The Six Wives of Henry Lefay (2010)

Simply A Masterpiece

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Tim Allen plays Henry LeFay, a man who never met a woman he didn't marry. Henry is a "Crazy Eddy" type who lives in a small upstate NY town. He is on vacation in Mexico when word comes to his daughter Barbie, that he has died. Barbie, who looks like a Barbie doll, is our voice of reason during this film. The movie then goes into a flashback of Henry, married to a young girl named Autumn (same age as his daughter Barbie), is also engaged to woman who Barbie loathes from high school (3 years younger than his wife Autumn) while he is having an affair with his ex-wife. To be honest, she was wife number 2 and number 4. At one point his ex-wife is chasing Henry with a knife because during oral sex he had answered his cell phone to talk to his fiancee (while his wife was away).At the funeral, his ex-wives have conflicting instructions, written by Henry as to his funeral arrangements. During the bickering, an African-American woman shows up at the funeral claiming she was really Henry's first wife and that their marriage was annulled after three months. Henry's elderly mom keeps mistaking her for the hired help. In one touching scene Barbie tries to bond with her grandmother by asking her to tell her something she never told her before. As it turns out, grandma was a woman for hire at Pearl Harbor during the war.After the funeral (I will spare you the comic details of the funeral to prevent spoiling the film) the movie ties up loose ends in a heart warming fashion.Normally I avoid things with cute title puns such as Joan of Arcadia, or Grey's Anatomy, but this one was good for a laugh. Adult themes, rear nudity, drops the f-bomb very infrequently.

Weekend at Bernie's. Death at a Funeral. Grand Theft Parsons. Call me sick, but there's something hilarious about dead people. And if you feel the same way, you'll enjoy this movie even if it isn't exactly Citizen Kane.In the opening scene, our titular character Henry, while bragging about his 6 ex-wives, dies. In the second scene we learn that his estranged daughter "Barbie" (wonderfully played by Elisha Cuthbert in a role that may remind you of the adorably neurotic Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally") must organize his funeral which is to be attended by, you guessed it, his 6 ex-wives.From there you can probably guess how things turn disastrous, and that's the fun of this movie. It's so delightfully predictable that you needn't stretch your brain cell too far to have a good time. Presented in an interesting collage of flashbacks of Henry's life and vignettes of the days leading up to the actual funeral, the movie gives us some funny, over-the-top characters. My favorite was probably Wife #2 "Ophelia" (hilariously played by Jenna Elfman), a vodka tonic swilling socialite who always seems to be just 1 Xanax away from being a serial killer. Tim Allen himself plays a memorable role as Henry Lefay, not exactly a likable guy, but very fun to watch as he makes a total arse of himself.There's a serious undertone in a subplot about the daughter Barbie and her inability to commit to romance herself, despite the fact that she's dating an absolute dreamboat "Lloyd" (Eric Christian Olsen) who will likely have all the ladies in the audience swooning and all the gents nervously checking around their seats to see where they dropped their sensitive side.In all, this is a fun romcom driven not so much by its plot as it is by the absolutely insane characters in the story. Don't miss small but memorable performances by Barbara Barrie ("Grandma Mae") and Edward Herrmann ("Mr. Goodenough" the funeral director) who are both respected veterans of the 1960s Alfred Hitchcock hour as well as more TV credits than you can shake a remote at. "The Six Wives of Henry Lefay" is an adult yet family friendly film without any gratuitous nudity (well OK, we do see Tim Allen's bum as he runs naked from a knife-wielding psycho) and without any profanity (well OK, there is one F-bomb but it is perfectly placed and thoroughly hilarious). Safe to watch with your kids or your parents... but definitely not your ex-wife.

"The Six Wives of Henry LaFey" has some great laughs and great performances, and was well worth the rental. I wasn't expecting much and got a pleasant surprise from this indie-comedy.LaFey (Tim Allen) has a group of women he's been married to all living in the same backwater town. His daughter Barbie (Elisha Cuthbert) can barely stand him, and after seeing her father extremely embarrass her, Barbie says she never wants to see him again. She gets her wish, and a year later, it seems he's died in Mexico. Barbie decides she wants to lay her dad to rest with a "modicum of dignity", which will be difficult considering the six wives Henry had, all demanding their own way of seeing him off.This was a really funny movie. The jokes are for the most part pretty clean, you could watch this with the family and not face any problems. The direction is great, there aren't any unnecessary scenes. But perhaps the best thing about this movie is the cast. Tim Allen nails a hysterical performance, and Elisha Cuthbert proves herself as adept a lead as Allen. The rest of the cast, mainly Henry's wives, all turn in funny, funny performances.A fun, funny film. I definitely recommend.

...sorry, of Henry Lefay (a.k.a My Dad's Six Wives). Oh what a pleasure to see such a modern parody played by Tim Allen as the ever loving skirt-chaser Henry, Elisha Cuthbert as his daughter Barbara ('Barbie Doll'), and other equally well-known screen names such as Jenna Elfman as Ophelia (wife nos. 3 & 4), Paz Vega as Veronica (wife # 5)(wow! hadn't seen Paz since Spanglish), Andie MacDowell as Kate (wife # 2), and others.But truly, if you're a lucky guy like Henry, handsome, rich, hopelessly romantic, irresistible, how could you blame him for having married 6 times and having all 5 ex's plus one widow fight over your remains? Who gets to lay you to rest and where, since all women swear they made you happy and/or you wanted to be buried, in a different location? Will your remains be cremated or buried in a plot (which at least 2 wives claim you selected and, in which one? Who gets to keep your business? Worst of all (or best), which one loved you the most and can correctly claim she had your trust and love? Ayayayayay, by the first ten minutes, and consequently every few minutes after that, it was impossible to keep a straight face any longer! I am still laughing at the fine sense of humor and witty plot of this movie while writing this.In the midst of all this, we have Barb (Elisha Cuthbert), seemingly the only one with a level head and cool disposition, and who does NOT believe in marriage by the way, trying to sort out this mess (as she was prone to do with most of her Dad's affairs, as we later find out), trying to keep her step-moms from cat-fighting, tearing each other's hair out, turning their cars into collision masterpieces, pulling the corpse from the coffin, including, but not limited to, verbally bashing one another over things like should visitation be with a closed or open coffin. Poor Barb! It was quite a roller-coaster when her Dad was alive, but now, after death...But do not think this is another one of those modern movies made with this crude, mindless, senseless humor so prevalent nowadays, where you wonder if the Director or Screen Writers think we are all brain dead. No no! This is a true comedy, tastefully well made, a bit wacky is some places, but logical and I daresay, very plausible. This is the kind of flick you want to watch over and over, and brace yourself for some good hard laughs again and again. The scene where Ophelia (Jenna Elfman), pursues a naked Henry (Tim Allen) across the lawn with a butcher's knife, stark nude herself, while the daughter Barbie stumbles onto them... man, that has got to be the crowning moment! I had to quickly swallow what I was eating to keep from choking!However, we come now to the real story behind the story, and I can think of no better way to put it without making reference to Kate's (Andie MacDowell) words in one of the scenes, where she tries to help Barbie understand there are, after all, just 2 mistakes you make in this process, and the significance of each one. Moreover, understanding someone like Henry is not about changing him - only he could do that if he wanted to, but it's about appreciating the person underneath, deep down, and here I recall that final scene when Kate was in the hospital. I don't want to spoil it for you, so I'd best leave it here. A story like this poses many questions; it's up to you to find the answers.If you are like me, a lover of an excellent story, good acting throughout, excellent humor, gripping plot that keeps you riveted till the very end, then be prepared to spend one of the best 90 minute viewing experiences you'll have watching this one. If you like surprise endings, be prepared for one too. So, bring along your best friend, wife, lover, girlfriend, or even your teenager (there are no risqué moments to be ashamed of); sit back and enjoy!