars Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Bette Midler as three divorced women who seek revenge on their ex-husbands who left them for younger women. Stephen Collins, Victor Garber and Dan Hedaya co-star as the husbands, and Sarah Jessica Parker, Marcia Gay Harden and Elizabeth Berkley as their lovers, with Maggie Smith, Bronson Pinchot and Stockard Channing also starring. Scott Rudin produced and Hugh Wilson directed; the film was distributed by Paramount Pictures.[2]

The film became a surprise box-office hit following its North American release, eventually grossing $181,490,000 worldwide, mostly from its domestic run, despite receiving mixed reviews[1]. It developed a cult following among middle-aged women,[3] and the actresses' highest-grossing project of the decade helped revitalize their careers in film and television. Composer Marc Shaiman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Music Score,[2] while Hawn was awarded a Blockbuster Entertainment Award and both Midler and Parker received Satellite Award nominations for their portrayals.[2]

Plot

At Middlebury College in 1969, four friends, Elise Elliot (Goldie Hawn), Brenda Morelli (Bette Midler), Annie MacDuggan (Diane Keaton), and Cynthia Swann (Stockard Channing), are graduating. As graduation gifts, valedictorian Cynthia presents the girls with matching Bulgari pearl necklaces. As the graduates take a commemorative picture of the four of them (presumably for the last time), Cynthia makes Annie, Brenda and Elise promise that they will always be there for each other throughout the remainder of their lives.

In the present time, the four friends eventually lose touch with one another, as evident when Cynthia is tearfully gazing at the picture of the four of them on that graduation day. Now wealthy and living in a luxurious penthouse, she gives her maid her own Bulgari pearl necklace (matching the three she gave to her friends on graduation day), and has the maid mail letters to them. She later walks outside of the balcony of her penthouse in a floor length fur coat, a cigarette and a drink, and then commits suicide by jumping off the balcony after learning through the tabloids that her ex-husband Gil (whom Cynthia made wealthy through her connections, according to narrator Annie) married his much younger mistress the day before.

Her former friends aren't doing much better: Brenda is divorced, left for a younger woman, depressed, and struggling financially. Elise, whose husband also left her for a younger woman, is now an aging alcoholic movie actress who has become a plastic-surgery addict to keep her career afloat. Annie, meanwhile, is separated, suffering extreme self-esteem issues, and going through therapy with her husband. Shortly after Cynthia's funeral, at which the three remaining friends are reunited for the first time since college, Annie's husband, Aaron (Stephen Collins), leaves her for her younger therapist (Marcia Gay Harden) and asks her for a divorce after assuming that spending a night together would reconcile them; Brenda has a rather unpleasant encounter at a clothing store with her ex, Morty (Dan Hedaya) and his younger and rather hateful mistress Shelly (Sarah Jessica Parker), and Elise finds out that her soon-to be ex-husband, Bill (Victor Garber), is requesting alimony and half of their marital assets. Also, during a meeting with a director for a possible leading lady movie role, she discovers that she is only to play the lead female's mother; she later learns the lead female is Bill's current girlfriend. Shortly thereafter, the three friends receive the letter that Cynthia mailed to them before her suicide. After all three read their letter from Cynthia and feeling that they have been taken for granted by their husbands, the women decide to create the First Wives Club, aiming to get revenge on their exes. Annie's lesbian daughter Chris (Jennifer Dundas) also gets in on the plan by asking for a job at her father's advertising agency so she can supply her mother with inside information.

Brenda finds out through her uncle Carmine (Philip Bosco) who has Mafia connections that Morty is guilty of income tax fraud, while Annie makes a plan to revive her advertising career and buy out Aaron's partners. However, as their plan moves through, things start to fall apart when they find out that Bill has no checkered past and nothing for them to use against him. Elise, feeling sorry for herself, gets drunk which only results in her and Brenda hurling vicious insults at each other, and the women drift apart. When Annie starts thinking about closing down the First Wives Club, her friends come back, saying that they want to see this to the end and Bill hasn't done anything blatantly wrong, but only as far as he knows. As a result, the wives manage to uncover information revealing that Bill's mistress (Elizabeth Berkley) is actually a minor.

Deciding that revenge would make them no better than their husbands, they instead use these situations to push their men into funding the establishment of a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding abused women, in memory of their college friend Cynthia. The film ends with a celebration at the new Cynthia Swann Griffin Crisis Center for Women. Annie narrates that Elise started a relationship with a cast member in her new, successful play, that Brenda and Morty reconciled their differences and got back together, and that when Aaron tried to get back together with her, Annie told him to "drop dead." While outside the center Bill meets Shelly and the two start to flirt. The film concludes with the three women joyfully singing "You Don't Own Me."

Cast

  • Goldie Hawn as Elise Elliot Atchison, a former one-time Oscar-winning actress, now an alcoholic and heavy smoker relegated to B movies due to her 'unprofitable' age. Her husband, Bill, who left her for another woman, is suing for alimony and insisting that all of their joint assets be sold and the profits divided between them.
  • Diane Keaton as Annie MacDuggan Paradis, the vehicle for the film's sporadic voice-over; an anxious and slightly neurotic housewife, saddled with self-esteem problems, attempting to save her marriage with estranged husband Aaron – much to her lesbian daughter's dismay.
  • Bette Midler as Brenda Morelli Cushman, a wise-cracking Sicilian-Jewish single mother who helped set her husband Morty on his feet financially, before he left her for the much younger Shelly, cheating her out of an equitable settlement.
  • Elizabeth Berkley as Phoebe LaVelle, an up-and-coming actress, living with Bill. She presumably tells him that she is twenty-one, but Elise tricks him and reveals that she is sixteen years old and a high school dropout.
  • Stockard Channing as Cynthia Swann Griffin, a college friend of the three main protagonists, who commits suicide after her husband, Gil, betrays and eventually divorces her.
  • Stephen Collins as Aaron Paradis, Annie's conflicted husband and CEO of an advertising agency, who leaves his wife for their therapist, Leslie Rosen.
  • Victor Garber as Bill Atchison, a successful film producer, who rose to fame through Elise's connections and eventually left her in favor of a young starlet.
  • Marcia Gay Harden as Dr. Leslie Rosen, Aaron's short-time affair, who is the therapist for both Annie and Aaron. Leslie has been "helping" Annie with her self-esteem problems.
  • Eileen Heckart as Catherine MacDuggan, Annie's 'controlling' mother.
  • Dan Hedaya as Brenda's ex-husband Morton 'Morty' Cushman, an electronics tycoon, who hides his wealth and takes advantage of having his former wife having signed an out-of-court settlement - just to finance his fiancée's preferences.
  • Sarah Jessica Parker as Shelly Stewart, Morty's dim-witted but manipulative fiancée. This is Parker's second film with Midler as her co-star, the first being the 1993 Disney film Hocus Pocus.
  • Bronson Pinchot as Duarto Felice, Brenda's boss and (according to Annie) "one of the ten worst interior decorators in New York."
  • Maggie Smith as Gunilla Garson Goldberg, a wealthy New York society leader who helps the First Wives Club along with their schemes because she was once a first wife, as well as a "second, third and fourth wife", according to Annie.
  • Jennifer Dundas as Chris Paradis, Annie's lesbian and feminist daughter, who resents her father for what he is putting her mother through. This is the second film in which Dundas plays Keaton's daughter, having previously done so in Mrs. Soffel.
  • Ari Greenberg as Jason Cushman, Brenda's son, who is caught in an emotional battle between his parents.
  • Philip Bosco as Uncle Carmine Morelli, Brenda's paternal uncle and part of her family's Sicilian mafia connections.
  • Ivana Trump as herself (special guest appearance).
  • Kathie Lee Gifford as herself (special guest appearance).
  • Ed Koch and Gloria Steinem as party guests (special guest appearances).
  • James Naughton as Gil Griffin, Cynthia's ex-husband (special guest appearance).
  • Heather Locklear as Gil's new wife (special guest appearance).

Development

Writing

The film project originally belonged to Sherry Lansing, who bought the unpublished manuscript of the novel in 1991, after many publishers had rejected it, and handed it over to producer Scott Rudin when she became CEO of Paramount Pictures in 1992.[4] "It was one of the single best ideas for a movie I've ever heard," she said in a 1996 interview with The New York Times. "The situation of a woman getting left for a younger version of herself was far too common. But we didn't want a movie about women as victims. We wanted a movie about empowerment."[4] Rudin consulted Robert Harling to write the screenplay, whose script was reworked by Paul Rudnick when Harling left to direct 1996's The Evening Star, the sequel to the 1983 drama Terms of Endearment. Rudnick, however, felt the final script was "incomprehensible":[5] "To figure out the structure of that movie would require an undiscovered Rosetta Stone," he told The New York Times.[6]

