She-Devil (film)
Encyclopedia
She-Devil is a 1989 American film starring Meryl Streep
and Roseanne Barr
. It was directed by Susan Seidelman
. It is the second adaptation of the novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
by British writer Fay Weldon
, after a BBC
TV adaptation was first broadcast in 1986.
With Bob away at Mary's mansion by the sea and the kids at school, she sets the house on fire by various means including lighting two cigarettes and tossing in a waste basket, placing aerosol cans in the microwave to set off an explosion, and overloading an electrical outlet, causing it to burn to the ground. Every possession is destroyed except for the dog, a framed photo of the family, and, significantly for Ruth's plan of revenge, Bob's file on Mary's finances.
Having destroyed Bob's first asset - his house - she drops the children off at Mary's mansion to live with their father. After seeing in Mary's file that Mary pays for her mother to live in an expensive nursing home, Ruth takes a job there under the pseudonym Vesta Rose. Ruth forms friendships with Mary's estranged mother and with her co-worker Nurse Hooper, a diminutive 22-year veteran at the home. As part of her plan, Ruth gets Mary's mother thrown out of the home and she moves in with her daughter, much to Mary's chagrin.
Ruth later partners with Hooper to start the Vesta Rose Employment Agency, which helps downtrodden, socially rejected women find good jobs in exchange for them (unwittingly) helping Ruth in her quest for vengeance against Bob, such as Olivia Honey, who is hired at Bob's firm as his secretary. Though Bob falls for Olivia at first sight, he fires her after she confesses her love for him; a heartbroken Olivia reveals to Ruth that Bob wires interest from his clients' accounts into an offshore Swiss bank account. Both women break into Bob's firm to wire larger amounts of money from Bob's clients' accounts into Bob's Swiss account, making his embezzlement more visible to his clients. Ruth then reports Bob's crimes to the IRS.
Meanwhile, the second of Bob's assets - his family - crumbles; Mary's relationship with Bob grows distant as he continues to sleep with other women; Mary has a hard time keeping Bob's children under control (since Bob is unwilling to lay down the law with them) and is forced to do various chores, as her staff's attentions are occupied elsewhere; and her mother, Mrs. Fisher, reveals her daughter's life-long secrets to a reporter for People magazine while Mary is on the phone. Compounding matters is the poor reception of Mary's new novel titled "Love in the Rinse Cycle," to the point that not even one person appears at her book signing, and Mary learning of Bob's affairs when she recognizes Bob's ring in photocopied pictures of a man's hands grabbing a woman's behind. However, she finally develops the courage to regain control of her life; upon seeing the maid Ute walk off the job and everyone partying around, she fires the butler Garcia and lays down the law with Bob, the children, and Mrs. Fisher.
Mary throws a party to cheer herself up and also spend time with her friends. Although the party has so far gone well (her laying down the law more or less successful), the atmosphere soon shatters when police officers interrupt the party with a warrant for Bob's arrest. While discussing Bob's defense, Bob's lawyer unknowingly reveals Bob's embezzlement from Mary. This proves the final straw for Mary, who promptly dumps Bob and fires him as her accountant. In addition, Bob and his lawyer's attempts to make a secret deal with a judge are rendered moot when another judge is put in his place (courtesy of another of Ruth's "private army" of Vesta Rose employees). Bob is convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison; thus, his remaining assets - his career and his freedom - are destroyed.
The film then cuts to 18 months later. While Bob has greatly reformed while serving his sentence in prison, looking forward to spending his time with his family upon his release, Mary has barely changed at all. After the events with Bob, Mary sells her mansion. Her new book is called "Trust and Betrayal: A Docu-novel of Love, Money and Skepticism," proves to be a critical and commercial success; Ruth appears at the book signing and asks the autograph to be made out to "Ruth", which causes Mary to give a momentary lapse of deja vu, but she shrugs it off. Next in line after Ruth is a handsome Frenchman whom Mary flirts with, showing that she is back to her old ways.
The film ends with Ruth walking down a city street, followed by dozens of women, seemingly satisfied with the sweet revenge she devilishly dooked out on Bob and Mary's faces.
by MGM on October 2, 2001 with no features included than one trailer.
by Mercury Records
on December 5, 1989.
1. "I Will Survive" - Sa-Fire
2. "You Can Have Him - Carmel
3. "C'mon And Get My Love" - D-Mob
4. "Always" - Tom Kimmel
5. "You're The Devil In Disguise - Elvis Presley
6. "Party Up" - Chubby Checker
7. "Tren D'Amour" - Jermaine Stewart
8. "That's What I Call Love" - Kate Ceberano
9. "Tied Up" - Yello
10. "It's Getting Hot" - The Fat Boys
,
Roger Ebert
gave the film three stars out of four and wrote, "The proof of it is that, on the basis of this movie, Streep didn't have to retire to her own dressing room to ask herself what she was doing in a movie with Barr".
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
and Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Cherrie Barr is an American actress, comedian, writer, television producer and director. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the sitcom Roseanne. The show was a hit and lasted nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997...
