THE WAR OF THE ROSES (1989)

What happens when you take one of Hollywood's most popular on-screen couples at the time and pin them against each other in a movie about divorce?  Thirty-five years ago, newly minted director (and co-star) Danny DeVito was apparently the first to attempt to answer that question....and he did so with the big-time movie star pairing which he had co-starred recently in two popular romantic action comedies (Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile).  That would be Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner who play Oliver and Barbara Rose....they were once madly in love but apparently one of them no longer feels that way. :o And what results is a dark, nasty, violent, AND quite funny cautionary tale of what happens when two former lovebirds stop getting polite....and start going to war....all within the house they share no less! ;) 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

https://livingforthecinema.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/

Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/

Transcript

WAR OF THE ROSES - 1989

Directed by Danny DeVito

Starring Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito, Marianne Sagebrecht, Sean Astin, Heather Fairfield, GD Spradlin, Peter Donat, and Dan Castellaneta

Genre: Dark Domestic Comedy (Audio clip)

If you're old enough to remember when Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas were looked upon as a lovely on-screen couple during the '80's, then you can also remember how positively bat-shit it was to see them turn that chemistry on its head with this kooky anomaly of a big budget studio comedy - I don't know how this got made in '88-'89 and I honestly can't think of a time when a film like this would have had an easier time being made. Just picture a studio doing this SAME story with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone 30 years later or.... Hepburn and Tracy 30 years earlier, no way!

Gratefully it's also quite funny...and sad....and juvenile at times....but mostly just funny. Director Danny Devito wasn't going for gritty realism here, this isn't exactly Marriage Story. 😉 (Maybe not the best example as much as i enjoyed that film) Douglas and Turner as Oliver and Barbara Rose respectively – the Roses get it? - were playing heightened versions of their screen personas at the time.

And all the while, second time film director Devito is just going full-on DePalma with how this film is shot – we’ve got extreme close-ups, split diopters, POV shots of flying objects, overhead shots.  The DP he was working delivering all of these inventive shots?  Well it’s Oscar-nominated LEGEND Stephen Burum who – wouldn’t you know it – was also Bria DePalma’s cinematographer around this time delivering highly memorable work throughout the ‘80’s on previous episodes Mission Impossible, Carlito’s Way, The Untouchables, and even one NON-DePalma gem….The Shadow.  And all of this visual razzle dazzle is in service of a pretty extreme cautionary tail being spun by Danny Devito's chain-smoking divorce lawyer named Gavin to a prospective new client which serves as a pretty clever framing device….we’ll get to that client in just a bit.

As the film progresses, the Roses get increasingly savage towards each other but in pretty inventive ways that never veer into exploitation-levels of abuse - this film isn't for everyone and I remember seeing it in theaters when it first came out...and not everyone was digging its vibe nor that ending. 😮  It's a pretty divisive ending but I like how Devito just goes for it....

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Veteran virtuoso composer David Newman conducted the score for this movie and it’s pretty impressive how he nails the unique tone of this movie, alternating between sentimental themes and music which is just more brashly comic.  By the way, good luck FINDING it anywhere online….but at the very least, you can find the Main Title theme on YouTube.  It’s a fun mixture of strings for the more sentimental portion switching to brass for the more comic portions….if nothing else, it’s the most entertaining music you’ll ever hear as a soundtrack for divorce. (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

Now about that framing device with DeVito’s Gavin…..funnily enough the client/listener (as he’s credited) is played by Dan Castellaneta who incidentally is given ZERO dialogue in several scenes, not even any audible reactions. Ironically, this would be his LAST role before voicing Homer Simpson for the next 30+ years...definitely one of the more ICONIC vocal performances of the modern era…..DOH!  So I guess he was saving his voice. (Audio clip) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

I’m going to zag a bit here by NOT choosing one of several highly entertaining sequences when we watch…..the Roses…..GO to war so to speak.  Though if I HAD to choose one, it would likely be the sequence where Oliver goes to extreme lengths to sabotage an important dinner party which Barbara has arranged at their house for her clients…Unbeknownst to Oliver of course.  So Oliver not only crashes the party wearing comically exaggerated top hat/monkey suit combination but also RELIEVES himself on Barbara’s main dish – to her embarrassment – with the highlight being the brilliant summation of this situation from Gavin in the very next scene, just a great throwaway line. (Audio clip) 

No the ACTUAL trailer moment would not only the best acted scene in the movie but also featuring the best writing…..a monologue from Turner’s Barbara about half-way through delivered to Susan, who is a prospective live-in maid and cook that they are considering hiring.  Susan is played by Marianne Sagebrecht in a winning supporting performance that mostly involves her REACTING to either or both of the Roses as their antics start to ramp up further.  But this scene occurs BEFORE the craziness starts to kick in…..Barbara is clearly at a crossroads in her life and we hear this play out in a very witty manner. (Audio clip)

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

Along those lines and even though this movie is very much a two-fer, I have to go with Ms. Turner as the one who truly carries this movie over the finish line.  It’s truly a FANTASTIC performance from the actress who was capping of a decade of several uniquely compelling performances in a variety of genres including Peggy Sue Got Married, Prizzi’s Honor, Romancing the Stone, and her ICONIC  breakout role in Body Heat back in 1981.  

She was able to pull of a variety of convincing modes often within the same performance – sarcastic, funny, sexy, sleazy, sharp, and menacing – and her performance her as a complicated woman finally trying to figure out WHO she is felt like a culmination of this.  I mean going back to that crazy ending….what TRULY makes it pop the most is that lingering shot of where each one places their hands during their final moments….followed by Barbara’s VERY last breathing gesture to remove Oliver’s hand from hers.  It’s biting punctuation to a killer conclusion for this story and thanks to being able to pull off even subtler moments like that one, Kathleen Turner is the clearcut MVP. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Just in time to cap off a NASTY election season and bridging our way into a treacherous holiday season where you can be sure SEVERAL members of your family will be fighting to bite their tongues during any number of tense gatherings….wooh can’t wait….what better way to kill some tension than by kicking back and watching this ‘80’s gem??

Streaming on Apple TV Plus

And that ends another CHANDELIER SHATTERING review!