Vogue
1996 Comedy Starring Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler & Diane Keaton Cut An Actor’s Entire Role & It Hurt The Movie’s Ending
By Arielle Port
December 20, 2024
Although The First Wives Club is meant to celebrate female friendship, a cut love story was unfortunately detrimental to the movie’s plot. In one of Diane Keaton’s best roles, Annie MacDuggan, a pushover throughout the film, finds the strength to reject her ex-husband. At the same time, in one of Midler’s best movies, Bette Midler‘s character, the sardonic Brenda Morelli-Cushman, has the grace to forgive her ex. Goldie Hawn’s character, the actress Elise Eliot, is focused on her career until a new younger lover is mentioned in one line at the end.
The younger lover was supposed to be played by Jon Stewart, who filmed several scenes that had to be cut for time (via Vogue). The First Wives Club would have ended much stronger if Elise’s love interest had been kept in the movie. Elise, Brenda, and Annie have so much momentum in every other aspect of their lives, it would have been satisfying to see Elise find a fresh start with a new man.
The First Wives Club Would Have Been Better If It Hadn’t Cut Elise’s Love Interest
Goldie Hawn’s Character Would Have A Poignant Full Circle Moment
The First Wives Club is about Elise, Brenda, and Annie owning the present and looking to the future, but they tend to look back when it comes to romance. Seeing any woman start a brand-new romance free from baggage would have been deeply satisfying. The First Wives Club would have been stronger if Elise’s love interest had been shown on screen instead of being mentioned in one passing line. Elise’s arc is focused on her career instead of romance as she pivots to theater, where her talent matters more than her looks.
Note: The First Wives Club has a TV remake with three seasons, which can be found on BET+.
However, if Jon Stewart’s role had not been cut, this would have made a perfect full-circle moment for Elise since her husband left her for a woman so young she was jailbait. While Annie and Brenda’s love lives circle back to their husbands, it would have been influential and forward-thinking for The First Wives Club to show Elise having an exciting work and love life, especially with a younger man, considering a 2020s movie trend features romance between an older woman and a younger man.
The First Wives Club’s Cut Love Interest Would Have Made Up For Another Character’s Story
This Character Takes Back Her Criminal & Cruel Ex-Husband
If The First Wives Club had Elise’s new lover in the movie, it would have made up for the movie’s most egregious ending: Brenda getting back together with her ex-husband, Morton “Morty” Cushman (Dan Hedaya). Throughout the film, Morty is dispassionate about Brenda’s post-separation financial struggles, even though their son lives with her. He allows his new girlfriend, Shelley Stewart (Sarah Jessica Parker), to make cruel comments about Brenda’s body in front of her without him defending Brenda at all. Moreover, Morty’s electronics business is only a success because he is cooking the books.
Brenda, who has been so spunky and willing to call Morty out on his hypocrisy, somehow has the “happy ending” of getting back together with this criminal. It is a sad regression because Morty does nothing to win her back – no grand romantic gesture, not even an apology – he grows irritated with Shelley and wanders back to Brenda on the dance floor. If The First Wives Club had given more screen time to either Morty winning Brenda back or Elise finding love with Jon Stewart’s character, it would have been an even more empowering ending.
The First Wives Club (1996)
The First Wives Club is a comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, featuring Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton as three middle-aged women who reunite after years apart. Upon discovering they have each been left for younger women, they band together to exact revenge on their ex-husbands. The film explores friendship, empowerment, and resilience themes, set against a backdrop of humorous and engaging scenarios.
