The War of the Roses (film)

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The War of the Roses
Directed by Danny DeVito
Thomas Lofaro (1st Ass't)
Produced by James L. Brooks & Arnon Milchan
Written by Warren Adler (novel)
Michael J. Leeson (screenplay)
Starring Michael Douglas
Kathleen Turner
Danny DeVito
Music by David Newman
Cinematography Stephen H. Burum
Editing by Lynzee Klingman
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) December 8, 1989
Running time 116 min.
Language English
IMDb profile
This article is about a film. For other uses, see Wars of the Roses (disambiguation).

The War of the Roses is a 1989 American motion picture based upon the 1981 novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler. It is a dark comedy about a wealthy couple with a seemingly perfect marriage. He is a successful lawyer and his wife is building her own catering business. When their marriage begins to fall apart, material possessions become the center of an outrageous and bitter divorce battle.

In both the novel and the movie, the married couple's family name is Rose. At the same time, the title of the book/film alludes to the battles between the Houses of York and Lancaster at the end of the Middle Ages (see Wars of the Roses). In the German-speaking world, since the release of the movie, the word Rosenkrieg (meaning "Roses war", or less literally, "War of the Roses") has come to denote such a bitter fight for material possessions (and maybe also for custody of the children) as depicted in the film, with most speakers completely unaware of the word's origins.

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[edit] Primary cast:

[edit] Synopsis

The film begins with Gavin D'Amato (Danny DeVito) talking to a client about the subject of divorce and cigarettes. Gavin tells the man that he "quit for thirteen years, and then Barbara showed up". A brief flashback shows Barbara Rose (Kathleen Turner) trying to seduce Gavin. Gavin then begins to tell his client about the War of the Roses.

Oliver Rose (Michael Douglas) meets Barbara in Nantucket at the end of the tourist season. They both find a small auction tent and proceed to bargain. Oliver spots an antique Chinese Homunculus (a delicate statue) up for auction. As he begins to bid on it, he is consistently overbid by Barbara, with Barbara ultimately winning the bid. Afterwards, Oliver tries to get the statue from Barbara and they have a pleasant conversation, in which Barbara demonstrates some of her strength moves from gymnastics. Later she misses her ferry and wind up making love with Oliver.

We move forward a few years, with Oliver now working very hard in his firm, Barbara is a waitress, and they have two children, Josh and Carolyn. Already, we see that the children are very disobedient and spoiled, and we learn that they get this from their mother, who constantly gives them treats, under the delusion that if she gives them what they want, they will grow up to be the perfect kids.

Barbara encourages Oliver out for a walk on Christmas Eve where she reveals to him that she bought him a Morgan, a classic automobile that Oliver has always wanted. It seems like a fairy tale, but is far from it.

Moving a few years ahead, we have come to find that Oliver has been very successful in his practice, Barbara is still a waitress and the kids have become obese. Oliver has invited his senior partners over for dinner at their apartment and wants to make an impression. Barbara begins to tell them a story about how they got their Baccarat glassware, but she is constantly interrupted by Oliver when she doesn't get the facts of the story right. She is also annoyed with Oliver's fake laugh with his partners and the fact that Gavin is playing footsie with his date, using carrots to massage her feet. That night, she begins to taunt Oliver about his laugh.

Some time later, we find that Barbara has been writing notes to people who own wealthy mansions in the hopes that the house will sell and she can become the buyer. On one such occasion, much to the annoyance of Josh and Carolyn, she writes a letter to an owner, and when she attempts to put the letter on the door, she meets the daughter of the owner of the mansion who just recently passed away. The daughter is looking for someone to take care of the house and eventually, the Roses purchase the house.

After many years of slavering over the house decorations, Barbara becomes bored with the house life, the life of the homemaker. The kids (now trim and athletic) are off at college. She begins her own catering business and then proceeds to buy herself a large SUV, much to Oliver's distaste. As events unfold, Barbara has become annoyed with anything Oliver does, such as smashing a fly with her proposal for a potential customer. For this, she proceeds to set every kitchen appliance running and leave the room.

That night, Oliver and Barbara begin wrestling in bed, when Barbara squeezes Oliver between her legs, making him sore. When he begins to taunt back, she switches off the light and turns her back on him. He utters "What the hell is wrong with you?". She doesn't answer. Gavin, in his storytelling, tells his client that that meant trouble.

The next day, Oliver suffers what he thinks is a heart-attack while on lunch with his clients. He is rushed to the hospital. Oliver is scared because he thinks he's going to die, and writes a note to Barbara saying "All that I am and all that I have I owe to you". He comes to find it wasn't a heart-attack after all, and is waiting for Barbara to pick him up at the hospital. She never shows up. He ends up having to take a train to get home.

Later, Barbara comes home and is relieved that he is okay. He reads her his note. Later that same night, Oliver is fast asleep and Barbara is restless. She wakes Oliver by putting her fingers up his nose, wanting to talk to him about what happened to her on the way to the hospital. She tells him that she felt scared because she felt happy, happy that she would be free of him. She eventually reveals that she wants a divorce, having grown so disgusted with him that she wants to "smash his face in" every time she sees him. When Oliver taunts her, she responds with a punch that sends her husband reeling. Oliver then tells her to get a good lawyer to which she responds, "The best your money can buy."

Unfortunately, they both want the house and its contents, and neither refuses to budge.

[edit] Award nominations


[edit] Trivia

This is the third film to co-star Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny Devito after Romancing the Stone and its sequel The Jewel of the Nile.

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