Death Becomes Her




It offers us a taste of youth and vitality, and then it makes us witness our own decay.

Seriously, why does death always have to be such a morbid topic?

After a little selective wooing, the vain Madeline (Meryl Streep) steals the nerdy Dr. Ernest Menville (Bruce Willis) from Helen (Goldie Hawn). Keeping that love triangle straight isn't quite so important, but Madeline and Ernest's subsequent marriage is a disaster, and Helen is left unbalanced and overweight. Things get shook up somewhat however, when Madeline stumbles upon a potion that promises to grant eternal youth.

It of course goes a lot further than that, but the majority consists of playing off the situation and trio for laughs, as well as showing that there are some definite down sides to being immortal. For two characters as hilariously vain as the two women are, that's no so much of a big deal. All of the characters are obviously overdone stereotypes for the sake of humor, but it works, and they all manage some clever lines. There's also a great deal of physical comedy later on when the whole death subject becomes more prominent, but the film's best laughs are the subtle ones. But despite the fact that it works on nearly all fronts, it is a little too slow, and alas, the laughs aren't exceptionally lasting. Still, it's a mildly clever little piece full of Robert Zemeckis' little touches, one of the more impressive being the visual effects, which garnered an Oscar.

Despite the talent involved, the acting is fairly pedestrian. To be sure, both Streep and Hawn give it their all (and it is sort of funny seeing a hefty Hawn), but they're essentially given small roles with nowhere to go. Ironically, the one who comes out smelling the best is Bruce Willis, who's funny just in imagining him as a mousy dork, and even funnier in actual practice.

A little dry and maybe just a little too lifeless.



-The Gnome