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"THE WOMEN" (2008) (Meg Ryan, Annette Bening) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Minor Heavy Minor None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None None Minor Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Minor Extreme Heavy Minor QUICK TAKE: Dramedy: A woman must contend with the discovery of her husband's affair and her close friends try to support her. PLOT: Sylvia Fowler (ANNETTE BENING) is the snobby and single editor of the fashion magazine Caché who often looks down on others' attire, especially when she's spending time in her favorite department store, Saks Fifth Avenue. It's there that her blabbermouth manicurist, Tanya (DEBI MAZAR), gossips that perfume department saleswoman Crystal Allen (EVA MENDES) is having an affair with a married man. Sylvia pays little attention to this story until Tanya reveals the man's name to be Steven Haines, who just so happens to be married to her best friend since college, Mary (MEG RYAN). The latter would seem to have it all: A successful designer career working for her father; a good kid in Molly (INDIA ENNENGA) who's cared for by nanny Uta (TILLY SCOTT PEDERSEN) and housekeeper Maggie (CLORIS LEACHMAN); and a husband who's a successful businessman. Yet, Mary is so busy attending and holding social events that she hasn't figured out why her husband is always "working" so late. Sylvia and her friends -- perpetually pregnant Edie Cohen (DEBRA MESSING) and lesbian writer Alex Fisher (JADA PINKETT SMITH) -- disagree about whether to tell Mary, but she soon learns the truth from Tanya while getting her nails done. As Sylvia is distracted by the possibility of losing her job, and Mary's mom, Catherine (CANDICE BERGEN), tries to give her daughter advice based on her own similar experiences, Mary must figure out what to do about her husband and her life. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're fans of someone in the cast or romantic dramedies, it doesn't seem too likely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For sex-related material, language, some drug use and brief smoking. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: MEG RYAN plays a married mom whose seemingly perfect if busy life is shattered upon the discovery of her husband's infidelity. A fashion designer who's just been fired by her own father, she must contend with that, the aftereffects of the affair, a distant teen daughter, and her friends' varying reactions to her life that's unraveling. She drinks, briefly smokes pot with another woman, and uses profanity. ANNETTE BENING plays her best friend, the snobby, single editor of a fashion magazine who's the first to learn of the affair and tries to figure out how to proceed. When essentially blackmailed regarding her own job, she sells out Mary, thus damaging their friendship. She drinks and uses profanity. EVA MENDES plays the sexy perfume saleswoman at Saks who's having an affair with Mary's husband and makes no apologies about that. DEBRA MESSING plays Mary and Sylvia's seemingly perpetually pregnant friend who eventually confesses to having had an affair of her own in the past. JADA PINKETT SMITH plays their lesbian writer friend who doesn't want to tiptoe around the affair issue and thinks they should tell Mary about it. She drinks some. CANDICE BERGEN plays Mary's mom who gives her experienced advice about how to deal with a cheating husband. A bit of a snob, she uses some profanity. CLORIS LEACHMAN plays Mary's straight-shooting housekeeper who's always a step ahead of her, but hates seeing what the affair and divorce does to the family. INDIA ENNENGA plays Mary's young teen daughter who feels that her mother neither hears nor gets her, and thus ends up confiding in Sylvia. We learn that she skips school, apparently smokes, and is curious about sex. TILLY SCOTT PEDERSEN plays her Danish nanny. BETTE MIDLER plays an oft-divorced woman who Mary meets while on a retreat and the two share a joint. DEBI MAZAR plays the chatty Saks manicurist who gossips about a coworker having an affair. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this dramedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 8 "s" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present, some women are seen in skimpy/revealing lingerie, varying amounts of cleavage are present, and there's some lesbian related material. Characters drink in various scenes, while two women share a joint in one, and it's revealed that a young teen apparently smokes (she has a pack of cigarettes, but no use occurs). Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, including those regarding an affair that leads to tense family material (a divorce, a teen thinking her mom doesn't care about her, etc.). There's a little bit of scatological humor and some behavior might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE People have champagne and wine at a party. After a woman says she doesn't know how Mary has time for everything, Mary jokes, "Pharmaceuticals." After learning Mary has been fired, Sylvia says the Gray Goose guy was there and she can come over and they can drink and "bitch." Catherine tells Mary she ordered her a gimlet, and that she knows she doesn't drink in the afternoon, but that she can start. Miscellaneous people there drink. Crystal has champagne while trying on lingerie. Uta tells Mary, "Why don't you let me fix you a drink?" She pours one, but it's Maggie who takes the glass and drinks from it. Mary and Sylvia have wine. The ladies have drinks in a bar where Mary joins them and is handed a drink. Leah smokes a joint and offers it to Mary who initially declines that, but then decides