Quartile rating: 5/10 · 1 rating
The story centers on a group of gossipy, high-society women who spend their days at the beauty salon and haunting fashion shows. The sweet, happily-wedded Mary Haines finds her marriage in trouble when shop girl Crystal Allen gets her hooks into Mary's man.
This 2008 remake of the 1939 classic struggles to justify its existence. The all-female cast is a novelty carried over from the original, so it doesn't feel fresh here. The plot, adapted from Clare Boothe Luce's play, feels dated and thin in a modern context — the gossipy high-society women and marital betrayal storyline lacks contemporary resonance. The acting is serviceable with a capable ensemble (Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing), but the material doesn't give them much to work with. The cinematography is flat and TV-movie-esque, failing to exploit the fashion world setting with any visual flair. The ending is predictable and unsatisfying, wrapping things up too neatly. As a remake it largely recycles the original's premise without adding meaningful new perspective.