Report Card---"The Wife"

"The Wife" starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce is an oddly constructed movie.
They were both very good, but you know that the script passed through the hands of Meryl Streep
and Sean Connery.
There is a spoiler alert to reveal and I usually don't reveal them.
But in this case, the movie is actually improved if you know the spoiler alert.
Much earlier than they do.
It's a ninety minute film, and seems to be a movie without a point until the last fifteen minutes.
I'm going to reveal the plot to help you enjoy the movie far more than I didn't.
If you don't want to know the plot, don't read on.
On to the scoring.

Is it interesting?

Somewhat.  The first hour is devoted to :What's going on here ?"                     ' 

B..

Compelling even?

Once you get to the last half hour, it's far more interesting and pretty unbelievable.
C.

Is it good storytelling?

Terrible.  For the above reason.

Is it well written?

Everything seems a little forced. . 

C..

Is it well cast? Well played?

They're both very good.
A..

Well shot?

Well enough.
B.

.

Did the director put such a personal stamp on it so that no one else could have made it?

No.
C.

How long does it take to establish the film's locale and time period?

Very early.  It's the 1990's.  You know because they fly on the Concorde.
A..

Is it too long? Too short?

Considering the construction, too short.
D.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?.

Not really, and not really, and everybody smokes constantly.
C-

.

Is it predictable?

No, and unbelievable.
C-..

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

Yes. Mainly about how to fix it.  Priyce is a Nobel Prize Winning author.  He and Close are flying to
Sweden to pick up the award.  They bicker throughout the first hour.  You really don't know why, except that he has had a lot of affairs.  This is ironic because Price broke up his first marriage to marry Close.  And she has hung in with him.  So it has to be something else, you'd think.
Turns out, in the last half hour, that Close has been ghost-writing all of his work from the beginning..

D.

Is it funny?

No.
D.

Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?

F.

Is it impressive?

Not at all.
C.

Overall grade: C-..

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My books, "Show Runner" and "Show Runner 2" can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store,

along with newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".

They are all compilations of blog entries have since been removed from the blog.

So this is the only way you can find them.,

You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.

Check them out.

You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.

Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.

The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not e-books.

But they are available for people without Kindle.

I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.

If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@comcast.net

And now, there's my reading of my screenplay of my unmade "Laverne and Shirley" movie on "YouTube".