On W List of Movie Reviews
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The War of the Roses (1989)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
5/04, 1/06, 7/11, 3/21
1/06:
The War of the Roses features an all-out war between husband and wife that's unlike anything else.
Denny DeVito, who's also the director, serves as the narrator and tells how marriage can be hell for some couples and
they should learn how to walk away when the going gets tough before it's too late. His film is a reminder of the numerous
bitter aristocratic family feuds that raged throughout many centuries, most especially between the houses of
Lancaster and Tudor.
Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner give a fight that's for all-time, and they're fun to watch. The ending is spectacular
and shocking. Also, I love the cinematography with many beautiful scenes. The "woof" expression of Kathleen Turner is
deliciously biting.
All in all, Danny DeVito scores a winner in The War of the Roses.
7/11:
To revisit The War of the Roses is to watch the famous nasty fight between Barbara and Oliver Rose.
Although both of them lose, Danny DeVito is the winner by doing nothing. My favorite lines are from his character: "My fee is
$450 an hour. When a man who makes $450 an hour wants to tell you something for free, you should listen" and "Oliver, there's
no winning in this. There's only degrees of losing."
All in all, I'll never get tired of watching The War of the Roses.
3/21:
Yeah, The War of the Roses...it's a great film.
This is Danny DeVito at his underrated best. What a story he tells. The movie goes quickly with plenty of layers to unpeel,
thanks to DeVito's fantastic narration. He has two impressionable lines: "My fee is $450 an hour. When a man who makes $450 an
hour wants to tell you something for free, you should listen" and "Oliver, there's no winning in this. There's only degrees of
losing."
The main show is the ugly fight between Michael Douglas' and Kathleen Turner's characters. It's the best romantic
antiromance in film history. To take sides is impossible because they've been wrong for each other from the get-go. The
lesson is this: forget about the material possessions and just walk away.
All in all, The War of the Roses is a classic.