User reviews

A very good movie, one that holds up well after repeated viewings. Even if you're familiar with the story, DeVito's methodical and precise direction makes it thoroughly absorbing all over again. This movie has the directorial perfection of a good Alfred Hitchcock thriller, but it's not either a thriller or a comedy; it's a unique mix of elements from several genres, that does contain some laughs and sardonic humor, but also has serious undertones, mostly thanks to Michael Douglas' three-dimensional character and surprisingly sensitive performance. Strongly recommended.

There isn't a plethora of funny lines in "The War of the Roses" (it's just not that kind of comedy), but the blistering cynicism about marriage makes them stand out all the same (the stabbing victim in the hospital claimed most of these). If you want to call this a cautionary tale of divorce, I'm just fine with that. Watching these people bitterly drift apart is uncomfortable, and the filmmakers know this because the whole third act is the literal destruction of everything they've labored so long to build. The absurdity is almost a salve.

It's a comedy, but also dark as hell. The dialogue, on the other hand, that's fantastic.

7/10

The premise is simple enough: a moderately wealthy couple—whose last name is Rose—decides to get divorced after many years of marriage. But neither of them wants to give up their house, and both remain living in it, getting on each other's nerves as they deliberately and maliciously annoy and attack each other, each in an attempt to get the other to give up and leave.

It's exactly the sort of film I don't normally enjoy, where two equally detestable parties go back and forth trying to one up each other with ridiculous shenanigans that are rarely funny and never make up for the ninety minutes of wasted time. It reminds me of dumb comedy films like Duplex—which pits neighbor against neighbor—and Are We There Yet?, in which Ice Cube goes up against his new girlfriend's mischievous kids. These sorts of films aren't typically my cup of tea, but it wasn't my turn to pick the movie, so I just sat back and watched.

And then a funny thing occurred. Almost immediately, I got drawn into the story. That wasn't supposed to happen, but it did, and I was pleasantly surprised. I normally don't even care for Danny DeVito as a director, probably due to the fact that he made the awful Duplex, which I mentioned earlier. I mean, I did enjoy Matilda, but that was a family movie that I watched as a kid. War of the Roses was something else entirely, and despite my efforts, I couldn't help but enjoying it.

It tells the story in a different way than others of its kind. Things unfold naturally and totally believably. Sure, some of the stunts that the characters pull reach the same levels of ridiculousness as in those other films that I didn't like, but here we get the impression that it's done for the sake of the story, rather than for just another cheap laugh. Instead of yawning, I was wide sitting wide-eyed on the edge of my seat. It's not just funny; it's also very real and poignant, especially considering the fact that most of us know someone who's had a really tough divorce and it's easy to see how things could go just as bad as they do in War of the Roses.

And, unlike most of these kinds of movies and apart from my expectations, we actually end up caring about the characters, despite their overabundance of flaws. They're both selfish idiots, which makes the story so much better, but they're still believable and very well acted. From moment to moment we find ourselves siding with each one. Neither of them could be called true protagonists, as they constantly antagonize each other, but there's a balance of both deserved animosity and loathsomeness between them that is very well done. They got good actors to play these roles, and they play them so well that we almost don't notice that it could have been much worse in the hands of anyone else.

The whole story is told by Danny DeVito, who plays a divorce attorney who is telling it as a warning to a prospective client who never says a word during the entire film. And the ending is great. I won't spoil it, but trust me, it's a good one. This definitely isn't the best film I've seen, but it's certainly the best of its kind, and makes me reconsider my attitude toward this type of film. I just thought the whole idea was bad, but it turns out that it's often just done very poorly.

DeVito is a hit-and-miss director. He's turned out some very good films and some very bad ones. Sometimes his satire just falls short ("Death to Smoochy," for example); however, "War of the Roses" is his strongest directorial effort to date.