. It was directed by Susan Seidelman
Susan Seidelman
Susan Seidelman is an American director, producer, writer, and actress.-Career:Susan Seidelman belongs to the first wave of female independent film makers in the American cinema of the 1980s. She graduated Abington Senior High School in 1969 , and went on to study fashion and arts at Drexel...
. It is the second adaptation of the novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil is a 1983 novel by British feminist author Fay Weldon about a highly unattractive woman who goes to great lengths to take revenge on her husband and his attractive lover...
by British writer Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon CBE is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.-Biography:Weldon was...
, after a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV adaptation was first broadcast in 1986.
Plot
Ruth is a frumpy, overweight housewife and mother, who desperately tries to please her accountant husband Bob. After Bob meets romance novelist Mary Fisher at a dinner party, they begin having an affair; Mary also hires him as her accountant. Though aware of the affair, Ruth initially lives in denial (believing it to be a fling which Bob will leave) and continues to take care of her two children, Nicolette and Andrew, and doing other household chores. However, Ruth soon begins to feel ragged after trying to get things prepared for Bob's parents' visit, culminating with Ruth finding Andrew's dead gerbil in a casserole pot. After Ruth confronts him about his affair in front of his parents, Bob decides to pack up his things and leave Ruth with the kids, calling her a liability and telling her she is a bad mother, a lousy wife, a terrible cook, and has the appearance of a "she-devil." Now at her breaking point, Ruth vows to get revenge on both Bob and Mary. Ruth writes a list of Bob's four assets: his home, his family, his career, and his freedom, crossing off each one as it is destroyed.With Bob away at Mary's mansion by the sea and the kids at school, she sets the house on fire by various means including lighting two cigarettes and tossing in a waste basket, placing aerosol cans in the microwave to set off an explosion, and overloading an electrical outlet, causing it to burn to the ground. Every possession is destroyed except for the dog, a framed photo of the family, and, significantly for Ruth's plan of revenge, Bob's file on Mary's finances.
Having destroyed Bob's first asset - his house - she drops the children off at Mary's mansion to live with their father. After seeing in Mary's file that Mary pays for her mother to live in an expensive nursing home, Ruth takes a job there under the pseudonym Vesta Rose. Ruth forms friendships with Mary's estranged mother and with her co-worker Nurse Hooper, a diminutive 22-year veteran at the home. As part of her plan, Ruth gets Mary's mother thrown out of the home and she moves in with her daughter, much to Mary's chagrin.
Ruth later partners with Hooper to start the Vesta Rose Employment Agency, which helps downtrodden, socially rejected women find good jobs in exchange for them (unwittingly) helping Ruth in her quest for vengeance against Bob, such as Olivia Honey, who is hired at Bob's firm as his secretary. Though Bob falls for Olivia at first sight, he fires her after she confesses her love for him; a heartbroken Olivia reveals to Ruth that Bob wires interest from his clients' accounts into an offshore Swiss bank account. Both women break into Bob's firm to wire larger amounts of money from Bob's clients' accounts into Bob's Swiss account, making his embezzlement more visible to his clients. Ruth then reports Bob's crimes to the IRS.
Meanwhile, the second of Bob's assets - his family - crumbles; Mary's relationship with Bob grows distant as he continues to sleep with other women; Mary has a hard time keeping Bob's children under control (since Bob is unwilling to lay down the law with them) and is forced to do various chores, as her staff's attentions are occupied elsewhere; and her mother, Mrs. Fisher, reveals her daughter's life-long secrets to a reporter for People magazine while Mary is on the phone. Compounding matters is the poor reception of Mary's new novel titled "Love in the Rinse Cycle," to the point that not even one person appears at her book signing, and Mary learning of Bob's affairs when she recognizes Bob's ring in photocopied pictures of a man's hands grabbing a woman's behind. However, she finally develops the courage to regain control of her life; upon seeing the maid Ute walk off the job and everyone partying around, she fires the butler Garcia and lays down the law with Bob, the children, and Mrs. Fisher.
Mary throws a party to cheer herself up and also spend time with her friends. Although the party has so far gone well (her laying down the law more or less successful), the atmosphere soon shatters when police officers interrupt the party with a warrant for Bob's arrest. While discussing Bob's defense, Bob's lawyer unknowingly reveals Bob's embezzlement from Mary. This proves the final straw for Mary, who promptly dumps Bob and fires him as her accountant. In addition, Bob and his lawyer's attempts to make a secret deal with a judge are rendered moot when another judge is put in his place (courtesy of another of Ruth's "private army" of Vesta Rose employees). Bob is convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison; thus, his remaining assets - his career and his freedom - are destroyed.
The film then cuts to 18 months later. While Bob has greatly reformed while serving his sentence in prison, looking forward to spending his time with his family upon his release, Mary has barely changed at all. After the events with Bob, Mary sells her mansion. Her new book is called "Trust and Betrayal: A Docu-novel of Love, Money and Skepticism," proves to be a critical and commercial success; Ruth appears at the book signing and asks the autograph to be made out to "Ruth", which causes Mary to give a momentary lapse of deja vu, but she shrugs it off. Next in line after Ruth is a handsome Frenchman whom Mary flirts with, showing that she is back to her old ways.
The film ends with Ruth walking down a city street, followed by dozens of women, seemingly satisfied with the sweet revenge she devilishly dooked out on Bob and Mary's faces.
Cast
- Roseanne BarrRoseanne BarrRoseanne Cherrie Barr is an American actress, comedian, writer, television producer and director. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the sitcom Roseanne. The show was a hit and lasted nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997...
as Ruth Patchett - Meryl StreepMeryl StreepMary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
as Mary Fisher - Ed Begley, Jr.Ed Begley, Jr.Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...
as Bob - Linda HuntLinda HuntLinda Hunt is an American film, stage and television actress. After making her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in Popeye , Hunt portrayed Billy Kwan, her breakthrough performance in The Year of Living Dangerously...
as Hooper - Sylvia MilesSylvia Miles-Early life and career:Miles was born Sylvia Reuben Lee in New York City, the daughter of Belle and Reuben Lee, a furniture maker....
as Mrs. Fisher - Elisebeth Peters as Nicolette Patchett
- Bryan Larkin as Andy Patchett
- A MartinezA MartinezAdolfo Larrue Martinez, III , better known as A Martinez, is an American actor and singer with roles in the daytime soap opera Santa Barbara and the primetime dramas L.A. Law and Profiler.-Early life:...
as Garcia - Maria PitilloMaria PitilloMaria Pitillo is an American actress who has starred in several films; most notably as Audrey Timmonds in Godzilla—a role which garnered her a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress...
as Olivia Honey - Mary Louise WilsonMary Louise WilsonMary Louise Wilson is an American stage, film and television actress.-Stage:Broadway* Hot Spot — 1963 as Sue Ann* Flora, The Red Menace — 1965 as Comrade Ada* Lovers and Other Strangers — 1968 as Bernice...
as Mrs. Trumper - Susan Willis as Ute
- Jack GilpinJack GilpinJack Gilpin is an American actor.Gilpin had a recurring role on the TV series Kate & Allie, and is a frequent Law & Order guest star, having appeared in all three series – Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent...
as Larry - Robin LeachRobin LeachRobin Douglas Leach is an English celebrity writer famous for hosting his first show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, in the mid-1980s and into the mid-1990s, which focused on profiling well-known celebrities and their lavish homes, cars and other materialistic endeavors...
as Himself - Nitchie Barrett as Bob's Secretary
- June GableJune GableJune Gable is an American Character actress, best known for her role as Estelle Leonard of The Estelle Leonard Talent Agency in the American sitcom Friends.-Life and career:...
as Realtor
DVD Release
She-Devil was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by MGM on October 2, 2001 with no features included than one trailer.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for She-Devil was released on CD, audio cassette, and on vinylGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
by Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
on December 5, 1989.
1. "I Will Survive" - Sa-Fire
Sa-Fire
Wilma Cosmé better known by her stage name SaFire, is an American singer. While she was one of the few freestyle artist to have major pop-chart success, she is considered an important part of Latin freestyle...
2. "You Can Have Him - Carmel
Carmel (singer)
Carmel is a British female singer, her eponymous band Carmel uniting bassist Jim Parris, and drummer Gerry Darby.-Biography of Carmel McCourt:...
3. "C'mon And Get My Love" - D-Mob
4. "Always" - Tom Kimmel
Tom Kimmel
Tom Kimmel , is an American singer-songwriter and poet.Tom Kimmel grew up largely in small towns in south Alabama...
5. "You're The Devil In Disguise - Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
6. "Party Up" - Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
7. "Tren D'Amour" - Jermaine Stewart
Jermaine Stewart
William Jermaine Stewart was an American R&B singer best known for his Billboard hits "The Word Is Out" and "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" .-Early life and career:Born in Columbus, Ohio, to parents Ethel M...
8. "That's What I Call Love" - Kate Ceberano
Kate Ceberano
Kate Ceberano is an Australian singer. She achieved success in the soul, jazz and pop genres as well as in her brief forays into musicals with Jesus Christ Superstar and film...
9. "Tied Up" - Yello
Yello
Yello is a Swiss electronica band consisting of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank. They are probably best known for their singles "The Race" and "Oh Yeah", which feature a mix of electronic music and manipulated vocals, as does most of their music....
10. "It's Getting Hot" - The Fat Boys
The Fat Boys
The Fat Boys are a successful African American hip-hop music trio from Brooklyn, New York City, that emerged in the early 1980s. Briefly, the group was known originally as the Disco 3.-Members:*Mark Morales a.k.a. "Prince Markie Dee"...
Reception
She-Devil was released to mixed reviews, with a 41% "Rotten" score at Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
,
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film three stars out of four and wrote, "The proof of it is that, on the basis of this movie, Streep didn't have to retire to her own dressing room to ask herself what she was doing in a movie with Barr".