April 1, 2025
The Women
The Women (2008) is a comedy-drama that my mother and I settled on after trying to find something interesting to watch together. The film follows Mary Haines, a wealthy fashion designer and mother, along with her group of friends, as she experiences betrayal in her relationships. Her best friend Sylvie Fowler discovers that Mary’s husband is cheating on her with a perfume saleswoman named Crystal Allen, thanks to a gossipy nail technician. Instead of telling Mary this discovery first, Sylvie tells their mutual pregnant friend, Edie Cohen. Mary eventually finds out on her own, through the same nail technician. For a part of the film, Mary’s friends wonder when a good time to tell her would be, not knowing that she already knows. Eventually, it is discovered everyone knows that Mary’s husband is cheating on her, and she leans on her friends for support while starting the divorce process.
And what better way to support your friend than to leak her personal struggles to a gossip columnist to save your career? Mary, hurt when learning Sylvie did this at her expense, ends their friendship. This doesn’t stop Sylvie from stepping up for Mary’s daughter Molly, without Mary’s knowledge, after catching Molly skipping school with friends and smoking cigarettes. Mary’s daughter confides in Sylvie that she feels distanced from her mother because of the divorce. Sylvie uses this opportunity to support the girl without telling Mary about her concerning behavior.
Just when you think things can’t get any worse, Mary’s father fires her from his fashion business for not having work good enough for the industry. Finally hitting rock bottom, Mary decides to start over and create her own fashion brand. To signify her transformation into a new life where she is the one empowering herself, Mary straightens her beautiful, luscious, curly hair for the remainder of the film. As someone with curly hair, I felt that was such a power move! It almost convinced me to finally buy a straightener, as that was obviously the main takeaway of the movie.
The group of friends then have to rush Edie to the hospital as she had gone into labor. The movie takes a turn as Mary receives a call from her ex-husband. Seeing her succeed in her independence, he wants her back and asks her out. With her friends’ encouragement, she says yes to a dateand throws out all of her achievements and character development.
Ultimately, The Women is a feel-good movie filled with themes of betrayal, women friendships, and personal empowerment. My mom and I give it a solid 10/10 despite the ending.