It's got everything - a clever script, great interaction between its two stars, exciting thrills, funny gags (without ever resorting to unnecessary crudity), and to top it all off, the direction is very effective - DeVito is heavily influenced by Hitchcock and that is very clear in the final sequence, which is reminiscent of "Vertigo" and "Rear Window." Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner play the Rose couple - two once-happily-married people who are now, after many years together, bitter and at the end of their frustration. Deciding upon a divorce, they begin to split apart; however, negotiations regarding belongings begin to go awry as Oliver Rose (Douglas) demands more from his wife, claiming it's his money that purchased their enormous house and all objects inside.

DeVito turns in a performance as the narrator, and Oliver's lawyer, who tells us at the start we are about to watch a sad tale about divorce. By the time the film has ended we've seen events spiral totally out of control - beginning with absolute believability and ending in absolute absurdity.

That's the crucial part of all this. Black comedy relies on whether the dramatic arc of the content - the leap from reality to lunacy - can be believable. Many times in DeVito's film, it isn't. "Smoochy," for example, was clever satire at first, and fairly reminiscent of real-life people and events; then it turned into an over-the-top revenge rampage.

"War of the Roses" is more careful, and the arc is subtler. It's believable because the characters are given such room to grow and their conflict blossoms throughout the picture.

I'd classify "War of the Roses" as one of the funniest, cleverest and most underrated black comedies of the 1980s - it's one of my personal favorite movies and never fails to crack me up. A cult film? Maybe; but I think many more people would enjoy it if they gave it a chance.

A middle-aged affluent couple hit marital problems and start fighting over the ownership of their mansion. This leads to increasing levels of antagonism and borderline sociopathic behaviour.

The War of the Roses is very 80's, very loud and kind of fun. If you want a subtle study of marital breakdown then seek it somewhere else because this most certainly is not it. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner play the warring couple. We follow their story from their first meeting, through the happy early days to the outright marital war that constitutes the end of their relationship. Douglas and Turner are basically let loose on this film to chew the scenery and go cartoonishly over-the-top. And for the most part it's a great deal of fun seeing them do this, as both are very capable actors who can play mildly deranged very convincingly. I felt, however, that the film lost a bit of steam in its final section. As the pair went increasingly berserk in their antics, the film lost me a bit. Having said that, it is a funny film at times and it's quite a bit of fun watching both principal actors going hell for leather. It's probably a film that people going through a divorce can relate to best. It most probably will give them a few ideas.

Director Danny Devito and the writers are to be credited for following this story's dark premise straight to its grim conclusion, and not opting for a cop-out 'happy ending'. Maybe that accounts for the movie's relatively low user rating. Whatever. Turner and Douglas are superb here. I saw Douglas on the Carson show after the movie came out, relating how, after a day's shoot, he and Turner would get together to remind each other that they were still friends. Seeing the movie shows why they had to do this.

Note how the movie begins in the openness and light of Nantucket in summer and gets progressively darker, ending in the claustrophobic closeness of the nailed-up house. Note how Kathleen Turner's hair changes from sleek at the start to straw at the end. Note the role the Baccarat crystal plays. Note the frequent emphasis on the chandelier throughout. All masterful touches.

A classic black comedy for grownups. Don't watch this one with your spouse unless you are on really good terms.

A classic feature of Danny DeVito's (far too few) works as a director is that they are utterly evil. Cruel. Wicked. Merciless to their characters and merciless to the viewer. Although this is often combined with slight exaggeration, it is exactly what I love about them.

After seeing The War of the Roses the second time after having grown a little older, I still feel that particular satisfaction. But this time, there are a few more things I think about, a few more questions I ask myself. For instance: who is the bad guy in the film? Who is `to blame'? And although it's clear that the Roses both have extremely unmoveable and stubborn characters, which partly leads to the catastrophe, I came to the conclusion that Barbara is the driving force of the whole divorce story. She announces her wish to divorce upon grounds that are not quite convincing. Maybe people who do not like Michael Douglas can sympathize with her but her reasons are not fair. She invariably follows her instinct without paying any respect to other people. Kathleen Turner portrays her most believably in this insufferable phase.

Oliver Rose, on the other hand, is one of those people who are proud of doing everything in a perfectly correct manner. He is therefore very sensitive and easily confronted if one doesn't acknowledge his correct behavior. He then becomes completely helpless and unable to react properly. That makes him an ideal `victim' to Barbara's striking egoism.

I'm mentioning this only because it is a new aspect I found during second viewing, and I am sure it was also DeVito's intention to develop characters like this, so for him, the turbulent divorce story is not just a parable on how stupid people are in general. He of course reserved the best role in the film for himself – he is the wise man who tells the parable and who emerges victorious in the end.

The War of the Roses with its merciless cruelness remains one of my favourite comedies of all time.

Gavin D'Amato (Danny DeVito) is an expert divorce attorney as he recounts the case that drove him to restart smoking. Oliver Rose (Michael Douglas) met Barbara (Kathleen Turner) as they battle over an antique Japanese carving in the rainy last day of the season in Nantucket. They get together that day. They get married. They have a couple of kids. He becomes a successful lawyer. She gets her dream house. However they slowly drift apart. Little irritants creep into their relationship. He works too much. She gets tired of her empty life. She's angry at him and he doesn't know why. Their fairy tale marriage deteriorates into an acrimonious divorce. Through a loophole, he forces his way back into the house.

This is a dark comedy walking a fine line. I'm not sure if it doesn't stray over the line. It is so dark at times that it becomes uncomfortably unfunny. Then it snaps back with big laughs once in awhile. Danny DeVito is pushing hard visually to create something interesting and dark. The second half of the movie is where the couple starts on a course of tit for tat. It hits some dark comedic tones. The two angry combatants are so serious that it's hard to laugh at them. It is really better to see this as a dark cautionary tale rather than a funny comedy.

Well-made but not much fun. This is a dark comedy starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a couple whose relationship takes an ugly turn when she wants a divorce. Danny DeVito co-stars and also directs. It's a very interesting movie, although not particularly enjoyable for my tastes. The characters aren't that likable despite the actors' charms. There's also some mean-spiritedness that made me wish the eventual fate of these two would happen an hour sooner than it does. Large parts of the movie, particularly in the first half, feel a bit like a stage play filmed on old-fashioned sets. There's something quaint about that I like but it's also a little distracting. I can certainly understand why others would like, if not love, this movie. I don't regret watching it but it's something I'll probably never watch again.

Romance turns sour in this somewhat odd motion picture from Danny DeVito. Flashbacks show a loving relationship between husband Michael Douglas and wife Kathleen Turner turn into a snake's pit. A crazed divorce goes from being down right nasty and then gets even worse. DeVito is the family attorney who gets to see the couple destroy themselves slowly but surely. An odd tone sinks "The War of the Roses". A really sad separation of a once happy family is dealt with in a sometimes comical way that feels forced. At times you laugh through clenched teeth as it is realized that tragedy is being viewed. A film that probably tries to do a little too much. Another could-have-been-production that just never does accomplish its lofty goals. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

A classic black comedy that stood the test of time. Douglas and Turner, after having played lovers in the Romancing the Stone comedy series, turn serious (but not too much) in this dark drama about a disaffected couple.

Oliver and Barbara Rose have been married over 18 years. Once their kids leave the nest Barbara decides she had enough, The nest in question is a splendid mansion, decorated with love and extreme care by Barbara in the course of many years and those centrepiece is a magnificent crystal chandelier in the entrance hall.

The typical stay-at-home mum who wants something "more" once her reproductive needs are satisfied, Barbara wants to start a catering business, but most of all, she wants to get rid of Oliver. Her hapless husband is a successful lawyer who paid for everything Barbara owns and who gets first baffled, then frustrated and finally furious at Barbara' ingratitude.

One may wonder why Barbara started to dislike, even despise Oliver, but this is one of those mysteries only people married for many years can understand. It just happens that one day you find repulsive the person you loved. Marriage is not an exact science.

The divorce turns bitter quickly because both Oliver and Barbara want the house, despite the advice from their friend (and Oliver's lawyer) who also narrate the story. As noted by him "There are no winners in a divorce, only different degrees of losing".

The end of the story is an escalation in nastiness and madness until the extreme consequences. Turner was still smouldering hot and Douglas not to bad himself. A beautiful couple with a lot of onscreen chemistry, supported marvellously by De Vito.

You know a movie is funny when you're by yourself and laughing out loud. This is a hilarious saga of a divorcing couple, both of whom refuse to leave their house. "The gloves are off," Michael Douglas announces to wife Kathleen Turner, although for the viewer, they had been off for some time. Both stop at nothing to drive the other out.

It's a strange film in a way because it starts out as a love story and slowly builds, as little signs that all is not well in paradise begin to emerge. Once the ugliness starts, there's no stopping it, and the film rapidly becomes a very black comedy.

Turner and Douglas receive able support from a very funny Danny Devito, who also directed, and the wonderful Marianne Sagebrecht, who provides a gentle presence amidst the chaos.

Starred by a well-to-do suburban wealthy marriage who can't agree on a properly settlement in their divorce. Being expertly and lovingly made by DeVito, who performs an advocate at law. After seventeen of marital bliss , Barbara (Kathleen Turner) asks her lawyer husband (Michael Douglas) for a divorce . The reason ? Because when I watch you sleeping, when I see you eating, when I look at you now, I just want to smash you face in. They have been married for 17 years, and they seem to be the perfect couple. There is only one small problem: They can't stand each other. She is very resentful and thin, like the cat she loves. He is a man absorbed in his business, and somewhat stupid like the dog that belongs to him. Advised by a lawyer (DeVito) , their divorce process becomes a real war, using their palatial home as a battlefield. This Film Is Not For The Lover In Us All !. Once in a lifetime comes a motion picture that makes you feel like falling in love all over again !. This is not that movie !.

After the success of "Romancing the stone" and ¨The Jewel of the Nile¨, its protagonist trio reunited again in this enjoyable film, The War of the Rose (1989). On this occasion, DeVito, in addition to being a key character in the story, stood behind the camera. With a cynical irony, and a black humor taken to the limit, the actor-director presented a cruel satire on marriage, or better, on divorce, from then on, their showcase home, complete with two kids , dog and cat becomes a battlefield. The victims of this fairy tale that ends badly, were Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas, whose chemistry, as they already demonstrated in previous films, became money raised at the box office. Adapted from Warren Adler's novel, this portrait of a disintegrating marriage is an unbridled mix of perverse and shocking humor, as the protagonists wage an unreserved and escalating combat against each other. This dark comic tone, however, is lightened into a cautionary tale by pro-marital moralizing in a particular scene in which divorce attorney DeVito relates the events to a potential client. There is also the quasi-furtive suspicion that what the couple is destroying is not so much the emotional fabric of their relationship as the furnishings of their home. De Vito's quirky camera angles, Turner's steely gaze, and Douglas' vengeful performance inject a sadistic comic-strip madness or extreme nastiness into a film that for once has the nerve to observe his evil at every turn.

The motion picture was well directed by Danny DeVito. He's a prestigious writer/producer/director and actor. Danny has worked with director Tim Burton in four films: Batman returns (1992), Mars Attacks! (1996), Big Fish (2003) and Dumbo (2019). The launch of his and wife Rhea Perlman's production company, "Jersey Films", kicked off with the release of Hoffa. DeVito Frequently appears in films with Jack Nicholson and starred with Michael Douglas in Romancing the stone (1984), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), The war of the Roses (1989) and The lonely man (2009) and he also starred in One flew over the Cuckoo's nest (1975), which Douglas produced; they remained great friends to this day. Danny has directed nice films with penchant for comedies, such as: Duplex, Smoochy, Matilda, Hoffa, Amazing stories, Throw Momma from the Train, among others. Rating: 6.5/10. Well worth watching.

