[.ca] The War of the Roses

From Amazon.com:
Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito reunited for a third time to fabulous effect in this dark, disturbing comedy of martial trauma and revenge, which couldn't be more different from their sunnier outings in Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile. Douglas and Turner, in career-best performances, are the materialistic, consumer-driven Roses of the title (Oliver and Barbara) whose seemingly perfect marriage has soured beyond repair; their only point of contact, aside from their two college-bound kids, is their meticulously maintained dream house, which Douglas bought and Turner decorated to perfection. When Turner gets a taste of financial independence, she asks Douglas for divorce--all she wants is the house and everything in it (aside from his clothes and shaving kit). He laughs at her and she punches him in the face. Things only get worse from there, as nasty divorce proceedings (with DeVito as Douglas's lawyer) give way to insults, threats, ruined dinner parties, and pet abuse. And through it all, the Roses begin destroying their beloved home and its contents, just to spite each other. DeVito, who also directed, takes Michael Leeson's blacker-than-black screenplay and gives it a hyperstylized spin, complete with skewed camera angles and wonderfully expressionistic cinematography (by Stephen Burum) as Douglas and Turner barricade themselves in their house, both refusing to give an inch. Shocking for a mainstream studio picture, with its unsympathetic protagonists, escalating bitterness, and disturbing finale, Roses is a poisonously funny valentine to both marriage and '80s materialism, tempered only by its framing device as a cautionary tale. Definitely not a date movie. --Mark Englehart

Good DVD of an under-appreciated film:
While critics (and audiences) were somewhat lukewarm in their response to this film when it was first released, I enjoyed it. Although it's a "black comedy", it never veers too far into total comedy or total darkness. DeVito's narration helps to hold the film together and keeps it from degenerating into a series of mind-numbing retaliations. The film is visually appealing, with interesting camera angles and a solid sense of composition that is often lacking in comedies. The movie has held up well and does not appear as dated as many films from the same time. Douglas plays his role of a rather self-important and arrogant know-it-all quite well, and Turner is equally convincing as she exhibits growing distaste for him. The DVD has a very good video transfer. The sound is surprisingly good for a 2-channel source, with reasonably good directionality in the front speakers. There's a montage of deleted scenes that are arranged in chronological order so that it's easy for the viewer to mentally insert them in their proper place in the film. Unlike some deleted scenes, these have the same video and audio quality as the film itself. Overall, this is a nicely done DVD of an under-appreciated film.

Wickedly Funny:
This has to be the funniest movie I have ever seen! Kathleen Turner's and Micheal Douglas's on-screen chemistry is incredible....for those who loved "Romancing the stone", and the "Jewel of the Nile" trust me when I say you have never seen these two's chemistry until you see the "The War of the Roses", even though "Romancing the Stone" is my favorite Romantic Comedy....This is my favorite Dark Comedy! It's a must for Douglas and Turner fans!

The Nightmare Divorce: A Dark Comedy:
The 1989 film "War Of The Roses" was the product of Danny Devito who conceived the idea. He directed the film and it stars Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas. Their relationship in the film is nothing like their earlier partnership in Romancing The Stone. Here, the Roses are at war, in a modern parody of the historic British War Of The Roses, Tudors and Stuarts whose emblems were white and red roses. They are fabulously rich, they met traveling foreign lands and buying antiques. She's an experienced gymnist and he's a wealthy executive. Eventually, their love life and marriage falls apart and a divorce, long-lived and bitter, ensues. The entire film is about that terrible divorce. It's a bit of a downer for happily married couples but it's still an enjoyable film as far as social satire and dark comedy. It's not really possible for any couple to conduct their divorce in the spiteful, nasty way these two go at it. Michael Douglas ruins his wife's dinner party, runs over her cat, and later Douglas eats his own dog which she had made into dinner. Their fighting becomes an all-out war, enacted inside their million dollar estate. At one point, they are hanging for dear life on a chandelier. Danny DeVito plays the lawyer and he is delivering absolute comedy. Remember, DaVito was a great choice for comic roles. Does anyone remember his partnership with Arnold Schwartznegger in the movie Twins ??

