The War of the Roses (1989)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Melvin W

  
  Oliver Rose: You weren't even multiorgasmic before you met me, were you?  "There is no winning! Only degrees of losing!" It took me a long time to finally watch this movie and it really was worth it. This is a dark comedy out of heaven. I loved everything about it.… More
  Oliver Rose: You weren't even multiorgasmic before you met me, were you?  "There is no winning! Only degrees of losing!" It took me a long time to finally watch this movie and it really was worth it. This is a dark comedy out of heaven. I loved everything about it. Danny DeVito's commentary and direction are awesome. And of course Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner give fantastic and fun performances as a married couple who are now dueling for their home. The movie is extremely fun and entertaining.  Oliver and Barbara Rose have been married for 17 years. In those 17 years, they had two kids and Oliver worked himself into a position where he is making loads of money. The family is rich and they buy their dream house. Barbara spends years making the house as perfect as possible, but when she is finally done she realizes that her marriage is no longer a satisfying one. She wants a divorce, but she also wants the house and Oliver isn't going to give that up easy. Basically the whole run time is full of marital disputes and craziness.  Kathleen Turner is so good at playing a bitch. She excels at it to such a degree, that I only think of her as a bitch. Michael Douglas is just Michael Douglas. He's a solid and multidimensional actor who never disappoints. Those two on screen together in this movie are perfect. They much more fun to watch then they were in Romancing The Stone.  The movie is essentially a drama that they playoff as a comedy, and it works really well. These types of Black Comedies don't always work, but when they do, they aren't just good, they're amazing. This is one of those examples. DeVito doesn't make a false step. He brings us into a world of marital hell and he does it with a strong sense of style and wit. 

• Candy R

  
  Funny movie about a divorce lawyer and his client Oliver Rose. Barbara worked her whole life to provide for her family and make a good home. When the kids are off to college, she wants to set up her own business. Her husband takes no interest. He thinks their life is perfect but she… More
  Funny movie about a divorce lawyer and his client Oliver Rose. Barbara worked her whole life to provide for her family and make a good home. When the kids are off to college, she wants to set up her own business. Her husband takes no interest. He thinks their life is perfect but she wishes he was dead. They war over their beautiful house. Great cast.

• Ken S

  
  Fun and really dark black comedy about a fighting couple from Danny DeVito.

• Cassie H

  
  Very enjoyable 80s movie. Some good laughs but I still love Romancing The Stone & The Jewel Of The Nile the best lol!!!! :)

• Anthony L

  
  Quite a shocking film really. Two hateful people trying to kill each other for two hours. Classic black comedy!

• Mark H

  
  Director Danny DeVito's acerbic take on marriage is an acquired taste, to be sure. However, dark comedy is still hilarious tale of one-upmanship as Oliver and Barbara Rose fight over who gets the house in their rapidly declining marriage. The main characters are antagonistic… More
  Director Danny DeVito's acerbic take on marriage is an acquired taste, to be sure. However, dark comedy is still hilarious tale of one-upmanship as Oliver and Barbara Rose fight over who gets the house in their rapidly declining marriage. The main characters are antagonistic toward each other almost from the start so it's unclear how they lasted 17 years, but the outrageous and bitter divorce battle sure is fun to watch.

• Dean !

  
  A funny comedy about a couple breaking up with all the leads from the Romancing the Stone film.

• Lenny M

  
  Interesting movie with awful conclusion.

• Jason S

  
  It's been a while since I had seen this flick so I popped it in this weekend and gave it another viewing. It wasn't as good as I thought it was. The story is a bit rushed at parts that you are wondering how the characters got so far in their development to being the crazy… More
  It's been a while since I had seen this flick so I popped it in this weekend and gave it another viewing. It wasn't as good as I thought it was. The story is a bit rushed at parts that you are wondering how the characters got so far in their development to being the crazy people seen in the end of the flick. Upon watching the deleted scenes I saw cut parts that explained the transformation but for the most part we don't get to see the whole story. It's called a dark comedy but the funny parts were few and far between. It's an interesting movie but not really one I would recommend to folks.

• Curtis L

  
  Okay

• Lafe F

  
  A blaaaack comedy about a warring couple. It's painful to watch.

• danny d

  
  you get sick of watching a married couple fight but its entertaining

• Leigh R

  
  Funny.

• Joey T

  
  A funny and likable black comedy that will make you chuckle and feel for the characters. It isn't perfect, but it is a very good comedy!

• Deb S

  
  Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner portray a couple who were once in love and are now in hate and go from a troubled marriage to all out war. This is pretty funny stuff,?.even if you are NOT a sadist. Their story is being told by attorney Gavin D'Amato (Danny DeVito) to a… More
  Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner portray a couple who were once in love and are now in hate and go from a troubled marriage to all out war. This is pretty funny stuff,?.even if you are NOT a sadist. Their story is being told by attorney Gavin D'Amato (Danny DeVito) to a client in an effort to convince the client not to get a divorce. Recommended to anyone who loves dark comedy!

• Alec B

  
  In a lot of ways it's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" with physical violence and a darker outcome for the once happy couple. Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas have great chemistry and the build from disagreement to all out war even seems plausible. It's a… More
  In a lot of ways it's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" with physical violence and a darker outcome for the once happy couple. Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas have great chemistry and the build from disagreement to all out war even seems plausible. It's a true dark comedy that doesn't fizzle out at the end and make things happy for the characters.

• Andrew F

  
  It was pretty funny. I don't really like Michael Douglas much. As bad as it sounds, I really liked the ending. This movie definately had some influence on <i>Mr. and Mrs. Smith</i>. But I think I like <i>Mr. and Mrs. Smith better</i>.

• Sylvester K

  
  A different viewpoint to look at marriage, Kathleen is amazing so is Michael. The War of the Roses inspired the action oriented Mr and Mrs Smith. Danny DeVito is the man!!

• Marcus W

  
  Good acting aside, the problem with this film is that there's nobody to root for. Neither of the leads are particularly likeable, and the kids are left on the sidelines. Halfway through, when you can sense it's about to move into "Tom & Jerry meets Home Alone"… More
  Good acting aside, the problem with this film is that there's nobody to root for. Neither of the leads are particularly likeable, and the kids are left on the sidelines. Halfway through, when you can sense it's about to move into "Tom & Jerry meets Home Alone" territory, you don't care for the outcome.

• Sunil J

  
  Gets a little crazy but it's interesting.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings