It's no secret I'm a fan of the works of Robert Zemeckis. The man just seems to be tuned into my senses of humor, wonder and all-around fun. From the perfectly made Back to the Future movies, the Oscar-winning Forrest Gump and the breathtaking classic that is Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Zemeckis wows audiences with advanced technology while balancing clear story and characters.
However, his first film post-Spielberg does not get much acclaim outside of its cast. It definitely strikes more adult than both the Future trilogy and Roger Rabbit. Bringing his effects to bear, Zemeckis wanted to make a statement on the vanity of some Southern California women and their obsession with beauty. Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis and Goldie Hawn give this dark fantasy a comedic makeover with Death Becomes Her.
All their lives, Madeline Ashton (Meryl Steep) and Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn) have been in endless competition with each other over men. Madeline stole Helen's fiancé, the meek mortician Dr. Ernest Menville (Bruce Willis) and proceeded to make his life a living hell. However, Madeline is appalled to see Helen years after she stole her potential groom looking quite stunning and gorgeous. Fearing her own decaying mortality, Madeline reluctantly finds herself in the presence of a modern-day witch, Lisle (Isabella Rossellini), who sells her potion guaranteed ”[to stop] the aging process dead in its tracks”. After taking it, Madeline does gain a new lease on life with her revitalized body. However, her years of giving grief to poor Ernest has taken its toll and he pushes her down the stairs of their mansion. Without thinking about it, Madeline picks herself back up and realizes that her body has not only stopped aging, it has stopped pulsing. To all medical science, she is a walking, talking corpse. And to her and Ernest's astonishment, it seems as though Helen has taken the same treatment.
The above plot synopsis seems awfully complex and it is, because the film does span a few decades. It tracks the ups and downs of Madeline and Helen's lives and how they would naturally collide in this unnatural way. The film does not waste any time setting up these characters and has no fear of making them unlikable. However, it's clear that Streep, Hawn and Willis are at their best; especially Willis playing wildly against type as the manic Dr. Menville. Without going into much detail, I have never cared for the career of Meryl Streep and her countless Oscar nominations do not add much for me in her favor. Still her performance here is very satisfying and gives me a good chuckle. I should also mention Hawn is having a ball with her role, in particular the scenes where her character goes through an overweight crazy cat lady phase.
Apparently there is a least thirty minutes to an hour worth's of footage left on the cutting room floor including a subplot involving Tracy Ullman (best known as the host of the sketch comedy show that gave birth to "The Simpsons"). To me, this is evident in the standout sequences where Helen and Madeline are fighting, with their undead bodies taking massive damage. These seem to be the scenes the movie's promotional materials were built around but it does not appear to be all that was filmed. The fights end too quickly. Still, ILM's master animators and technicians did a brilliant job of keeping up the illusions and most assuredly earned their Academy Award for Best Special Effects.
Death Becomes Her is full of fresh ideas and on-point satire, but it feels lacking in what it was promoted as. This is, of course, not Zemeckis' fault. He delivered the movie he set out to make. It's not as thrilling as Back to the Future or as funny as Roger Rabbit, but it showcases another side of a great director. This ghoulish side would later reappear to develop "Tales from the Crypt" for TV and introduce America to future Best Director winner Peter Jackson with The Frighteners (interestingly, Alan Silvestri's score for this film was used in the trailers for Jackson's film). Maybe someday Zemeckis will indulge his spookiness again.
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