Casting

Diane Keaton was the first reported to have landed one of the starring roles, having previously worked with Rudin on the films Mrs. Soffel and Marvin's Room, followed by Bette Midler who had originally auditioned for the "more glamorous role" of Elise.[7] Although Rudin originally intended to cast Jessica Lange in the latter role, the team decided to rewrite the character of the book in favour of a "glitzier" version which eventually went to eleventh-hour addition Goldie Hawn.[2] Actor Mandy Patinkin dropped out shortly before shooting started and was replaced by Stephen Collins when he decided to leave the project in favour of his musical ambitions,[8] while Dan Hedaya won the role of Morty over Hector Elizondo.[9] Elizabeth Berkley only took her part to "work with the best actresses around,"[10] and Timothy Olyphant, who had impressed with local stage work, made his screen debut as director Brett Artounian in the film.[9]

Cameos of note include Ivana Trump (who famously stated in the film, "Don't get mad, get everything."), Gloria Steinem, and Kathie Lee Gifford as themselves, as well as author Olivia Goldsmith, director Hugh Wilson as a commercial director, and Heather Locklear as the younger lover of James Naughton's character Gil.[11] Additionally, Jon Stewart was hired to play the lover of Goldie Hawn's character Elise; however, he never actually made it to the film. "I played her boyfriend and apparently they felt that that was not inherently part of the storyline and so she broke up with me before the movie started," he joked on Larry King Live in 2006.[12]

Production

Principal photography took place over three months at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York City between December 4, 1995,[13] and March 19, 1996; during this period, all three lead actresses celebrated their 50th birthdays.[14] Among the 60 sites showcased on screen are Christie's auction house, the Bowery Bar, a suite at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Café des Artistes, the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel, Frank E. Campbell's funeral home, and Barneys.[14] Other familiar sites include the Chrysler Building, the NoHo neighborhood, both 5th and 7th Avenues, Riverside Drive, and Central Park.[15]

Production designer Peter Larkin took much inspiration from Hollywood's romantic comedies of the 1930s, incorporating a post-Great Depression view on style and luxury, widely popularized through these films. "Those sets looked better than real New York penthouses and nightclubs ever could," he said upon creation. "In this film I wanted settings that had that kind of striking nature."[16]

Release

Reception

The film has received mixed reviews by critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 39% of critics gave the film a positive rating, based on 33 reviews, with an average score of 5.4/10."[17] On Metacritic, which uses a normalized rating system, the film holds a 58/100 rating, indicating "mixed or average reviews" based on 21 critics.[18]

Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle called that the film a "terrific comedy" and "a glamorous revenge romp, a 9 to 5 mixed with Auntie Mame", giving "each star the opportunity to do her best work in a long, long time." He added that "what's surprising isn't that each of them is so delightfully good but that they work together so well."[19] In his review for Variety, Leonard Klady found that director "Hugh Wilson wisely gets out of the way of his performers, providing a simple glossy look enhanced by cameraman Donald Thorin, designer Peter Larkin and the costumes of Theoni V. Aldredge". He noted that "with its combination of comic zingers and star turns, [the] pic shapes up as one of the more commercial fall [1996] entries", that "at its core, is a celebration of its star trio as consummate performers. In that respect, First Wives Club is a highly enjoyable movie romp."[20]

Janet Maslin from New York Times remarked that the film "freely overhauls the amusing beach book by Olivia Goldsmith, eliminating the sex, adding more slapstick and tailoring the leading roles to suit three divas in starring roles." While she felt that "Bette Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn make a spirited, surprisingly harmonious trio," reeling off "one-liners with accomplished flair, even when the film turns silly and begins to, pardon the expression, sag", she found that the film fared "better with sight gags and quick retorts than with plot development".[21] Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times gave The First Wives Club two out of four stars. He declared the film "heavy on incident but light on plot", filled with "heartfelt talks with slapstick and sitcom situations."[22] Owen Gleiberman, writer for Entertainment Weekly, wrote that "paced like a Chris Farley movie and photographed like a denture-cream commercial, The First Wives Club is the sort of overbright plastic-package comedy that tends to live or die by its jokes, its farcical audacity — anything but its 'conviction'." He gave the film a C+ rating.[23]

