Product Details

• Actors: Elizabeth Berkley, Philip Bosco, Stockard Channing, Stephen Collins, Jennifer Dundas
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: August 26, 1997
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304337183
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,423 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #9 in	Video > Comedy > Comedy Stars > Diane Keaton

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton prove that revenge is a dish best served cold. Former college buddies, they reunite at the funeral of a dear friend who took a swan dive onto Fifth Avenue. All three discover they share the same unhappy history of husbands who dove into middle-age by dumping them for trophy wives. Forming a warring triumvirate, they decide to get even, and along the way remind themselves of long-forgotten capabilities. The action gets a little too "wacky" at times, but the gals are great. Portraying an aging actress, Hawn is sometimes a little too flamboyant, but there is much fun to be had in her flashiness, especially when she pokes fun at Tinseltown and her persona. Instead of her usual brashness, Midler stretches herself and shows us a woman who is not just unhappy, but also deeply sorrowful. Not that she isn't quick with a wisecrack, but her expressive face alone tells the story of her marriage. As the repressed and guilt-ridden spouse of a self- involved ad executive, Keaton finds her anger, and her voice, when her psychiatrist (Marcia Gay Harden) oversteps ethical boundaries. Watching Keaton grow from an ineffectual homemaker into a powerful businessperson reminds us that it has been far too long since she has done a comedy. Director Hugh Wilson smartly chose supporting players who each brought something unique to the film. However, he does not maintain the first hour's effervescent humor throughout the film, as the ending is weakened by a softening of the wives' resolve. --Rochelle O'Gorman

From The New Yorker

Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton, three of America's finest comic actresses, get together for the first time, and the best that Hollywood has to offer them is this loud empowerment comedy. The premise-old friends meet at a funeral and find that they have something in common: their husbands are leaving them for younger women-sounds like a fair taking-off point for some wicked comedy. But all that the scenarist, Robert Harling, can think of to follow it up with is a tepid revenge fantasy in which they bond and dole out justice to their cheating men. The director, Hugh Wilson, aims for harmless froth, and what he winds up with, as the hysteria level rises, is something brash and strident. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "If only she'd called me. If only I was listed!", February 16, 2004

By	M. Hart "Sci-Fi Fan" (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The First Wives Club (DVD)

In 1996, Hugh Wilson directed a very funny comedy about three friends that were all dumped by their husbands for younger women in the film "First Wives Club". Based upon the 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith (1949-2004), the three friends (who had met in college) are brought back together after their fourth friend, Cynthia Swann Griffin (Stockard Channing), jumped from her penthouse apartment in Manhattan after her husband left and she felt totally alone. Upon learning about each others similar marital problems, the surviving friends, which include the boisterous Brenda Cushman (Bette Midler), the movie actress Elise Elliot (Goldie Hawn) and the timid Annie Paradis (Diane Keaton), decide to work together to attain vengence upon their ex-husbands. Brenda's ex-husband, Morton 'Morty' Cushman (Dan Hedaya), wants to marry the very young and shallow Shelly Stewart (Sarah Jessica Parker). Elise's ex-husband, Bill Atchison (Victor Garber), is dating the very young aspiring actress Phoebe LaVelle (Elizabeth Berkley). Annie's separated husband, Aaron Paradis (Stephen Collins), is having an affair with Annie's therapist, Dr. Leslie Rosen (Marcia Gay Harden). To assist them, the trio of first wives enlist help from their friends, which include the interior decorator Duarto Feliz (Bronson Pinchot), Annie's daughter Chris Paradis (Jennifer Dundas), the socialite Gunilla Garson Goldberg (Maggie Smith) and Brenda's Uncle Carmine (Philip Bosco).

Though the plot was somewhat weak and the acting and screen writing were not Oscar-worthy, "First Wives Club" is still very entertaining and engaging. The most memorable acting comes from Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker and Victor Garber. The film did receive an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score. Memorable scenes in the film include Cynthia on her balcony, her funeral, the trio at the restaurant, Elise visiting Bill's office, Annie's visits with Dr. Leslie Rosen, Morty's commercial, Shelly with Gunilla, Morty's apartment, the auction, the fight, Annie's purchase, Chris' announcement and the closing scenes. Other memorable characters include Annie's mother Catherine MacDuggan (Eileen Heckart, 1919-2001), Dr. Morris Packman (Rob Reiner) and Brenda's son Jason (Ari Greenberg), as well as cameos by Ivana Trump, Kathie Lee Gifford, Gloria Steinem and former NYC mayor Edward I. Koch. Olivia Goldsmith also made an unaccredited cameo. Overall, I rate "First Wives Club" with 4 out of 5 stars. It's a fun film that both women and men can enjoy, though women may enjoy it more since the men in the film are the bad guys.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie!, August 20, 2005

By	Katie "book worm" (PA , USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The First Wives Club (DVD)

I guess I'm a bit behind the eight ball - I just watched this movie for the first time last week - and it was great!!!

Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton & Bette Midler work wonderfully together in this movie, and they each play their characters to the hilt!!!

The gist of the movie is that these women were all great friends during their teen years but had lost touch through the years. The suicide death of one of their "group" brought them all together once again. While catching up, they realized that they were all going through similar situations in their marriages - they were all being cheated on by their husbands!

Once they figure this out, they decide to put their heads together to come up with inventive ways to get back at their husbands for doing this to them - and I must say they do an excellent job at it!!!

Overall, this is a great comedy to watch with your girlfriends -I'm not sure if the men would be as eager to watch it with you. I give "The First Wives Club" 2 thumbs up!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Revenge?, May 23, 2003

By	Pamela M. Thompson (Jefferson City, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews

I enjoyed the "First Wives Club"! Directed by Hugh Wilson in 1996, it's a movie many women can identify with about four college friends; Cynthia Swann Griffin (Stockard Channing), Elise Eliot Atchison (Goldie Hawn), Brenda Morelli Cushman (Bette Midler), and Annie MacDuggan Paradis (Diane Keaton). After graduation, each busy with her own life, time races by and the four lose track of each other. When Cynthia commits suicide Elise, Brenda, and Annie are reunited at her funeral and begin rekindling their friendship.

Getting reacquainted they learn that each of them has been tossed aside and replaced by younger woman in their men's lives, after many years of marriage. Brenda is separated from her husband but hopes to reconcile, Annie and her husband are in therapy and also separated, and Elise, an actress who worries she is past her prime, is faced with splitting everything and making alimony payments to her soon to be ex-husband. During a pity party, they realize it would be much better to spend their energy in getting even than to staying angry, feeling sorry for themselves, or following Cynthia's lead. To accomplish their goal a strategy tailored to each man is set in motion. I especially enjoyed the scene where Elise delivers the proceeds from the sale of their assets to her husband!
Although the girls start out seeking revenge, their focus begins to shift as the self-confidence they had in their youth is resurrected and they realize that life, like each of them, still has much more to offer. A great ending!