Ladies of the House (2008)

You won't be disappointed!

Wonderful character development!

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

A typical film dealing with 3 women working on the fixing up of a house left by a church member, so that they can sell the house and provide for needy children,really blossoms out. We soon find out that this work really serves as therapy for these women to combat one whose husband has been stricken with a fatal form of cancer, another whose wealthy husband has been cheating on her with his secretary, and the third whose husband has retired and she now feels that their marriage is faltering.Florence Henderson does a beautiful job as the widow and is equally matched by Donna Mills, the wife of the cheater, who comes down to earth and sees the true value of life by doing this work for their church.The film deals with the fulfillment of life by working for an admirable goal. It succeeds here.

My family loved the movie. It was funny to start with, then as the plot developed, some serious issues were revealed. The acting was great. The thing I liked best about the movie, was that it was geared to issues middle aged and older people face at that time of life. The actresses were fun to watch as they fixed up the house. The parts at the hardware store were especially funny. The three woman evolved through the movie, and by the end they were a support system for each other. They seemed as though they would make the best of their life situations, no matter what they faced. I could relate to some of the issues the women were dealing with. I plan to watch it again.

Years ago, there were women's pictures (sometimes called "weepers") and more recently there have been "chick flicks" and I suppose this movie could be categorized as such, but to do so would be to overlook some very fine male performances, particularly by Lance Henricksen as "Frank" and Gordon Thomson as "Richard." Richard Roundtree was under-utilized; he made the most of his under-written character and has one very fine scene towards the end of the picture. But his relationship with his wife "Birdie" (wonderfully played by the very talented Pam Grier) would make a terrific picture or television series by itself. Florence Henderson offers a very fine performance and Donna Mills does what she can with her all-too-familiar character of society wife. There is so much more to Donna Mills than beautiful, wealthy blonde parts, and this role is a good beginning for her to more-fully explore her talent. What I found refreshing about this movie is that it while it covers the ground of aging people's concerns, it does so in a realistic way, without too many pat, completely resolved by the end of the movie answers and without that annoying and unnatural "balance" of fresh, beautiful young characters to (I suppose) hold the interest of a younger audience. This movie might not appeal to a young audience, but if young people were to look at the subject matter as a metaphor for how to proceed in life in an uncertain world, I think they too might find it entertaining.

but the reconstruction of the house was completely inane. Three women who didn't already have access to screwdrivers and knew nothing about nails are supposed to rehab a home as a fund-raising project, and it didn't occur to them to ask for help from anyone? Didn't time mean anything to them? Did anyone else think this was a worthy project? We didn't see them work much after pulling out a cabinet and framing a short wall, but at the end the home was beautiful and we learned the entire plumbing system had been redone on a home which should have needed nothing more than new fixtures. Yes, it was a metaphor, and they "grew" from the experience; I grew cranky, did some fast-forwarding, and I'm a woman. It gives "chick-flick" a bad name.