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Hello, Niles North, and welcome to Reed’s Recs! I am Reed Larson-Erf, here to talk to you about everything you never knew you had to see. This week, I’d like to talk to you about 1996’s The First Wives’ Club. Based on a novel by Olivia Goldsmith, this movie centers on old college friends Elise (Goldie Hawn), Brenda (Bette Midler), and Annie (Diane Keaton). Reunited after the death of a fourth mutual friend, they find that, since college, they’ve had unhappy lives married to ungrateful men, who end up abandoning them for younger women in costly divorces. Fed up, the trio declare themselves the First Wives’ Club, and dedicate themselves to ruining the lives of their exes.
The First Wives’ Club, I must admit, has not wholly aged well. Annie’s lesbian daughter is depicted as a stereotypical misandrist, and Annie doth protest too much in voicing her support for her. Still, there is a lot to like about this movie. I always enjoy a good revenge story, and it’s satisfying to see the First Wives take back the money and valuables their former husbands owe them. Their efforts often set up some hilarious comedic moments. When Elise reclaims everything her ex-husband Bill (Victor Garber) took in their divorce, she ends up all but emptying out his office. He protests, and she replies, “It’s the ‘90s, Bill. Downsize!”
That said, The First Wives’ Club also offers an insight into how women are treated that I, being male, don’t always get. Like the members of the First Wives Club, real women are expected to be supportive of men’s ambitions and desires, but their own desires aren’t always validated in return. Another definition of “desire” also plays into the movie in a big way: all the First Wives’ husbands remarried younger, more attractive women. In the real world, women tend to be valued in large part based on their appearances, and aging women are seen as undesirable or unimportant. This perception hits the members of the First Wives’ Club hard–especially actress Elise, who receives multiple plastic surgeries in order to remain desirable (and thus, bankable in Hollywood).
Despite some aspects that have not aged well, The First Wives’ Club is funny, insightful, and deeply satisfying. You can find it on Hulu, Prime Video, Apple TV, or Sling TV. Thank you for listening, and tune in next time for everything you never knew you had to see!
