Search - The War of the Roses on DVD

Descent into Madness

John A Lee III | San Antonio, TX | 06/08/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This the darkest of all the dark comedies I have ever seen. There are moments of lightness but they come all too seldom and the story of increasing bitterness and pettiness comes to the fore.

The Roses fell in love in college, married and seemed to have the perfect life. He was an ivy league lawyer and she was the "perfect housewife". They both have their problems. He takes her too much for granted and she is a materialistic snob. Still, they seem to be so much in love that they can overcome their personal foibles. It doesn't work out that way.

After he is rushed to the hospital with an apparent heart attack, she is too busy with her career to even pick him up when he is discharged. Later that night, she tells him that she wants a divorce. From there, the vindictiveness and sniping continue to escalate as both descend into an orgy of mutual contempt and hatred.

There are times when it is possible to feel sorry for both of the characters. More often, both seem to be too contemptible to pity. Each is more concerned with the destruction of the other and "winning" than in any possible healing. There are some differences. He genuinely loves her and she genuinely hates him. This is carried right through to the bitter, and I do mean BITTER, end.

It's hard to call this entertaining. It is frightening, though, to see how far hatred can take a person. Anyone contemplating a divorce should see this film. Anyone contemplating a particularly nasty divorce should see it daily.

Don't let this be YOU!
"

Black Comedy at its best

Mathew Sargent | Vermont, USA | 08/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas star in this movie with a chemistry greater than either of their previous films together, namely Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile. Their shared screen time is filled with a frenzied mixture of passion, anger, lust, devotion, and resentment, a relationship that, however abstract and unrealistic it is skewed in this movie, reflects what's left of a lot of relationships once the lust leaves the marriage, or once a couple finally spends some time together (i.e. after the kids have left the nest).It has been a long standing joke that once the kids go to college or leave the nest, many spouses find themselves wondering: "Who the hell did I marry?" Things that were never noticed now are found nagging; a sensitive husband suddenly becomes controlling; a neat homemaker suddenly becomes obsessively compulsive; a mother, now that her duties are cut, becomes anxious to get out of the house. This is exactly what this movie relates, from the Roses' passionate meeting, to their years of "struggle" as Douglas' character builds his career to support his growing family, to their subsequent wealth and success, and finally a lull is reached when they are wealthy and suceessful, yet they have nowhere seemingly left to go.One of the things that a lot of viewers seemingly miss while watching the movie is the greater picture- the Rose's marriage was one built on attraction and lust. While that has been enough to sustain many marriages, this is not the case here. After the lust leaves the marriage the couple begins to notice every irritating thing the other half does, which is what happens in a lot of marriages. The difference here is that their personalities, both being uncompromising, ambitious, and, yes, more than a tad sadistic, cause Turner's and Douglas' characters to take things past the point where any realisic (i.e. amiable) seperation is possible. Perhaps it is just me, but if anything I find this movie to affirm marriage, as long as it takes place out of mutual love and respect, not just lust. Sure this movie delivers plenty of shock power and may leave you with a feeling of bitterness, but overall this, as Devito's character (a lawyer and the narrator) mentions, is a "cautionary tale." Keep that in mind and you will find yourself wriggling in your seat with laughter and shock from the onscreen antics as Douglas and Turner terrorize each other onscreen."