Date: Fri 18-Oct-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: CAROLK

Illustration: C

Quick Words:

Playing-First-Wives-Midler

Full Text:

(rev "First Wives Club" for Now Playing, 10/18/96)

Now Playing-

`Wives Club' Is Predictable, Engaging

By Trey Paul Alexander III

I confess. I had to know what all the fuss is about. From out of nowhere

Paramount Pictures' The First Wives Club - still in Danbury at the Crown Cine

theater - roared onto the scene and captured not only the top spot at the box

office, but the record for the biggest September opening ever (eclipsing last

year's Seven ). Since it opened on September 20, the film, starring Bette

Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton, has amassed over $40 million, an

unprecedented amount for this typically sluggish time of year. So what gives?

To be honest, I wasn't exactly determined to find out. I wouldn't be the first

guy to admit this movie wasn't exactly screaming out to him as a "must see."

Word-of-mouth and studio hype can only affect a person to a point. But unlike

the similarly themed, male-bashing movie Waiting to Exhale , which was rated R

and promised unlimited doses of vitriol to be heaped upon any male within

earshot, this PG-rated flick appeared to be a bit lighter... if one can call a

film about three jilted women in their mid-40s who take action against the

spouses who left them a mild romp "light."

The first hurdle I had to overcome was simply asking for a ticket to this

movie. That alone was more intimidating than you might think. The place was

buzzing with anticipation and one couldn't help but notice the overwhelming

number of women flowing into the theater. It got to the point where I felt

like an intruder crashing a sleepover and eavesdropping on private

conversations. But enough about my experience viewing the film, what about the

film itself?

A rather amusing, witty time is what Midler, Hawn and Keaton make of The First

Wives Club , a comedy that works well because its leads are so confident and

assured as to let themselves take a few passing potshots and occasionally be

the objects of ridicule. However, it is they who ultimately dish out the most

staggering slams.

The trio play former college gal pals who are reunited years later after the

tragic, suicidal death of one of their comrades (Stockard Channing, in a

cameo) who suffered an emotional blow when her husband left her for a younger

woman. As the three get reacquainted they discover their marital lives eerily

parallel one another's and that of their fallen friend.

Hawn plays a vain Hollywood actress whose career light playing sultry femme

fatales is dimming and the insult to her injury is the departure of her

director-producer-husband (Victor Garber) to a nubile starlet wannabe; Keaton

is a forgiving, hopeful Manhattanite in therapy trying to save her broken

marriage; and Midler portrays a Jewish housewife who witnesses her spouse (Dan

Hedaya), owner of a successful chain of appliance stores, hook up with a

money-grubbing young secretary (Sarah Jessica Parker).

Instead of wallowing in self-pity and bemoaning their predicaments, the women

decide to stand up against the men who have wronged them and shunned marital

commitment for the temptation of infidelity. Their reprisal involves a

complicated plot - though not as complex as that of Mission: Impossible , a

movie Midler refers to with glee - that encompasses buy-outs, takeovers,

liquidation of assets and a riotously funny espionage sequence in which the

indefatigable trio must try to escape Hedaya's apartment without detection.

Although the ebullient The First Wives Club , rated PG for profanity, is a bit

predictable and lightweight, it is also surprisingly engaging. It is not so

much a male-bashing flick as it is a cautionary tale about the consequences of

disrespecting one's mate and neglecting the commitment that must be inherent

in marriage.