Movie posters have a very simple yet very critical task: Make people go see the movie. With such a singular objective in mind, you wouldn't think the studios would futz it up so very badly so very often. Yet, there they go again. Please witness the new one-sheet for the new remake of the all-female '30s classic The Women.

Unlike the film's teaser poster, this one actually features the key cast in this tale of wife (and her friends) versus mistress. Sure, on its surface nothing seems terrible here; but just like staring at a Monet, things start to come out of focus with closer inspection.

First, what's up with Annette Bening's face? Seriously, not to become the crazy lady who can't stop complaining about the horrors of Photoshop, but — hello — horrors of Photoshop. She looks at once smooth and puffy. Also I can't believe she would ever actually wear a shade of eyeshadow that flirts so perilously with '80s powder blue. Banish the thought. … continue reading

One of my childhood memories is a time at my cousin's 12th birthday party when I thoughtfully said, "Twelve is such a ripe old age." I don't know what led to that pronouncement, but I remember it often, even several multiples of 12 later. Age is like that. Each milestone seems far away, then one day you realize that a lot of them are behind you. It's not a bad thing — older really is better — it's just surprising. A few weeks ago, one of America's favorite children reached one of those milestones when Caroline Kennedy turned 50.

Kennedy certainly has accomplished a lot in her adulthood, but to many of us, she always will be JFK's little girl. And "Sweet Caroline." … continue reading

“There’s a word for you ladies, but it is seldom used in high society ... outside a kennel.”

That classic line from the 1939 film The Women is the perfect example of why I love the movie. Earlier this year, Anna let us know that Diane English’s long-planned remake of The Women is on again, with a cast that almost seemed too good to be true.

Now comes casting news that pushes the lineup into fantasyland (but I read it on the Internet, so it must be true). Bette Midler, Lynn Whitfield, Debi Mazar, Ana Gasteyer, Carrie Fisher, Joanna Gleason and Cloris Leachman have joined the project, which is currently shooting in Boston.

If I lived anywhere near Boston, I’d be roaming the streets to find this film set. Not that I'm condoning calling in sick and getting some pictures to post here or anything. … continue reading

Here’s what we know about the characters so far.

Annette Bening will return to Broadway in 2008, in The Female of the Species. She hasn't graced the boards since 1987, so this is kind of a big deal. And it does sound like a play worth pursuing:

In this new work by Australian playwright [Joanna] Murray-Smith (Honour), Bening plays Margot Mason, a feminist literary giant suffering an extreme case of writer's block as deadline after deadline comes and goes on her next book. When a young fan arrives unexpectedly at her country home, Margot's world slowly and comically begins to unravel as family and friends show up and debate the virtues of her bestsellers, her inconsistent world view and her decidedly unmotherly touch. (Broadway.com)

Bening as a "feminist literary giant"? Sounds perfect. If anyone can play larger-than-life characters, it's the woman who made Michael Douglas tolerable in The American President.

But I haven't always been a Bening fan. Back in the mid-'80s, I — and the rest of the members of my high school drama club — saw her in a production of The Cherry Orchard in Denver. We were given a tour of the theater before the show. (How else do you recruit budding thespians?) Bening was our tour guide, and she was nothing but nasty. Not only that, she was ineffective: I somehow got lost and had to leave by skulking across the stage. … continue reading

Ah, 1994. I remember it well. Sandra Bullock was America's sweetheart after she drove a bus and flirted with Keanu Reeves in Speed; who could've predicted that the pair would reunite to absolutely zero acclaim 12 years later in The Lake House?

On TV, Friends began its long run on NBC, while on ABC, These Friends of Mine, later re-titled Ellen, featured Ellen DeGeneres as a bookstore owner who had a comically tough time dating men. I think we all know how that ended.

And little me kept repeating, "I’m getting verklemmt!" "You're terrible, Muriel!" and “La Croix, sweetie, La Croix,” to anyone within earshot.

Elsewhere in Hollywood ’94, writer-producer Diane English, who was riding high with Murphy Brown (remember?), was shopping a script for a remake of the 1939 camp classic The Women. Well, 13 years, a couple of directors, multiple casting changes and several false starts later, the movie is finally set to go into production this summer, with a cast that includes Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing and Candice Bergen — quite a star-studded assemblage.

The original bitchfest starred an array of its era’s best female actresses — including Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine and many more — as catty high-society ladies. … continue reading