The only good thing about The Women was Meg Ryan's (Mary Haines) hair. (And the change in her hair at the end, a la Sandy in Grease, for a dose of power.)
Admittedly, I have never seen the 1939 George Cukor movie this one was based on, but the female stereotypes were pretty damn close to the 30s. You have the rich wife, the businesswoman, the vamp and Jada Pinkett-Smith as the most unbelievable lesbian in the history of moviedom (Alex Fisher).
The most interesting (albeit annoying) thing about The Women is the complete absence of men on the screen (until the baby's born at the end) while simultaneously focusing completely on men in dialogue. (Even the portraits and sculptures of men were replaced with those of women when scenes were shot in the Boston Public Library.) But almost all of the dialogue is about men, from bosses to husbands. And, foeremost, of course, Mary Haines' husband, who has decided to have an affair with the "perfume bitch" at Saks.
In the final reading, the movie is less about men vs. women and more about class warfare. Crystal Allen (Eva Mendez) is getting ahead the best way she knows how - landing herself a rich, ignored man. While Haines, even fretting through a divorce, keeps a full-time staff of two to help her run her house on the hill properly.
The problem with the film is by the end you don't care. About any of them. The women or the men.
She Said: A stellar cast wasted on a so-so script
