Directed by: Danny DeVito
Starring: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, G.D. Spradlin
Gavin is a divorce lawyer counseling a potential client. He says, "I want to tell you a story about Barbara and Oliver Rose. But I'm not going to start the clock. My fee is $450 an hour. If someone who makes $450 an hour wants to tell you something for free, you'd better listen." I'm not sure how this makes good fiscal sense, but it's a movie and we'll let it slide. The Roses are quite a story and Gavin starts it off with, "They met. Great. They agreed on that. The way I see it, the poor bastards never had a chance."
The War of the Roses is an aptly titled film about the dissolution of an 18-year marriage. Did I mention it's a comedy? Well, it is and it isn't. As the war over ownership of the couple's home escalates dangerously, the movie accomplishes a tricky feat of tone. The one-upmanship grows to ridiculous proportions, but we are entertained despite ourselves. This is not any easy thing to do. DeVito, as director and co-star, manages to somehow pull it off. The War of the Roses would be horrible in less capable hands.
Oliver (Douglas) and Barbara (Turner) meet, fall in love, and raise a family. He is a lawyer who soon establishes his own practice. They buy a nice suburban home and are content to spend the rest of their lives together. Well, Oliver is anyway. Barbara grows bored and feels aimless. She starts a catering business and one day, without warning, she begins to despise Oliver. One day, Oliver experiences the symptoms of a heart attack. He is rushed to the hospital, but Barbara never shows. Her explanation: "When I see you eat, when I watch you sleep, when I look at you lately...I just want to smash your face in." She then punches Oliver and the divorce is on.
Both want their house. Both refuse to leave which leads to an escalating series of spiteful actions such as Barbara locking Oliver in a sauna, Oliver ruining a dinner party by urinating on the fish, and the death of one, possibly two pets. Did I mention this is a comedy? Of the two, Oliver is the more sympathetic. Barbara, as played by Turner, comes across as so cold and callous that we wonder why Oliver fell for her in the first place. We're not supposed to take sides, but I wanted Oliver to win. Turner was much more likable in movies like Prizzi's Honor, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Romancing the Stone (which also co-starred Douglas and DeVito).
DeVito is also strong and funny in the crucial supporting role of Gavin. He tries in vain to talk Oliver into selling the house and getting the divorce over with quickly. ("There is no winning. There are just degrees of losing.") Gavin is right as it turns out, and it provides the inspiration for him to make sure future clients know what they're getting into before going through with a divorce.
The War of the Roses deserves credit for having the courage to see its story through to its unconventional ending. It doesn't end on a false happy note or a tearful reconciliation. Those conclusions would not have rung true, not after everything that transpires. DeVito and company take dark material and shoehorn it into a worthwhile dark comedy. The actors seem to love daring us to follow them where The War of the Roses leads. In the end, the moral of the story is clear, at least to Gavin. "I would advise you to be generous. Generous to the point of night sweats." The Roses help us see why he is not altogether wrong.
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