to take a hit. She says she hasn't done this since college when she ended up eating an entire tube of toothpaste. The two women then pass that joint back and forth. During this conversation, Leah also admits that she was twice in rehab at the Betty Ford clinic. We see a glass of wine by Crystal as she sits in a bubble bath. Miscellaneous people drink at a party. A song has the lyric "Sex can't buy it. Drugs can't buy it." Sylvia, Mary and Alex have champagne. BLOOD/GORE About the benefits of being a lesbian, Alex states that she doesn't have to hear a man complain about being unable to "piss" thirty feet anymore. Edie states that she has to pee for the tenth time today. Moments later, we see the motion of her sitting down on the toilet, but don't hear or see anything else. We see what looks like a little bit of dried blood on a bandage wrapped around the outside of Catherine's face following a face-lift (she also has black eyes). About being nervous before her fashion show, Mary jokingly asks Catherine, "If I throw up would you hold my hair?" Edie states that her water broke, but we don't see any sign of that. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Sylvia says there's a word for a woman she's just encountered, and says it's rarely used outside a kennel (meaning "bitch"). She's also a fashion snob, talking about a stranger wearing an outfit or a get-up. Tanya gossips about another Saks worker who's having an affair. Alex's girlfriend has anger management issues. Mary meets Tanya and is then shocked to learn -- through small talk -- that another worker at Saks is having an affair with Mary's husband. Catherine tells Mary, "Your father is a real sh*t." Catherine makes a catty remark about another woman's face lift. Mary confronts Crystal about the latter's affair with the former's husband, but after an initial half-apology, Crystal shows no remorse for her behavior. A writer for another publication blackmails Sylvia into giving her details about Mary's failed marriage or else she'll write that Sylvia is about to lose her job at a high profile magazine. Accordingly, Sylvia sells out Mary in order to keep her job. That results in a long-standing falling out between the two. Molly admits to Sylvia that she skipped school and changed clothes once out of the house. Edie admits that she had an affair in the past. FRIGHTENING SCENES We see Edie screaming in pain from labor, but it's played for comedy as her screams are long and exaggerated. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Chanel number sh*t," "Your father is a real sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Bullsh*t," "Sh*ttier," "Don't give a sh*t about anybody," "I'm so full of sh*t," "You're even more full of sh*t than I am," "Some little skank," "Fabric whore," "I could suck the nails out of a board and that's a fact," "This is my face, deal with it," "Keep your wonder bras on," "Oh, for crying out loud," "Knocked up," "Bitch" (verb), "Jeez," "Who the hell was that?" "You need to drag her ass into the vault," "Perfume bitch," "You go in there and kick her ass," "What are you doing casing the house like a Jehovah's Witness?" "Your Pradas are wrecking my perennials," "It hurt like hell," "The crack of freaking dawn," "Can you not Bogart that please?" "Screws up," "Must be freaking out inside," "Oh, shut up" and "Where the hell is that schmuck?" Molly admits to Sylvia that she skipped school and changed clothes once out of the house. We see miscellaneous graffiti. We see Molly burning unused tampons after hearing she doesn't want to be a woman anymore. Sylvia asks Molly if she has a cigarette and the young teen hands her a pack that Sylvia then puts away, asking if Mary knows Molly smokes (she doesn't). Molly then says she smokes so she doesn't eat. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) A song has the lyric "Sex can't buy it. Drugs can't buy it." PROFANITY At least 8 "s" words, 4 slang terms for sex ("screw," "screwing," "bang" and "doing"), 6 hells, 3 asses (1 used with "hole"), 1 damn, 16 uses of "Oh my God," 5 of "God," 4 of "Oh God," 3 of "G-damn," 2 of "For God's sakes" and 1 use each of "God Almighty," "Honest to God," "Jesus," "Oh for Christ's sakes" and "Swear to God." SEX/NUDITY Hearing Mary working in the yard during their phone conversation, Sylvia jokingly asks, "Are you having sex?" Mary jokingly replies she is on the phone with her. Tanya shows some cleavage in several scenes. Young teen Molly holds up a contraceptive diaphragm and asks her mom what it is. Without missing a beat, Mary states it's a travel coffee filter. Edie mentions a breast pump that will plug into a car's cigarette lighter. Later, as Sylvia complains about some spilling in the car, Edie holds a bottle of her breast milk. About the benefits of being a lesbian, Alex states that when she and her girlfriend have sex, neither of them wants the lights on. After Edie says she's pregnant again, Sylvia asks her, "Don't you ever say no?" Mary is somewhat upset when her husband cancels their vacation (over the phone). When she says "That G*ddamn office is sucking the life out of him," Sylvia replies, "Something definitely is" (referring to Crystal, but Mary doesn't know about her yet). Mary shows some cleavage. About her husband and his lover, Mary wonders if they talk about her (Mary) in bed. Alex wonders, "Is Mary doing somebody?" (mistakenly thinking the affair talk is about her). Crystal shows cleavage in a formfitting dress at work, and Edie suddenly blurts out to her, "We know you're screwing Steven." Mary states that she isn't sleeping with her husband at the moment (which Sylvia thinks is a good idea). Mary and Sylvia go lingerie shopping where we see