Box office

The film opened at the number 1 spot at the North American box office making $18.9 million in its opening weekend. It stayed at the top spot for three consecutive weeks.[24]

Sequel and stage adaptation

Sequel

For years there have been rumors of a sequel to the film.[25] Although columnists Stacy Jenel Smith and Marilyn Beck reported in a 2002 article that producer Scott Rudin would refuse to work on a sequel, the actresses have made various statements to the contrary. In a Chicago Sun-Times interview in 2003, Keaton expressed her readiness to appear in a second film.[26] A year later, writer Paul Rudnick reportedly started writing a draft,[25] entitled Avon Ladies of the Amazon,[27] and in 2005, Midler confirmed to USA Today that there was indeed a manuscript but that "the strike kept it from happening."[28] However, as Hawn declared in a 2006 interview with the New York Daily News, Paramount Pictures declined the trio's services due to their demand for an increase in fees: "I got a call from the head of the studio, who said, 'Let's try to make it work. But I think we should all do it for the same amount of money.' Now, if there were three men that came back to do a sequel, they would have paid them three times their salary at least." On February 25, 2011, Goldie Hawn posted a picture on Twitter of the three at a lunch confirming that they had all signed on for a sequel, and the next day re-tweeted a message from Bravo TV confirming this again.[29]

On stage

A musical stage version of the film, The First Wives Club – The Musical, opened at The Old Globe Theater in San Diego, California on July 17, 2009, in previews, through August 23, 2009,[30] prior to a projected Broadway engagement. The book is by Rupert Holmes, with a score by the "one-time only reunited" Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team from 1960s Motown soul music fame. Francesca Zambello directed the San Diego production.[31][32] The creators and Zambello were engaged for the project in 2006.[33] An industry reading of the musical was held in February 2009, with principals Ana Gasteyer, Carolee Carmello and Adriane Lenox.[34]

The principal cast in the San Diego production originally included Karen Ziemba as Annie, Adriane Lenox as Elise, Barbara Walsh as Brenda, John Dossett as Aaron, Kevyn Morrow as Bill, Brad Oscar as Morty, Sara Chase as Trophy Wife, and Sam Harris as Duane. Lisa Stevens choreographed, with scenic design by Peter J. Davison and costumes by Paul Tazewell.[35] On June 16, 2009, Lenox dropped out of the production due to health concerns and was replaced by Sheryl Lee Ralph.[36][37] The production's tryout received mixed to negative reviews,[38] but the production sold approximately 29,000 tickets in its 5 week run.[citation needed] The ticket demand was so strong early on that the show's run was extended an extra week prior to its opening night.

On November 11, 2009, it was announced that Francesca Zambello dropped out as director, and that the producers would secure a new director prior to any Broadway run.[39]

Awards and nominations

Wins
Nominations

American Film Institute recognition:

Soundtracks

The official soundtrack of music featured in the film was released on September 17, 1996, shortly before the film's premiere.

  1. Dionne Warwick - "Wives and Lovers" 2:55
  2. The Rascals - "A Beautiful Morning" 2:33
  3. Puff Johnson - "Over and Over" 4:43
  4. Diana King - "Piece of My Heart" 3:41
  5. Brownstone - "In the Game of Love" 4:45
  6. Billy Porter - "Love Is On The Way" 4:22
  7. Eurythmics & Aretha Franklin - "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" 5:53
  8. Aretha Franklin - "Think" 2:17
  9. Dionne Farris - "Heartbreak Road" 3:51
  10. Chantay Savage - "I Will Survive" 6:13
  11. M People - "Moving on Up" 3:56
  12. Martha Wash - "I'm Still Standing" 4:02
  13. Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton - "You Don't Own Me" 2:31

The film's original score, composed by Marc Shaiman, was also released on November 26, 1996.

