...and say that I LIKED THIS FILM VERY MUCH!! For God sakes, remakes are not a mystery; the attitude of the producers is usually based on the myth that a modern audience would not warm up to the original (in this case, 69-year-old film), but they'd find time for a modern update. Overly simplified, but there you are. (I don't agree with that logic, but I AM over 40.) Anywho, I learned a long time ago the best way to view a film that is a remake or an update is to judge it on its own merit and put the brakes on comparisons. Just STOP thinking about the other films. Because Meg Ryan is Meg Ryan, not Norma Shearer. Eva Mendes is not Joan Crawford, Annette Bening is not Rosalind Russell, and so on. They are their own special creations, and bring their own brand of fire to the party.
Oddly enough, it was the supporting cast that impressed me more than anything else. I liked the additions of Debra Messing and Jada Pinkett-Smith rounding out our quartet of heroines. They were the most interesting updates. In the original film, the mom with all the kids was a high society matron, but here Messing is 'Edie,' a bohemian artist with crazy hair, crazy clothes, a disheveled studio, and four girls, plus another baby on the way. But she wears the mom mantle beautifully, and is sort of the heartbeat of the film. And the writers seemed to have combined the characters of sassy actress Miriam and 'old maid' author Nancy into the new, feisty 'Alex' for Pinkett-Smith. She's a smokin' book author- and lesbian- who's not afraid to get to the point in short order. And acting legends Cloris Leachman and Candice Bergen round out the impressive cast as housekeeper and mother of the heroine very nicely. There's still the annoying daughter, the cat-fight between the dogs, and the 'jungle red' nail polish, but there's also smoother, more layered characterizations in all of the cast. Some have complained that the character of Sylvia was ruined because they made her 'nice,' but that's incredibly short-sighted. The fact that she's no longer a catty, unhappy harpy determined to make sure those around her are unhappy as well does not diminish her impact one bit. Writer-director Diane English pens a wonderful third-act conflict which focuses directly on Sylvia and her crumbling magazine empire. This way, all the women of our film's title are forced to look inside themselves for security and fulfillment. And after they find themselves, they turn to each other- much like a family. Definitely a nod to the sensibility of the 21st century.
Oddly enough, it was the supporting cast that impressed me more than anything else. I liked the additions of Debra Messing and Jada Pinkett-Smith rounding out our quartet of heroines. They were the most interesting updates. In the original film, the mom with all the kids was a high society matron, but here Messing is 'Edie,' a bohemian artist with crazy hair, crazy clothes, a disheveled studio, and four girls, plus another baby on the way. But she wears the mom mantle beautifully, and is sort of the heartbeat of the film. And the writers seemed to have combined the characters of sassy actress Miriam and 'old maid' author Nancy into the new, feisty 'Alex' for Pinkett-Smith. She's a smokin' book author- and lesbian- who's not afraid to get to the point in short order. And acting legends Cloris Leachman and Candice Bergen round out the impressive cast as housekeeper and mother of the heroine very nicely. There's still the annoying daughter, the cat-fight between the dogs, and the 'jungle red' nail polish, but there's also smoother, more layered characterizations in all of the cast. Some have complained that the character of Sylvia was ruined because they made her 'nice,' but that's incredibly short-sighted. The fact that she's no longer a catty, unhappy harpy determined to make sure those around her are unhappy as well does not diminish her impact one bit. Writer-director Diane English pens a wonderful third-act conflict which focuses directly on Sylvia and her crumbling magazine empire. This way, all the women of our film's title are forced to look inside themselves for security and fulfillment. And after they find themselves, they turn to each other- much like a family. Definitely a nod to the sensibility of the 21st century.