Do you remember "The War of the Roses?" (action, comedy)

[robertpolyglot]

I just watched this as the 3rd movie on a long flight. It was listed under "classics." It was also listed as a comedy. I couldn't think of a single funny moment in that movie.

At any rate, their marriage is a disaster. I saw it when it first came out and didn't analyze it much. Now, I was reflecting on their situation. Who caused the demise of their marriage? Was it his know-it-all arrogance as his career progressed? Was it that she had hit the point of boredom and was tired of being defined as a partner in a law firm's wife? (She did have a "spending problem.") Were they ever really in love? It really got to be fairly ridiculous. One never looks at a big chandelier the same after seeing that movie.

[Tracysherm]

I've always liked that movie, but I never really knew why I liked it. If it was "comedy" then it was definitely a black comedy.
First, what I did like was the trio of Danny DeVito, Michael Douglas, and Kathleen Turner. They did other movies together in the 80s that were also successful.
I think I also liked the fact that you couldn't really take sides. I would see them both for what they had done wrong, but also how they would react to their partner's actions.


I also think it's really a metaphor for how a relationship can deteriorate, more than an actual protrayal of the two people who keep escalating their battle until they both die. There are the things we can all relate to, if we've been in a relationship of any length:

• Feeling like the other person is treating you like an idiot in front of others.
• Feeling like the other person is embarassing you in front of others.
• Feeling discounted by the other person regarding something you thought was a big deal.
• Feeling that the other person made a big deal out of something really unimportant.
• Feeling actual hatred at annoying little habits your loved one shows, even when you still love the person for the most part.
• Wanting to dig in your heels just to spite the other person, and just to "win" when inside, you really don't even care about the fight anymore.

I think even people in successful relationships/marriages go through those things, to some degree, not just those who end up divorcing or hating each other.

There were funny parts here and there (dark comedy), but the story was really more of a "tragedy" than a comedy."