The Women 2008

Ben Lyons, At the Movies: I love women in real life but at the movies I hated The Women. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: It hurts especially to watch Ms. Bening and Candice Bergen (who plays Mary's mother) lend their wit and dignity to a project that has so little of its own. Read more

Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader: Ryan, barely refining her When Harry Met Sally persona, is a dud. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: While the actors do what they can, too many characters come off as concepts, not people. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: The original was a tart dipped in acid; this one's a biscuit sprinkled in Splenda. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: The Women isn't terrible. There's too much talent here for that, even if it's displayed unevenly. But it's something that might be even worse: unnecessary, at least as long as you can rent the original. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The movie is a work of ambivalence. Is English making fun of these women? Or is she making a pilot for Lifetime? It's hard to tell. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: Cukor's tone and timing are missing: It's as if English has included all the boutiques but none of the bite. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: Fourteen years in the making, The Women marks a serviceable directorial debut for English. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: In spite of the casting and honorable revamps, it feels more dated than the 1939 original did for its time period. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Hopefully that audience won't be fooled by this cast's potential and the clever concept; the final product here is anything but fabulous. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The Women is such an arduous patchwork of 'issues' it ends up a Frankenstein's monster of a chick flick. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: English spent 12 years slaving to get her remake green-lighted, an astounding output of time and energy for a person to spend on a movie they don't understand. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: It's hard to say what's sadder, that The Women's intended audience had to wait 14 years for a film like this or that that long wait has been almost for naught. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: [English] has reduced one of the wittiest women's comedies ever made to just another ho-hum chick flick. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: It's not every movie that makes you wish Vin Diesel would run in and start blowing up stuff. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: An ensemble this good guarantees some lively moments, but the film's outdated message seems more empowering for men. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: The funniest thing about The Women is that Mick Jagger is one of the producers. There was a knowing laugh in the theatre as his name sprang up in the opening credits -- our last chance to laugh, as it turned out, for the next two hours. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The tried-and-true characters still strike sparks. And even if the best parts are warmed over, the dish is still great. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Is it an exaggeration to call The Women the worst movie of the year? Well, yeah, probably. But it may be the most disappointing, given all the effort that went into it. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: A total disaster. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: As much as I enjoy current actresses like Ms. Bening and Ms. Ryan even in a lost cause, I cannot recommend the latest reenactment of The Women as anything special. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: It's a movie of one-shots, with the ladies staying in their flattering light, delivering their lines to someone who reacts to that clever line in the next one-shot. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: In writing this I feel like a hung jury. My final verdict on The Women: Enjoyed, not overjoyed. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: English has shown herself to be an adept, perceptive, and at times funny writer, but too little of that is on display here. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: What a pleasure this movie is, showcasing actresses I've admired for a long time, all at the top of their form. Read more

Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon.com: You go, girls. Preferably as far away as possible. Read more

David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle: Even those who never saw Cukor's movie will feel something is missing in English's version. Yes, some of what's missing is humor and snappy dialogue, but that could be forgiven, if only some of the characters were more believable. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Despite its proud legacy and promising cast, The Women is a miscarriage of comedy. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Of all the freedoms that women have rightly earned, aping the worst of male behaviour needn't rank high among them. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: What was then snappy dialogue from meowing madams acting out a morality play on everything that stinks about haute society now flaccidly flaps, lost in translation from old world to new. Read more

Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine: One of the worst movies I've ever seen. Read more

Melissa Anderson, Time Out: Diane English's abysmal remake of George Cukor's 1939 femme classic will have fans of the original growing claws. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Though aspects of the 1939 comedy seem silly and shrill now, they were at least consistently entertaining. Where the original was deliciously loopy and melodramatic fun, this one is watered-down, sappy and earnest. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: English struggles trying to create the kind of feel-good experience that seems to come so naturally to femme helmers like Nancy Meyers and Nora Ephron. Read more

Philip Kennicott, Washington Post: In the end, English just wants to make a nice chick flick with some sassy lines. Genuine nastiness has been eliminated, while not-very-funny banter is retained. Read more