Death Becomes Her – Still holds up

I don’t know why, but I never seem to hear much about 1992’s ‘Death Becomes Her’ when it comes to much talked about movies of yesteryear.  Maybe it was because it spanned many genres and was only a ‘modest hit’ at the Box Office.  However, I really enjoyed it when it was first released and every time I revisit it on DVD it seems as fresh, enjoyable and relevant as it was back then.

Meryl Streep steps out of her usual acting comfort zone and portrays an aging (and not particularly talented!) actress who is struggling to remain in the public eye and resorting to ever more plastic surgery to retain her youth.  And, as if she wasn’t already a particularly unsympathetic character, she also seems to take great delight in stealing every man her ‘best friend’ (Goldie Hawn) brings before her and even ends up marrying Goldie’s latest – a plastic surgeon (coincidentally!), played by an equally out-of-character Bruce Willis.

Don’t expect Mr Willis to be chucking any German terrorists out of high-rise buildings here.  It seems he wanted a brief stint away from dying (hard) in favour of a more humourous turn when the two women in his life start dabbling in the supernatural in order to live forever.  I mention him the most because he really does seem like he’s having real fun sending himself up and relishes in his exaggeratedly crazy performance.

First of all, I’d say it’s a comedy, but seeing as the supernatural is such an integral part of the plot, it sort of spans ‘horror’ and even ‘drama’ when it comes to which genre it fits into.  Obviously, with such a stellar trio of acting heavyweights in the lead, all three take their respective turns in the spotlight and play off each other perfectly.  You’ll love them and hate them whenever the story requires you to do so.

There are even a few special effects that are required.  These do seem to have not held up as well as the acting/comedy/drama and you can definitely make out a blue screen here and there.  But then seeing as the performances and laughs are so good, I’m sure most people will find it in themselves to be a little forgiving on this one.

I won’t go into the plot too much, as there are probably some elements in there that you might not see coming.  If you believe what you read about the production online, you’ll see that it went through a fair few rewrites and the final product does seem a little all over the place at times in terms of narrative structure.  This is only a minor criticism as it does add to the feeling of not known exactly how it will all turn out.

I remember when I first saw it, the only real gripe I had with it was the very end.  It does seem to suddenly just end rather abruptly, but – again – when everything else has been so good I can also forgive this one.

With today’s obsession with looks being magnified thanks to social media, you can only wonder what the characters would have been like if this film was made today.  Because of the overall themes of desperation to remain young and in the spotlight, the film seems as fresh today as it ever was.  Don’t let it be forgotten, it really is great fun and a forgotten classic.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one