Devito's Dizzying Combination
Sun Herald
Sunday December 24, 1989
CONTEMPLATING marriage? Well, apart from being a prime candidate for six toaster wedding gifts, you're also in just the right viewing bracket for the sophisticated black comedy The War of the Roses.
A word of advice for those who are already queueing because of the cast list. Eliminate any thoughts of a whimsical comedy-romance repeat of the stars' previous teaming in Romancing the Stone or Jewel of the Nile.
The War of the Roses is a funny, bitter, black-edged comedy about a domestic spat of nuclear proportions. It's not at all romantic, although it frequently gives the impression that it could be if it wanted to.
It is, in fact, a rather dizzying combination of drama, suspense, satire and comedy. (While there are laughs aplenty, it's definitely not laugh-a-minute froth.)
Admirers of Turner and Douglas will have a ball: their energetic performances are terrific. But the film's biggest asset, for the adults at least, is its constant swing between dramatic suspense and broad, slapstick comedy.
This film skilfully manages to keep audiences breathless at what damage these stars might inflict next (on one another) and then relaxes the pace, and the stomach muscles, with some inanely amusing slapstick.
The combination is sometimes a strange one: too raucous for drama, too off-beat for easily digestible comedy. It won't suit the kids, who'll be looking for more action. It could easily disagree with adults who find anatomy-of-a-marriage plot lines boring and object to being pulled this way and that.
However, this should prove digestible fare for those who are pondering, entering or ending a marriage, and can breeze through the slow moments by comparing the Roses' situation with their own.
It is also recommended for those who need a laugh about divorce (especially their own). It might be overblown, but this is perceptive enough in its broad strokes to prove a mighty effective marital aid because, surely, this is the worst that it can get.
Turner and Douglas are, of course, the Roses. Their story: their first meeting, their marriage and the gradual disintegration of their relationship, is narrated by their long-term friend and lawyer, DeVito.
The most amusing/poignant aspect of this flick is that while events and characters' actions may be caricatured they are still grounded in the harsh reality of high, human emotions.
Even while you are laughing, it's hard not to be horrified.
Director DeVito exhibited this flair for blending the outlandish with the normal in his last directorial outing, Throw Momma From The Train. If anything, his direction has improved here.
While he shows a tendency to overdo the strange camera angles and some scenes are lean to the point of being abrupt, his ability to walk a fine line between suspense and drama is obvious.
In his own performance, DeVito is extremely low key. His infrequent appearances seem calculated not to distract from the other two stars.
By contrast, Turner and Douglas are eye-catchingly over the top. Amusingly, Douglas leans towards nerdiness while the normally sweet-faced Turner becomes positively, and cleverly, demonic as the film progresses.
You can't quibble about the sardonically old-fashioned music score and luscious up-market locations, or the bonus of wonderful actress Marianne Sagebrecht from Bagdad Cafe in a supporting role. A minor flaw is a surprisingly laboured wrap-up. Sermonising is out of place in this flick although, luckily, the impact is lessened by the riveting, kick-to-the-stomach final images involving Turner and Douglas.
© 1989 Sun Herald
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