Valentine’s Day is the time to celebrate love in all its magnificent splendor. However, since we’re a bunch of cynics around here, let’s do the opposite of that. This week’s Roundtable is dedicated to movies about divorce, break-ups, and other stories where love simply does not win in the end.
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There’s only one correct answer for this week’s topic and it’s 1989’s ‘The War of the Roses<\/a>‘, the dark comedy directed by Danny DeVito and starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in their third \u2013 and best \u2013 on-screen pairing. Oliver and Barbara Rose “meet cute” (as Roger Ebert used to put it), marry, and seem to have the perfect life… until Barbara just can’t take it anymore. As she puts it to Oliver in the film, “When I watch you eat, when I see you sleep, I just want to smash your face in.”<\/em> <\/p>\n The Roses file for divorce, but instead of parting amicably, Oliver decides that they’ll literally divide their house up. Both of them have to stay in marked and defined areas. Big mistake. In addition to directing, DeVito also plays Oliver’s attorney, and he puts it best when he says, “There’s no winning here, only degrees of losing.”<\/em> If you haven’t seen this American classic about love gone wrong, check it out. It’s available on Blu-ray as part of Fox’s Filmmaker Signature Series. <\/p>\n Woody Allen has made a lot of films about love, and while they seldom end happily for those involved, ‘Crimes and Misdemeanors<\/a>‘ is an extreme example of two of the worst possible romantic outcomes. One affair (a literal affair) that burns almost white hot, ends with the man (Martin Landau) having his lover (Angelica Huston) murdered. The other ends with a nebbishy documentary filmmaker (Allen) seeing the woman of his dreams end up in the arms of his mortal enemy (Alan Alda), a producer of slick television garbage. The evil and conniving end up happy. The tortured and driven end up alone. Or dead. Isn’t that always the way?<\/p>\n Still poignant nearly 40 years later, ‘Kramer vs. Kramer<\/a>‘ is not only a tale of love gone wrong, but adds the huge complication of a child custody battle. Superbly cast, the players are all ultimately sympathetic, but at the same time reinforce the idea that a rift between married parents can only bring multiple losers. As a drama, the events are reasonable but also uncomfortable. Divorce is such a normal part of life, most attempts to bring it to theaters would make for a lot of empty seats. <\/p>\nMike Attebery<\/span><\/h3>\n
Brian Hoss<\/span><\/h3>\n
Adam Tyner (DVDTalk<\/a>)<\/span><\/h3>\n