The First Wives Club

All you want to know about The First Wives Club

The First Wives Club
Directed by Hugh Wilson
Produced by Scott Rudin
Written by Olivia Goldsmith
(novel)
Robert Harling
Paul Rudnick
(screenplay)
Narrated by Diane Keaton
Starring Goldie Hawn
Diane Keaton
Bette Midler
Elizabeth Berkley
Stockard Channing
Stephen Collins
Victor Garber
Marcia Gay Harden
Eileen Heckart
Dan Hedaya
Sarah Jessica Parker
Bronson Pinchot
Maggie Smith
Music by Marc Shaiman
Cinematography Donald E. Thorin
Editing by John Bloom
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) September 20, 1996
Running time 103 min.
Language English
Budget $30,000,000[1]
Gross revenue $181,490,000[1]

The First Wives Club is an Academy Award-nominated 1996 comedy film, based on the same-titled 1992 novel by Olivia Goldsmith. Narrated by Diane Keaton, it stars Goldie Hawn, Keaton and Bette Midler as three divorced women who seek revenge on their husbands who left them for younger women. Stephen Collins, Victor Garber and Dan Hedaya co-star as the husbands, and Sarah Jessica Parker, Marcia Gay Harden and Elizabeth Berkley as the younger women, with Maggie Smith and Stockard Channing playing key supporting roles. Scott Rudin produced and Hugh Wilson directed; the film was distributed by Paramount Pictures.

While critical reaction to the film as a whole was more measured,[2] it received generally favorable notice and became a surprise box-office hit following its North American release, eventually grossing $181,490,000 worldwide, mostly from its domestic run.[1] Even developing a cult following among middle-aged women,[3] the actresses' highest-grossing project of the decade helped revitalize their careers in film and television. The picture received an Academy Award nomination for "Best Score" for composer Marc Shaiman[4] as well as a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Hawn and two Satellite Award nominations for Midler and Parker.

Contents

Plot

Elise Elliot (Goldie Hawn), Brenda Cushman (Bette Midler), Annie Paradis (Diane Keaton), and Cynthia Griffin (Stockard Channing) were best friends at Middlebury College during the 1960s, but marriage and children force them to drift apart. Decades later, Cynthia commits suicide because her husband has divorced her, having left her for a younger woman. The three remaining women reunite at her funeral. Subsequently, we learn that two of them (Elise and Brenda) are divorced, and Annie is separated; all of their husbands, like Cynthia's ex-husband, are taking up with younger women.

All three had helped their husbands' careers, and all three feel they are being shafted. They plan to get revenge by ruining their husbands' careers. Brenda plans to expose her ex-husband Morty's (Dan Hedaya) income tax fraud, Elise plans to reveal that Bill's (Victor Garber) mistress is a minor and ruin his reputation, and Annie buys out Aaron's (Stephen Collins) partner, taking half of his advertising business. Deciding that revenge would make them no better than their husbands, they instead use these situations to push their men into funding the establishment of a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding abused women, in memory of Cynthia.

It is important to note that the plot of the movie diverges significantly from that of the novel. In the novel, the wives also seek revenge on Cynthia's ex-husband Gil (James Naughton), each wife has a romantic subplot, and the children have more significant roles.

The tagline of the movie is "Don't get mad, get everything."

Development

Writing

The film project originally belonged to Sherry Lansing, who bought the unpublished manuscript of the novel in 1991, after many publishers had rejected it, and handed it over to producer Scott Rudin when she became CEO of Paramount Pictures in 1992.[5] "It was one of the single best ideas for a movie I've ever heard," she said in a 1996 interview with The New York Times. "The situation of a woman getting left for a younger version of herself was far too common. But we didn't want a movie about women as victims. We wanted a movie about empowerment."[5] Rudin consulted Robert Harling to write the screenplay, whose script was reworked by Paul Rudnick when Harling left to direct 1996's The Evening Star, the sequel to the 1983 drama Terms of Endearment. Rudnick, however, felt the final script was "incomprehensible":[6] "To figure out the structure of that movie would require an undiscovered Rosetta Stone," he told The New York Times.[7]

Casting

Diane Keaton was the first reported to have landed one of the starring roles, having previously worked with Rudin on the set of Marvin's Room (1996), followed by Bette Midler who had originally auditioned for the "more glamorous role" of Elise.[8] Although Rudin originally intended to cast Jessica Lange in the latter role, the team decided to rewrite the character of the book in favour of a "glitzier" version which eventually went to eleventh-hour addition Goldie Hawn.[9] Actor Mandy Patinkin dropped out shortly before shooting start and was replaced by Stephen Collins when he decided to leave the project in favour of his musical ambitions,[10] while Dan Hedaya won the role of Morty over Hector Elizondo.[11] Elizabeth Berkley only took her part to "work with the best actresses around,"[12] and Timothy Olyphant, who had impressed with local stage work, made his screen debut as director Brett Artounian in the film.[9]

Cameos of note include Ivana Trump, Gloria Steinem and Kathie Lee Gifford as themselves as well as uncredited appearances by Richard Council, author Olivia Goldsmith, Hugh Wilson as a commercial director, and Heather Locklear as the younger lover of James Naughton's character Gil.[9] Additionally, Jon Stewart was hired to play the lover of Goldie Hawn's character Elise; however, he never actually made it to the film. "I played her boyfriend and apparently they felt that that was not inherently part of the storyline and so she broke up with me before the movie started," he joked on Larry King Live in 2006.[13]

Production

Principal photography took place over three months at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York City between December 4, 1995[14] and March 19, 1996.[15] Among the 60 sites showcased on screen are Christie's auction house, the Bowery Bar, a suite at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, the Cafe des Artistes, the King Cole bar at the St. Regis Hotel, Frank E. Campbell's funeral home, and Barney's,[15] as well as the Chrysler Building, the NoHo neighborhood, both the 5th and the 7th Avenue, the Riverside Drive, and the Central Park.[16]

Production designer Peter Larkin took much inspiration from Hollywood's romantic comedies of the 1930s, incorporating a post-Great Depression view on style and luxury, widely popularized through these films. "Those sets looked better than real New York penthouses and nightclubs ever could," he said upon creation. "In this film I wanted settings that had that kind of striking nature."[17]

Cast

Major ensemble

  • Diane Keaton as Annie MacDuggan Paradis, the vehicle for the film's sporadic voice-over; an anxious and neurotic housewife, saddled with self-esteem problems, attempting to save her marriage with estranged husband Aaron - much to her daughter's dismay.
  • Bette Midler as Brenda Morelli Cushman, as a wise-cracking Sicilian/Jewish single mother who helped set her husband Morty on his feet financially, before he left her for the much younger Shelly, cheating her out of an equitable settlement.
  • Goldie Hawn as Elise Elliot Atchison, a former one time Oscar-winning actress, now an alcoholic and heavy smoker relegated to B movies due to her 'unprofitable' age. Her husband, Bill, who left her for another woman, is suing for alimony and insisting that all of their joint assets be sold and the profits divided between them.
  • Stephen Collins as Aaron Paradis, Annie's conflicted husband and CEO of an advertising agency, who leaves his wife for their therapist, Leslie Rosen.
  • Dan Hedaya as Brenda's ex-husband Morton 'Morty' Cushman, an electronics tycoon, who hides his wealth and takes advantage of having his former wife having signed an out-of-court settlement - just to finance his fiancée's preferences.
  • Victor Garber as Bill Atchison, a successful film producer, who rose to fame through Elise's connections and eventually left her in favour of a young starlet.
  • Marcia Gay Harden as Dr. Leslie Rosen, Aaron's short-time affair, who is the therapist for both Annie and Aaron. Leslie has been "helping" Annie with her self-esteem problems.
  • Sarah Jessica Parker as Shelly Stewart, Morty's dim-witted but manipulative fiancée.
  • Elizabeth Berkley as Phoebe LaVelle, an up-and-coming actress, living with Bill. Elise discovers that she is sixteen years old.
  • Stockard Channing as Cynthia Swann Griffin, a college friend of the three main protagonists, who commits suicide after her husband, Gil, betrays and eventually divorces her.
  • Maggie Smith as Gunilla Garson Goldberg, a wealthy New York society leader, also a first wife.
  • Bronson Pinchot as Duarto Felice, Brenda's boss and (according to Annie) "one of the ten worst interior decorators in New York."
  • Jennifer Dundas as Chris Paradis, Annie's lesbian and feminist daughter.
  • Eileen Heckart as Catherine MacDuggan, Annie's 'controlling' mother.
  • Ari Greenberg as Jason Cushman, Brenda's son.
  • Philip Bosco as Uncle Carmine Morelli, Brenda's maternal uncle and part of her family's Italian mafia connections.