such items, including on a half mannequin. About some lingerie she's picked out, Mary states that Steven (her husband) might get lucky tonight, and comments something about underestimating the importance of the slip in the bedroom. Out in the dressing room lobby (where a large poster shows a woman's bare back and the top of her butt crack), Crystal walks out for a better mirror look at the lingerie she's trying on (a cleavage-revealing bustier, partial bare butt-revealing panties, fishnet stockings, etc.). She tells the sales associate she needs some lift and is then seen adjusting her breast in the bustier (we see a lot of skin). We then see Mary in her own lingerie that also shows cleavage. Mary then confronts Crystal, saying that her husband wouldn't like a trashy outfit like Crystal is wearing. Crystal replies that if Steven doesn't like what she's wearing, she takes it off. About her marriage, Mary rhetorically asks, "Did I screw around?" and "Did I go out and bang the Federal Express guy?" She says that 13 years of sex with the same man can be boring, even if Steven had his bag of tricks. She says that nobody's luckier than him because she's good in bed, adding, "I could suck the nails out of a board and that's a fact." A staffer proposes a story about a 45-minute orgasm. Sylvia repeats that last part and asks who has the time. The ladies have dinner in a lesbian bar where some lesbians do slow dancing and a poster shows one woman licking the side of another's face while having her leg up alongside that other woman. We hear Crystal state, "I'm sleeping with your father." Molly asks Sylvia how old the latter was when she first had sex. Sylvia obviously lies by saying she was 30, but then says it was horrible as it "hurt like hell." She adds that it was embarrassing as they didn't know what they were doing, and that she didn't have sex again for a long time. She then admits that she's had pretty good sex "for the hell of it," but adds that there's nothing like sex with someone you love. At a camp of some sort for divorced women, an instructor states that they always canoe at dawn. In response, Leah sarcastically replies that she always fake her orgasms, adding that doesn't make it right. Molly talks of other students whose moms' boyfriends would sleep over. Mary complains that she can't even talk to her own daughter about sex. To get Tanya to gossip misinformation back to Crystal, Sylvia and Mary pretend to meet by accident in Saks, with Mary saying that the sex with her ex-husband is off the charts. We see Crystal in a bubble bath, but don't see anything explicit. Mary shows cleavage. A song has the lyric "Sex can't buy it. Drugs can't buy it." We see miscellaneous cleavage. Edie is in a delivery chair with her legs spread, but beyond a brief glimpse of just part of her bare butt, we don't see anything explicit. About seeing the pain Edie's in, Sylvia says she's never having sex again, adding, "Sew me up now." We see tabloid photos of Crystal with a girlfriend (clothed, implying she's bisexual or has turned lesbian). SMOKING Sylvia asks Molly if she has a cigarette and the young teen hands her a pack that Sylvia then puts away, asking if Mary knows Molly smokes (she doesn't). Molly then says she smokes so she doesn't eat. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Edie mentions that Alan moved out and to a different floor for more space. Mary is somewhat upset when her husband cancels their vacation (over the phone). When she says "That G*ddamn office is sucking the life out of him," Sylvia replies, "Something definitely is" (referring to Crystal, but Mary doesn't know about her yet). Mary learns she's been fired by her father from his fashion business. Mary meets Tanya and is then shocked to learn -- through small talk -- that another worker at Saks is having an affair with Mary's husband. Catherine tells Mary, "Your father is a real sh*t." Catherine informs Mary that her husband (Mary's father) cheated on her in the past, and she did nothing, mainly for Mary's sake. Uta recounts what she heard when Mary and Steven were fighting about his affair. Molly sees her mom (helped by Maggie and Uta) dumping Steven's things out on the lawn. Molly overhears her mom's side of a conversation with her dad on the phone that doesn't go well. Molly tells Sylvia that she thinks she's a better mom than Mary who she thinks doesn't ever hear her. She then confides in Sylvia rather than Mary, hurting the mom. Leah admits that she's been married 5 times. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Affairs and their effects on marriages and families. Young teen Molly thinking she's fat (she isn't). The advice that when you don't know what to do, the best thing to do is nothing. Catherine informs Mary that her husband (Mary's father) cheated on her in the past, and she did nothing, mainly for Mary's sake. Sylvia stating that men have a hard time with successful women, adding that they (the women) shrink to fit. About her and other ladies magazines, Sylvia says they're driving women mad (by making them feel insufficient, etc.). The comment that betrayal is inevitable in any relationship. Sylvia asks Molly if she has a cigarette and the young teen hands her a pack that Sylvia then puts away, asking if Mary knows Molly smokes (she doesn't). Molly then says she smokes so she doesn't eat. Leah admits that she's been married 5 times. Leah tells Mary that the secret to life is "don't give a sh*t about anybody" and instead one should be selfish. Cosmetic surgery. VIOLENCE In frustration, Sylvia throws some fruit and hits Mary on the head. Reviewed September 3, 2008 / Posted September 12, 2008

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