First off let me say that Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner were the perfect choices for this movie! They both gave electric powerful performances and really proved themselves as fine artists. They have awesome chemistry too, we first saw that in Romancing the Stone, but their chemistry in The War of the Roses is a very different kind of chemistry. Yeah sure in the first 15 minutes it shows them making passionate love and becoming infatuated with one another, then comes the kiddies, but really this film is not at all about love, this is NOT a romance story. No it's a movie about an extremely bitter married couple going through a divorce. Neither of the two are willing to give up the elegant nice house they live in. So thus the war begins. "The gloves are off" as Douglas's character states at one point in the film. The script is very well written, it doesn't waste any time or drag on, it entertains the entire runtime, there was not a single moment. Danny DeVito is a talented actor and director, he proves that in this film. Both his acting and his directing are both great. The events that happen throughout the film are bitter and full of anger, but it's very interesting to watch. It runs deep in character development, a movie like this would have to in order to be successful. The movie is not one to view for a "feel good" mood or for when you want something sweet and romantic. If you're in the mood for a dramedy starring two fine actors that is interesting and well written, then I suggest The War of the Roses. 8/10.

This is some sort of cult classic from the 1980s. After all, the title itself has been parodied in countless TV shows (THE SIMPSONS, AMERICAN DAD, WILL AND GRACE, THE GOLDBERGS), it's probably the most famous of the three movies Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner did together (and they even referenced it in their TV show THE KOMINSKY METHOD) and has been aired lots of times. I finally saw it some months ago and, while I liked it, I found it good but nothing more.

Gavin (Danny De Vito) is a lawyer that has a case of a man (Dan Castellaneta) determined to divorce. Seeing his desperation, Gavin tells the story of two of his previous clients: Oliver and Barbara Rose (Douglas and Turner). Oliver and Barbara met when he was a student in law and she was a ginnast: they fall in love instantly, marry and have kids. At first they love and their life is perfect. After a while they start to have some issues; Barbara can't stand Oliver's behaviour anymore and when he ends in hospital for a hiatal hernia (that was mistaken for a stroke) but is soon released she didn't come to the hospital because her idea of the husband dead made her happy. From now on, it starts a war between them when they kill their pets, crash dinners, smash services until their death.

As I previously said, it certainly isn't a classic but there were some funny moments (such as when Oliver is drunk and ruins the dinner of Barbara's colleagues, or when Barbara prepares a stew and makes Oliver think that she did it with their dog's meat) and nice performances by Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. Danny de Vito directs nicely, and the movie seems to say the message 'If you are not ready for marriage, don't marry'.

Overall, one of those movies seen mostly for its reputation but it has also a deeper meaning than given credit for.

I've seen this movie many times before, but not in a very long time. This is a black comedy about a couple, from the moment they meet, through the little stuff that make them start hate each other and up to a complete war that grows worse and worse.

This movie is much darker than I remembered, but it's still very funny - and while it obviously fabricates and exaggerates certain situations, it actually shows how awful a divorce process can be, how two people who loved each other come to hate each other and how the process makes them hurt each other as much as possible. It may be fiction, but it's not very far from real life (in fact, there are WORSE divorce situations in real life).

Beautiful cinematography by the great Stephen H. Burum (Brian De Palma's regular DP).

This movie was so bad. Please only watch it if you wish to torture yourself. It has been on my top 10 worst movie list for years! My god! Look at the train wreak that has been Kathleen Turner's career since then! Oh wait, I forgot how great V.I. Warshawski was!! How many ways can Kathleen Turner kick a man in the crotch anyways? OK the first time it's funny but after that? Please.... What I most resent is the cartoon violence against men in this movie. If the roles were reversed, women's groups would have protested this film. Now that I think about it, has Danny DeVito really made anything since? He is a funny character actor but his creative skill are not really the best in my opinion.