Sequel and stage adaptation

Sequel

For years there have been rumors of a sequel of the film.[18] Although columnists Stacy Jenel Smith and Marilyn Beck reported in a 2002 article that producer Scott Rudin would refuse to work on a sequel, the actresses have made various statements to the contrary. In a Chicago Sun-Times interview on December 15, 2003, Keaton expressed her efforts on the realization of a second film: "I tried to get this movie off the ground. I tried like hell. You should talk to [Paramount honcho] Sherry Lansing. I mean, I'm ready. I'm ready to do it."[19] A year later, writer Paul Rudnick reportedly started writing a draft,[18] entitled Avon Ladies of the Amazon,[20] and in 2005, Midler confirmed in a live chat with USAToday that there was indeed a manuscript: "FWC2 may go. There's a very good script, but the strike kept it from happening."[21] However, as Hawn declared in a 2006 interview with New York Daily News, Paramount Pictures declined the trio's services due to their demand of an increase in fees: "Diane called me and said, 'We've got to do this.' I got a call from the head of the studio, who said, 'Let's try to make it work. But I think we should all do it for the same amount of money.' Now, if there were three men that came back to do a sequel, they would have paid them three times their salary at least."[22]

On Stage

It has been announced that a musical stage version of the film, "The First Wives Club – A New Musical" is scheduled to play at The Old Globe in San Diego from July 15, 2009 through August 23, 2009[23] prior to a Broadway engagement. The book is by Rupert Holmes with a score by Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland and Eddie Holland, and direction by Francesca Zambello.[24][25] The creators and Zambello were engaged for the project in 2006.[26]

Awards and nominations

Wins

Nominations

References

  1. ^ a b c The First Wives Club - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information - The Numbers
  2. ^ ROTTEN TOMATOES: Movies – Top Movies, Trailers, Tickets & Showtimes
  3. ^ Elizabeth Gleick. "Hell Hath No Fury" TIME magazine. 7 October 1996
  4. ^ The First Wives Club (1996) - Awards
  5. ^ a b Appeal of a Woman's Revenge - New York Times
  6. ^ ZA@PLAY - FILM: Men behaving coyly 19/02/98
  7. ^ AT HOME WITH: Paul Rudnick; You Want Gay Role Models? How About a Joke First - New York Times
  8. ^ BETTE: MY FIRST FOR REVENGE; BETTE MIDLER KNOWS EXACTLY HOW TO GET | Sunday Mirror | Find Articles at BNET.com
  9. ^ a b c The First Wives Club (1996)
  10. ^ CNN - The Hollywood Minute - Dec. 2, 1995
  11. ^ Only dirt in Carradine autobio is on him - Entertainment News, Army Archerd, Media - Variety
  12. ^ Find Articles 404 File not found
  13. ^ Jon Stewart - Oscars Host Stewart Axed From First Wives Club
  14. ^ 'The First Wives Club' Starts Production In New York City; Film Stars Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn And Diane Keaton - Pr Newswire - Highbeam Research
  15. ^ a b FILM;A Sisterhood On Camera and Off - New York Times
  16. ^ The First Wives Club
  17. ^ NewspaperARCHIVE.com - Search old newspaper articles online
  18. ^ a b First Wives Club To Reform
  19. ^ [1]
  20. ^ THE KEATON CHRONICLES : WITH SUCCESS OF `FIRST WIVES,' SATISFACTION OF `MARVIN'S ROOM' AND PARENTHOOD, ACTRESS IS HITTING HER 50S GROUND RUNNING. - Free Online Library
  21. ^ USATODAY.com
  22. ^ Goldie Hawn Is Tired Of Hollywood's Sexism - Starpulse Entertainment News Blog
  23. ^ "The First Wives Club" site
  24. ^ Hebert, James. "Globe to be first to stage musical 'First Wives Club'", The San Diego Union-Tribune, September 5, 2008
  25. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "First Wives Club Musical Will Premiere in San Diego in 2009; Zambello Directs", playbill.com, September 5, 2008
  26. ^ Simonson, Robert."Rupert Holmes to Pen Book for First Wives Club Musical", playbill.com, May 26, 2006

External links

v • d • e
Films directed by Hugh Wilson

Police Academy (1984) • Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985) • Burglar (1987) • Guarding Tess (1994) • The First Wives Club (1996) • Blast from the Past (1999) • Dudley Do-Right (1999) • Mickey (2004)
v • d • e
Bette Midler
Studio albums
Soundtracks
Live albums
Compilation albums
Tours
Films
Hawaii (1966) · The Rose (1979) · Jinxed! (1982) · Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) · Ruthless People (1986) · Outrageous Fortune (1987) · Big Business (1988) · Oliver and Company (1988) · Beaches (1988) · Stella (1990) · Scenes from a Mall (1991) · For the Boys (1991) · Hocus Pocus (1993) · Get Shorty · The First Wives Club (1996) · That Old Feeling · Drowning Mona (2000) · Isn't She Great (2000) · What Women Want · The Stepford Wives (2004) · Then She Found Me · The Women
Other films and television work
Divine Madness! · Art or Bust · Gypsy · Diva Las Vegas · Bette
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_Wives_Club"

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