Death Becomes Her
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Madeline is married to Ernest, who was once her arch-rival Helen's fiancé. After recovering from a mental breakdown, Helen vows to kill Madeline and steal back Ernest. Unfortunately for everyone, the introduction of a magic potion causes things to be a great deal more complicated than a mere murder plot.
What critics thought
Critics in 1992 were split down the middle: the special effects and the three lead performances — especially Willis playing against type as a hapless milquetoast — drew genuine admiration, but many felt Zemeckis let the pyrotechnics swallow the satire whole, leaving the characters stranded and the social commentary thin. The film has since found a devoted second life, particularly in queer communities, where its undead divas fighting a rigged system have aged into something that feels pointed rather than hollow.
“Instantly grotesque, relentless misanthropic and spectacularly tasteless, 'Death Becomes Her' isn't a film designed to win the hearts of the mass moviegoing public. But it is diabolically inventive and very, very funny.”
Dave Kehr·Chicago Tribune
“The trouble with Death Becomes Her isn't that its comic vision is too dark but that it has no shadings, no acerbic glee. Zemeckis gives nastiness such a hard sell he forgets to take any delight in it.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“Oddly, the more fantastical and grotesque this comedy becomes, the more conventional it seems-and the less it has to say. Somewhere in the middle of the movie, the characters take a back seat to the pyrotechnics, reality is replaced by cliffhangers and Gothic claptrap, and the laughs start to dry up. Satire needs a social context, but the filmmakers have little to say about the culture that created these age-obsessed women. Still, even when 'Death Becomes Her' wanders off course, it remains worth rooting for.”
David Ansen·Newsweek
“Time has been kind to 'Death Becomes Her', and the mordantly funny eye it turns to Hollywood pretense and our cultural inability to forgive women for aging. With the virtual extinction of Hollywood's interest in women over thirty, it's a real pleasure to see a film centered on and held down by two actresses as strong as Streep and Hawn.”
Jessica Ritchey·RogerEbert.com
Accolades
Genres
Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Cast & Crew
Robert ZemeckisDirector
Meryl StreepMadeline Ashton Menville
Goldie HawnHelen Sharp
Bruce WillisDr. Ernest Menville
Isabella RosselliniLisle von Rhuman
Ian OgilvyChagall
Adam StorkeDakota
Alaina Reed HallPsychologist
Nancy FishRose
Michelle JohnsonAnna
Mary Ellen TrainorVivian Adams
John IngleEulogist
Alan SilvestriComposer
David KoeppWriter
Martin DonovanWriter
Dean CundeyCinematographyDeath Becomes Her
Madeline is married to Ernest, who was once her arch-rival Helen's fiancé. After recovering from a mental breakdown, Helen vows to kill Madeline and steal back Ernest. Unfortunately for everyone, the introduction of a magic potion causes things to be a great deal more complicated than a mere murder plot.
What critics thought
Critics in 1992 were split down the middle: the special effects and the three lead performances — especially Willis playing against type as a hapless milquetoast — drew genuine admiration, but many felt Zemeckis let the pyrotechnics swallow the satire whole, leaving the characters stranded and the social commentary thin. The film has since found a devoted second life, particularly in queer communities, where its undead divas fighting a rigged system have aged into something that feels pointed rather than hollow.
“Instantly grotesque, relentless misanthropic and spectacularly tasteless, 'Death Becomes Her' isn't a film designed to win the hearts of the mass moviegoing public. But it is diabolically inventive and very, very funny.”
Dave Kehr·Chicago Tribune
“The trouble with Death Becomes Her isn't that its comic vision is too dark but that it has no shadings, no acerbic glee. Zemeckis gives nastiness such a hard sell he forgets to take any delight in it.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“Oddly, the more fantastical and grotesque this comedy becomes, the more conventional it seems-and the less it has to say. Somewhere in the middle of the movie, the characters take a back seat to the pyrotechnics, reality is replaced by cliffhangers and Gothic claptrap, and the laughs start to dry up. Satire needs a social context, but the filmmakers have little to say about the culture that created these age-obsessed women. Still, even when 'Death Becomes Her' wanders off course, it remains worth rooting for.”
David Ansen·Newsweek
“Time has been kind to 'Death Becomes Her', and the mordantly funny eye it turns to Hollywood pretense and our cultural inability to forgive women for aging. With the virtual extinction of Hollywood's interest in women over thirty, it's a real pleasure to see a film centered on and held down by two actresses as strong as Streep and Hawn.”
Jessica Ritchey·RogerEbert.com
Accolades
Genres
Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Cast & Crew
Robert ZemeckisDirectorMeryl StreepMadeline Ashton MenvilleGoldie HawnHelen SharpBruce WillisDr. Ernest MenvilleIsabella RosselliniLisle von RhumanIan OgilvyChagallAdam StorkeDakotaAlaina Reed HallPsychologistNancy FishRoseMichelle JohnsonAnnaMary Ellen TrainorVivian AdamsJohn IngleEulogistAlan SilvestriComposerDavid KoeppWriterMartin DonovanWriterDean CundeyCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy