Death Becomes Her

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Death Becomes Her
Image:Death Becomes Her.jpg
Death Becomes Her
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Produced by Robert Zemeckis
Written by Martin Donovan
David Koepp
Starring Meryl Streep
Bruce Willis
Goldie Hawn
Release date(s) July 31 1992
Running time 104 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

Death Becomes Her is a 1992 black comedy fantasy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Goldie Hawn, Meryl Streep and Bruce Willis. It won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The plot summary in this article or section is too long compared to the rest of the article.
Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

Actress Madeline Ashton (Meryl Streep) and writer Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn) are longtime rivals. Helen's life falls apart, however, when glamorous Madeline steals the affection of Helen's fiancé, plastic surgeon Ernest Menville (Bruce Willis), after the two meet at the opening of Madeline's latest Broadway flop (Songbird!, a musical adaptation of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth) and soon marries him. Seven years go by; Helen has become grossly obese and is institutionalized after becoming psychologically obsessed with Madeline. At discussion groups, the mere mention of Madeline's name causes pandemonium among the additional patients and white hot fury in Helen's psychologist (Alaina Reed Hall), ordering Helen to erase Madeline from her mind. Helen, however, starts developing another way to "erase" Madeline from her life...

An additional seven years go by; Madeline struggles with her fading looks and bygone acting career. Ernest is now a high end mortician and an alcoholic. One morning, Madeline receives an invitation to a book signing party for Helen's new book, "Forever Young". Not to be outdone by Helen's success, Madeline seeks out a dangerous cosmetic treatment at her private spa, only to be denied. The spa's proprietor, however, refers Madeline to the exclusive services of the mysterious Lisle von Rhoman before Madeline departs.

Madeline grudgingly attends the book signing with Ernest, where she is horrified to discover that Helen has become a beautiful, knockout redhead with a body and looks far superior to hers when she and Ernest were engaged. Now desperate for any chance of improving her looks, especially after being rejected by her younger lover, Madeline seeks out Lisle von Rhoman (Isabella Rossellini) that same night. After piquing Madeline's interest, Lisle - who appears no older than 30 - reveals that she is actually 71 years old, and has discovered the secret to eternal youth. Lisle offers Madeline a potion which Lisle promises will not only stop the aging process but reverse it as well, restoring Madeline's youth and beauty. The only condition is that, after 10 years, Madeline must disappear from the public eye forever to protect Lisle's secret. After seeing a demonstration of the potion's power on her hand, Madeline quickly buys the potion for an undisclosed but incredibly high price. After taking it, Madeline is ushered a warning: to take perfect care of her new body.

Meanwhile, Helen appears at Ernest and Madeline's home, where she quickly seduces Ernest and reveals to him a detailed and foolproof plot to kill Madeline (by drugging her and making her death seem like a drunk driving accident). Ernest initially refuses, but Helen convinces him of their happy future together with Madeline eliminated. Ernest then agrees to the conspiracy and Helen departs.

Having drunk the potion and been instantly restored to her youth and beauty, Madeline drives back home, only to be confronted by an angry Ernest. Confident that she no longer needs Ernest, Madeline dismisses him. This pushes Ernest over the edge and, during a vicious argument, he loses control and pushes Madeline down their grand staircase. Madeline breaks her neck and lands in a lifeless heap at the bottom of the stairs. In a panic, Ernest calls Helen for help - but soon discovers that Madeline, despite having her head on backwards, is very much alive.

After literally getting her head on straight, Madeline is rushed to the emergency room of a hospital, where the doctor (an unbilled Sydney Pollack) recognizes that her physical body has died, even though she is still walking and talking. The doctor suffers a fatal heart attack from this revelation. Ernest drives himself and Madeline back home, using his experience as a mortician to restore the natural good looks of his wife. Helen then reappears at their home to bury Madeline - whom she thinks is dead - in Death Valley. A livid Madeline overhears the plot (and is angered more by Helen's opinion of Madeline as "a bad actress"), confronts Helen, and then shoots her rival dead with a single shotgun blast to the stomach.

However, despite having a large gaping hole blown into her abdomen, Helen does not die: she had also drunk the potion supplied by Lisle years before (October 26th, 1985). The two now undead rivals battle it out in a futile attempt to kill one another, while Ernest surrenders to his fears and decides to leave the two women forever.

Eventually reconciling their differences, Madeline and Helen turn to Ernest to repair their incredibly damaged appearances. Unfortunately, Ernest’s repairs are only temporary: Madeline and Helen will need Ernest to perform routine maintenance to their bodies forever. They then conspire to make Ernest drink the potion as well, knocking him unconscious and bringing him to Lisle's mansion on the eve of a party she is throwing for her clients.

