She-Devil [Blu-ray]

Director: Susan Seidelman Susan Seidelman

Overview

Susan Seidelman directed this loose adaptation of Fay Weldon's novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil concerning the extreme revenge exacted by a dumpy housewife on her philandering husband. Mary Fisher (Meryl Streep) is a best-selling romance novelist of the manner of Danielle Steel or Jackie Collins. One night at a glamorous dinner party, Ruth (Roseanne Barr), the frumpy housewife of Bob (Ed Begley Jr.), accidentally spills wine over Mary's pink evening gown. Bob rushes to Mary's assistance, they look into each other's eyes, and it is lust at first sight. After a few clandestine interludes, Bob abandons his wife and his two smart-aleck kids to live with Mary at her palace by the seaside. As a result, Ruth goes into high gear to seek vengeance. She deposits her kids with Bob and then, with the help of a collection of other abused women -- including Ruth's mother (Sylvia Miles), nursing home attendant Hopper (Linda Hunt), and dim-witted secretary Olivia Honey (Maria Pitillo) -- she systematically sets out to destroy Bob's life. Bob calls Ruth a she-devil, and Ruth plays the role to the hilt; first she destroys his home life, then his career, then his freedom. And when he has nothing left, she proceeds to haunt and stalk him, bringing Bob to his knees.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/09/2015
UPC:	0887090102001
Original Release:	1989
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Olive
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	1:29:00
Sales rank:	13,767

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Roseanne Barr	Actor
Ed Begley Jr.	Bob Pachett
Meryl Streep	Mary Fisher
Sylvia Miles	Mrs. Fisher
Linda Hunt	Hooper
Elisebeth Peters	Nicolette Patchett
Bryan Larkin	Andy Patchett
A Martinez	Garcia the Butler
Maria Pitillo	Olivia Honey
Mary Louise Wilson	Mrs. Trumper
Susan Willis	Ute
Jack Gilpin	Larry
Robin Leach	Himself
Nitchie Barrett	Bob's Secretary
June Gable	Realtor
Jeanine Joyce	Flower Lady
Deborah Rush	`People' Reporter
Sally Jessy Raphael	Herself
Doris Belack	Paula
Cerius and Cinderella	Juliette
Lori Tan Chinn	Vesta Rose Woman
Joe Pentangelo	Detective
Mark Steiner	Valet
Rosanna Carter	Judge Brown
George Kodisch	Court Officer
Manny Olmo	Cook
Alain Jarry	Alain
John Richard Reynolds	Bookstore Customer
George Trow	Douglas
Martin Snaric	Actor
Steven Prince	Actor,Mary's Party Guest
Anna Marie Winds	Actor
R. Patrick Sullivan	Actor
Mary Marshall	Actor,Guggenheim Party Guest
Sally Sockwell	Guggenheim Party Guest
Will Ford	Mack Brandon Duo
Mack Brandon	Mack Brandon Duo
Scott Wyatt Rawls	Roslyn Artists String Quartet
Julie Signitzer	Roslyn Artists String Quartet
Christopher Collins Lee	Roslyn Artists String Quartet
Sandra Fine	Roslyn Artists String Quartet
Ed Begley	Actor
Jr.	Actor
Brian Larkin	Andy Patchett
Herbie	Himself
Max	Fuzzy
Cynthia Adler	Vesta Rose Commercial Voice
Fred Bond	Apollo
Clifton James	Actor
George McDaniel	The Tiger
George W.S. Trow	Douglas
Howard Shore	Composer

Technical Credits

Barry Strugatz

Mark R. Burns

Susan Seidelman	Director,Producer
Jonathan Brett	Producer
Barry Strugatz	Screenwriter
Mark R. Burns	Screenwriter
Efex Specialists, Inc.	Special Effects
G. Brown	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Director Susan Seidelman specializes in creating comedies that are not especially comic. Sometimes, as in Desperately Seeking Susan, there are enough other virtues to compensate for this lack of humor, but She-Devil falls somewhat short of the mark. The basic revenge premise has potential; indeed, in one form or another it has been used in dozens of other successful movies. But Seidelman and screenwriters Mark R. Burns and Barry Strugatz have made the character of the wronged wife so unlikable that the audience doesn't enjoy her obsessive desire to destroy her husband. Roseanne Barr's chilly performance doesn't help matters, although to be fair, she seems to be creating the character exactly as Seidelman has envisioned her. Ed Begley, Jr. is also problematic. He's entirely believable (and enjoyable) as a loathsome rat, but his animal magnetism is practically nil; without that, it's hard to believe that Meryl Streep's character would become so utterly smitten with him. Streep, however, is a joy and the movie's highlight. Letting loose in her first all-out comic role, she has a delightful time, especially during her drug-induced writhing sequence on and around the bed. Even she has difficulty maneuvering past Seidelman's undermining of the mechanics of comedy (timing, build-ups, payoffs) in a search for more original ways of getting a laugh; but for the most part, Streep's broad, through-the-roof performance works.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler