Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman

This movie is very clever in making light of an ugliness that is all too common.

I can't imagine another actress pulling this off in the roll of Rose. She is perfect!

The only chink (can you still say chink?) in the armor is the actress playing the part of the tart assistant Mindy. She is supposed to be half of Roses' age so she should be around 25. This actress is clearly well north of 35 with all the trimmings, plastic surgery, overly botoxed lips, etc.

The writing is funny and very well timed.

At the beginning of the movie, Rose meets Nathan on an airplane. Twenty-five years later, they are married with grown children and she is the book editor of the Los Angeles Chronicle, where he is the editor. Nathan (Brian Kerwin) wants to leave Rose for her assistant Mindy (Abby Brammell). And who can blame him? We get to see what a beautiful body she has. But Rose has so much more to offer, and Nathan can't see it.

Things get worse: Simon tells Rose the newspaper is taking a new direction, emphasizing youth and innovation. She no longer fits in.

At first Rose is too depressed to do very much, but it doesn't take her long to pull herself together and get on with her life. Later, she meets Hal (Bryan Brown), who she loved before Nathan. But he couldn't stay in one place, and she wanted a more stable life. There are flashbacks of their relationship.

This wasn't the zany and outrageous comedy the title led me to expect, but Christine Lahti was great as Rose, going from sarcastic to defeated to confident. We often heard Rose's thoughts, which sometimes conflicted with what other characters heard her say.

Also good was the actress playing Rose's ditzy and selfish daughter Rachel, who married a man her parents didn't seem to approve of.

This was still a pretty good movie.

Enjoyable movie for a quiet Sunday evening. A male confesses to his wife that he's in love with her younger co-worker and protege. Helped by brains, family and friends, the woman copes with the situation and becomes stronger. Good play of Christine Lahti in the leading role, wonderful play of the couple's daughter. We can consider this movie not necessarily a drama, although the basic idea is a couple splitting up, but a comedy, since the puerile dialog between the man and the woman gives us a good laugh. And I'm not really sure if the producers wanted it this way. This isn't a movie to remember, although there are a few memorable quotes, that one cannot find in much higher rated movies.

Christine Lahti gives a marvellous performance moving from being unable to cope, to adapting her life and she has the viewer cheering her all the way .

Brian Kerwin as her errant husband is suitably pathetic , dithery, useless and unattractive compared to charismatic Brian Brown.

I watched this film being rather disappointed by the title which seemed to bear little resemblance to it ; but don't be . The final scenes will explain everything that it is about .And her philosophy , at the end , in one sentence sums the film .After questioning the title throughout I found myself smiling at how Id been lead and at the outcome .

Christine Lahti shines as a middle-aged professional woman who feels like she's been hit by a train when her husband announces he's leaving her. Not only that... he's leaving her for the younger, prettier, perkier woman who happens to be her assistant! Lahti is devastated but somehow manages to laugh through her tears as she thinks back on the signs of marital woe that she missed. Thank goodness she has support from her best friend, her 2 kids, and her mother. Things at first go from bad to worse for her, but then there is a silver lining, a wonderful revenge scene involving her boss --- and a man from her past, to help her pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Highly recommended for all gals over 40!!