Ernest regains consciousness and Lisle tries to convince him to drink the potion, but after having seen the consequences Madeline and Helen now suffer, he refuses, unwilling to witness everyone around him grow old and die when he can accomplish nothing himself. Ernest then flees, finding himself trapped within Lisle’s labyrinthine mansion, where he encounters a whole host of celebrities generally assumed to be dead, including Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo, Andy Warhol, Elvis Presley, James Dean and Jim Morrison. After a final showdown with Madeline and Helen and destroying the vial of potion Lisle gave him, Ernest survives a high fall into Lisle's swimming pool and escapes for good. With Ernest gone, Helen and Madeline realize, much to their chagrin, that they are now forced to look out for each other... forever.

Thirty-seven years later, Helen and Madeline - both in wretched states of physical disrepair - attend Ernest Menville's funeral. There it is revealed that Ernest led a fulfilling and successful life, having achieved much more in his mortal lifespan than Madeline and Helen were ever likely to do in their self-centered immortality. After disrupting the service with their raucous laughter, Madeline and Helen begin to fight over a missing can of spray paint, which Helen needs to repair one of her cheeks, and depart. They continue to bicker outside the church, where Helen slips on the can of spray paint, dragging Madeline down with her. The two tumble down yet another flight of stairs and literally shatter to pieces upon hitting the bottom.

And still alive, Helen's head rolls over to Madeline's and asks, "Do you remember where you parked the car?"

[edit] Cast

[edit] Special effects

Like most of director Robert Zemeckis' films, Death Becomes Her was a technically complex movie to make, and the production had its fair share of mishaps. For example, in a scene where Helen Sharp and Madeline Ashton are battling with shovels, Meryl Streep accidentally scarred Goldie Hawn's face. Streep admitted that she disliked working on a project that focused so heavily on special effects, saying:

“ I think it's tedious. Whatever concentration you can apply to that kind of comedy is just shredded. You stand there like a piece of machinery— they should get machinery to do it. I loved how it turned out. But it's not fun to act to a lampstand. 'Pretend this is Goldie, right here! Uh, no, I'm sorry, Bob, she went off the mark by five centimeters, and now her head won't match her neck!' It was like being at the dentist.[1] ”

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Kevin Kline was originally set to play Ernest Melville; when he demanded to be paid the same salary as Hawn and Streep, however, he was dropped and the part was recast with Bruce Willis.[2]
  • Catherine Bell made her movie debut in this film as Isabella Rossellini's body double, for which she was given a rare credit. Rossellini has a scar on her back from an operation meaning that she would be unable to be shot from behind for nude scenes.
  • Tracey Ullman appeared in the trailers as a bartender who is also Ernest's girlfriend. After filming what director Robert Zemeckis referred to as a "saccharine ending" (in which Ernest and Ullman's character escape to Europe), Zemeckis decided to opt for a darker ending, and Ullman's character was one of seven or eight actors with speaking roles that was cut.
  • Helen takes the potion on October 26, 1985. This is the same day as the "present" date used in Back to the Future (also directed by Robert Zemeckis).
  • The film also includes a possibly intentional reference to Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch: After Ernest rescues Madeline from the hospital, he attempts to convince Helen of Madeline's liveliness by saying "She's not dead, she's resting", a line bearing much similarity to one in the sketch.
  • The film has been noted for its deliberately Hitchcockian elements, such as its use of a blonde protagonist and the dark visuals. Composer Alan Silvestri's score is also similar to Bernard Herrmann's work for Hitchcock.[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Depth Becomes Her. Entertainment Weekly. (2000-03-24). Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
  2. ^ Wheel of Misfortune. Entertainment Weekly. (1992-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-01-25.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Films directed by Robert Zemeckis
I Wanna Hold Your Hand • Used Cars • Romancing the Stone • Back to the Future • Who Framed Roger Rabbit • Back to the Future Part II • Back to the Future Part III • Death Becomes Her • Forrest Gump • Contact • What Lies Beneath • Cast Away • The Polar Express • Beowulf
de:Der Tod steht ihr gut

el:Ο θάνατος σου πάει πολύ es:La muerte os sienta tan bien fr:La mort vous va si bien it:La morte ti fa bella he:המוות נאה לה nl:Death Becomes Her ja:永遠に美しく… pl:Ze śmiercią jej do twarzy pt:Death Becomes Her ru:Смерть ей к лицу (фильм) fi:Kuolema pukee häntä

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