Must see for everyone:
How do you hold on to someone who want stay and how do you get reed of someone who want leave? Oliver and Barbara (Douglas and Turner) meet at the auction. With instant chemistry between the two they are soon married. Typical American family - perfect house, 2 children, work-slave husband and bored wife. As time goes by, Barbara realizes that she no longer likes Oliver and asks for a divorce. Unfortunately for her Oliver is still crazy about her, but agrees to give her the divorce. And as we all though this would be just another civilized split, all hell breaks loose. Barbara wants to keep the house that she found and decorated, but Oliver (who paid for it) will not give it up either. And after an advice from his lawyer (DeVito) he moves back into the house. While Barbara is determined to get Oliver to leave and Oliver is trying to rekindle the romance, there civilized coexistence quickly becomes very interesting. Believe it or not I have not given much of the movie away. Yes, you now know what the basic story is, but to watch it is a completely different. Three of the return after two successful movies and deliver performances that's unmatched by anything else in there carriers. This film is one of the darkest comedies you'll ever watch. And I believe that everyone should watch it at least once. It'll make you think twice about a lot of things in life. Absolutely brilliant. An ending that will stay with you for a long time. And when a person making $400.00/hr wants to tell you a story for free, you should listen to it.

4.5 stars, really. I love black comedies!:
I won't rehash the plot. It's simply a wonderfully observed crumbling of a marriage probably never built on the healthiest of foundations in the first place. One could say that the movie is perhaps an indictment of materialism, where we see Kathleen Turner's character finally turning bitter when she's done all the decorating she can, and Michael Douglas is too busy earning money to care that his wife is feeling empty now. Whose fault is it that the marriage is a shambles? Did Douglas continue to quest for more and more money to make himself feel good about himself and to keep his wife happy...and did she encourage it but continuing to spend, spend, spend? And when the ruins are revealed, it isn't emotional territory, as such, that they fight over, but the material goods that have come to represent emotional attachment for them. All that may be, but what is so great about the movie is its unrelenting viciousness once the barbs start flying. When Turner tells Douglas she had to pull off to the side of the road when she thought he might be dieing from a heart attack because "she was happy" he might pass away...wow, if that ain't a slap in the face?? It's interesting that Turner is really the hard case in this. Douglas keeps saying that he's still in love with her. He keeps softening towards Turner, and she rebuffs him with her jaw set more and more firmly. Yet, is he really in love with her, or just feels he can "get her back" to put back on his trophy case. He probably doesn't know either...combination of the two, I'd say. The movie is keenly observed, and the lead performances are flawless,really. Our sympathies bounce back and forth, back and forth all the time. And because we're watching a glossy Hollywood movie, in the back of our minds, we're expecting it all to turn out OKAY. Sure, they say things and do things no human can be forgiven for, but what the heck...it's a movie. I congratulate all involved for having the courage of their convictions. This is a BLACK comedy in all the best ways. The final action Turner takes with Douglas, as they lay side by side, is PERFECT!! I hadn't seen the movie in years until the other day, but many of her comments and actions were burned in my memory. These two actors had such great chemistry. A reteaming, even after all these years, might be fun. Anyway, my one gripe about the movie is the role of "narrator" that DeVito plays. He's an attorney (and partner of Douglas'), who, in his scenes WITH Douglas, is quite amusing. But he also interjects little comments from time to time as he is retelling the story of the Roses to a prospective client. The tone of these scenes is unconvincing, DeVito does a terrible job of smoking (don't ask), and they add nothing to our appreciation of the "message." Maybe the movie wasn't long enough without these scenes...but I could sure do without them. By the way,the DVD has a montage of deleted scenes, "hosted" by DeVito. It's worth watching, right through to the end, because DeVito (and his wife, Rhea Pearlman) have a very brief but delightful "scene" at the conclusion. This is a great movie, and a lost treasure, in many ways, because so few people gave it a try when it came out. It still holds quite true today, I think, and despite the slightly outdated fashions in the film, remains timeless.