OZY
Revenge Is Best Served by Three Women
May 24, 2014. By Lorena O’Neil
I’m just going to say it: the idea of scorned women coming together to plot the demise of their less-than-worthy significant others makes for damn good entertainment.
I mean, have you ever listened to Goodbye Earl by the Dixie Chicks? I have yet to see The Other Woman, the new movie starring Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton, but despite the negative critical reviews I’m still looking forward to watching it. But first, I need to pay tribute to one of my favorite girl power revenge movies of all time: The First Wives Club.
To watch this movie is to love it, unless you are one of those reasonable people who think we should respond to difficulties by being well-mannered.
The 1996 film stars Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler as three women whose husbands have left them for younger gals. The trio were college friends reunited after their fourth friend committed suicide (apparently in response to her hubby marrying his mistress).
In the wake of their marital strife, they form The First Wives Club to seek revenge on their husbands. Shenanigans ensue, complete with the equally comedic younger women played by Sarah Jessica Parker, Elizabeth Berkley and Marcia Gay Harden. Ultimately, the wives decide to blackmail or, um, persuade, their husbands to fund a nonprofit organization for abused women in honor of their deceased college friend.
The movie, based on a book of the same name, is hilarious and was a hit at the box office, grossing $181 million worldwide. According to Time, it was a favorite among middle-aged women. (I was in seventh grade when it came out so apparently I got an early start at being a vengeful middle-aged woman.)
One of the best scenes from the film is the iconic ending where Keaton, Hawn and Midler don all-white outfits and dance and sing to You Don’t Own Me, triumphantly spilling out of their new crisis center into the streets of Manhattan. To watch this movie is to love it, unless you are one of those reasonable, logical people who think we should respond to difficulties by being polite and well-mannered. If so, have fun with that.