  1. "Cynthia" 2:14
  2. "Annie" 0:46
  3. "Elise" 0:47
  4. "Brenda" 0:45
  5. "Bad News" 0:51
  6. "Wham, Bam, Divorce Me Ma'am" 1:23
  7. "Letter to Three Wives" 1:56
  8. "The First Wives Club" 1:48
  9. "Gathering Information" 1:55
  10. "Setting Up Shop" 1:11
  11. "Tea Time With Gunilla" 2:53
  12. "Duarto Makes His Entrance" 0:41
  13. "The Big Break In" 5:17
  14. "Phone Tag" 0:59
  15. "The Auction" 1:58
  16. "Operation Hell Hath No Fury" 4:45
  17. "The Unveiling" 0:56

References

  1. ^ a b c The First Wives Club - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information - The Numbers
  2. ^ a b c d "Awards for The First Wives Club (1996)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  3. ^ Elizabeth Gleick. "Hell Hath No Fury" Time magazine. Retrieved on 1996-10-07.
  4. ^ a b Weinraub, Bernard (September 24, 1996). "Appeal of a Woman's Revenge". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  5. ^ ZA@PLAY - FILM: Men behaving coyly 19/02/98
  6. ^ Bruni, Frank (September 11, 1997). "AT HOME WITH: Paul Rudnick; You Want Gay Role Models? How About a Joke First". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  7. ^ McLeod, Pauline (1996-11-03). "My First For Renvenge; Berre Midler Knows Exactly Hoe To Get". Sunday Mirror. FindArticles. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  8. ^ Michael, Dennis (1995-12-02). "The Hollywood Minute". CNN. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  9. ^ a b Archerd, Army (1995-11-05). "Only dirt in Carradine autobio is on him". Variety. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  10. ^ "Five Questions with...Elizabeth Berkley", Chicago Sun-Times, October 31, 2002
  11. ^ The First Wives Club (1996)
  12. ^ Jon Stewart - Oscars Host Stewart Axed From First Wives Club
  13. ^ 'The First Wives Club' Starts Production In New York City; Film Stars Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn And Diane Keaton - Pr Newswire - Highbeam Research
  14. ^ a b Gerston, Jill (March 24, 1996). "FILM;A Sisterhood On Camera and Off". The New York Times.
  15. ^ The First Wives Club
  16. ^ NewspaperARCHIVE.com - Search old newspaper articles online
  17. ^ "The First Wives Club (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  18. ^ The First Wives Club at Metacritic
  19. ^ Guthmann, Edward (1996-09-20). "Wives' Get Even and Even More". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  20. ^ lady, Leonard (1996-09-15). "The First Wives Club". Variety. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  21. ^ Maslin, Janet (1996-09-20). "The First Wives Club". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  22. ^ Ebert, Roger (1996-09-20). "The First Wives Club". Chicago Sun-Times. RogertEbert.com. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  23. ^ Ebert, Roger (1996-09-27). "The First Wives Club (1996)". Entertainment Weekly. EW.com. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  24. ^ Brennan, Judy (September 30, 1996). "'First Wives' Are Really Enjoying the Last Laugh". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  25. ^ a b First Wives Club To Reform
  26. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20031215/ai_n12519525. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) [dead link]
  27. ^ The Keaton Chronicles : With Success Of `First Wives,' Satisfaction Of `Marvin's Room' And Parenthood, Actress Is Hitting Her 50S Ground Running. - Free Online Library
  28. ^ USATODAY.com
  29. ^ Goldie Hawn Is Tired Of Hollywood's Sexism - Starpulse Entertainment News Blog
  30. ^ Jones, Kenneth. Musical First Wives Club Will Now Convene July 17 Toward July 31 Opening. Playbill.com,June 1, 2009
  31. ^ Hebert, James. "Globe to be first to stage musical First Wives Club", The San Diego Union-Tribune, September 5, 2008
  32. ^ Jones, Kenneth."First Wives Club Musical Will Premiere in San Diego in 2009; Zambello Directs", playbill.com, September 5, 2008
  33. ^ Simonson, Robert."Rupert Holmes to Pen Book for First Wives Club Musical", playbill.com, May 26, 2006
  34. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Lenox, Carmello, Gasteyer, Oscar, Dossett, Harris and More Sing First Wives Club in NYC", playbill.com, January 27, 2009
  35. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Ziemba, Lenox and Walsh to Star in Old Globe's First Wives Club". Playbill.com, May 15, 2009
  36. ^ "Tell Us, Miss Jones: Sheryl Lee Ralph Will Be Part of First Wives Club", playbill.com, June 16, 2009
  37. ^ Jones, Kenneth. First Wives Club – The Musical Convenes July 17 at Old Globe playbill.com,July 17, 2009
  38. ^ Critics have issues with 'First Wives'. Variety, August 3, 2009
  39. ^ Zambello Bows Out as Director of The First Wives Club Musical
  40. ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs Nominees
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