Summaries

Reunited by the death of a college friend, three divorced women seek revenge on the husbands who left them for younger women.

After years of helping their hubbies climb the ladder of success, three wives have been dumped for newer, curvier models. But the trio is determined to turn their pain into gain. They come up with a cleverly devious plan to hit their exes where it really hurts, in the wallet. Sit back and watch the sparks fly as The Wives get mad, get even, and get it all. Justice has seldom been so sweet. Or so much fun.

Reunited after nearly three long decades at their friend's funeral, the once-close-knit team of college friends--the Oscar-winning actress, Elise; the mouthy, Brenda, and the quiet housewife, Annie--realise that they have much more in common than their age. Betrayed and divorced by their treacherous husbands for trophy mistresses, the wronged women finally summon up the courage to take matters into their own hands, to avenge themselves, and give them a dose of their own medicine. Now, the exes are hell-bent on getting even. Do their former men stand a chance against the First-Wives Club?—Nick Riganas

Now in middle age, Elise Eliot, Brenda Cushman née Morelli, Annie Paradis née MacDuggan, and Cynthia Griffin née Swann were the closest of friends in college twenty-five years ago, but they drifted apart after college in their differences. Elise is a youth obsessed famous actress. Brenda is brash and straight talking. Annie is a doormat of a woman who has never taken a decisive action in her life. And Cynthia is the proverbial glue in guiding the other three. Elise, Brenda and Annie are reunited at Cynthia's funeral, she who committed suicide upon the marriage of her ex-husband Gil Griffin to who was his much younger mistress. In reuniting, the three women come to various degrees of realization that they are much like each other and much like Cynthia: each is at a different stage of her marriage dissolving - Brenda and her discount retail mogul husband Morty Cushman have already divorced, Elise and her movie producer husband Bill Atchison are in the middle of a contentious divorce with Bill requesting alimony, and Annie and her husband Aaron Paradis, a partner in a successful ad firm, are separated, although Annie goes running back to Aaron for sex anytime he asks in her anticipation that they will get back together - and that each wife was the catalyst for her respective husband's financial success. But it isn't until each woman receives a final letter of that guidance from Cynthia and that they all finally discover that there is a younger woman now in her husband's life that the three, with the help of supporters, decide to join forces to get revenge on their husbands. The questions become if they can find a way to get back at each of the three where it will really hurt them, and if they themselves can overcome their own differences to accomplish this goal.—Huggo

Details

Keywords
  • argument
  • friendship between women
  • gold digger
  • older man younger woman relationship
  • reunion of old friends
Genres
  • Comedy
Release date Sep 19, 1996
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) PG
Countries of origin United States
Language English Italian French
Filming locations Robbins & Appleton Building, 1 Bond Street, New York City, New York, USA
Production companies Paramount Pictures Scott Rudin Productions

Box office

Budget $26000000
Gross US & Canada $105489203
Opening weekend US & Canada $18913411
Gross worldwide $181489203

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 43m
Color Color
Sound mix DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
Aspect ratio 1.85 : 1

Synopsis

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