The War of the Roses (film)

The War of the Roses is a 1989 American satirical black comedy film based upon the 1981 novel of the same name by Warren Adler. The film follows a wealthy couple with a seemingly perfect marriage. When their marriage begins to fall apart, material possessions become the center of an outrageous and bitter divorce battle.

The film co-stars Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito. The three actors had previously worked together in Romancing the Stone and its sequel The Jewel of the Nile. DeVito directed the film, which also had producer James L. Brooks and actor Dan Castellaneta working on a project outside of The Simpsons. The opening title sequence was created by Saul Bass and Elaine Makatura Bass.

In both the novel and the film, the married couple's family name is Rose, and the title is an allusion to the battles between the warring houses of York and Lancaster who were contending for the English throne during the late Middle Ages. In Germany, the film was such a huge success that its German title Der Rosenkrieg became synonymous with high-conflict divorce and is now regularly used in the media.

Plot
Harvard Law student Oliver Rose meets Barbara when they bid on the same antique at an auction. Sharing a mutual attraction, the pair have passionate sex and start a relationship, eventually marrying, having two children, and buying a large house in Washington, D.C. Over the next eighteen years, Oliver focuses on progressing his career and gaining wealth, while Barbara dedicates herself to raising the children and turning the house into an aesthetically perfect home filled with material objects. With the children grown and soon leaving for college, Barbara realizes that she is unfulfilled and regrets some of the sacrifices she has made to support her family. She has grown to resent Oliver's workaholism, controlling nature, and obliviousness to her feelings, and starts a catering company to achieve independence.

While entertaining a client, Oliver is taken to hospital for a suspected heart attack and writes a love note to Barbara in case he dies. Barbara does not visit him or show any concern when he returns home, admitting that the thought of him dying had made her feel happy and finally free. She tells Oliver she no longer feels anything for him but contempt and wants a divorce; Oliver reluctantly accepts.

During a meeting with Barbara's lawyer, tensions rise when she states that she wants nothing except for the house and its contents, and her lawyer uses Oliver's note—saying he owes Barbara everything—against him. Although Barbara regrets sharing the letter, a spiteful Oliver states that he will never let Barbara have the house. He remains at home during the divorce, using a legal loophole identified by his lecherous colleague Gavin d'Amato. Oliver unsuccessfully tries to mend things with Barbara but his refusal to admit fault only drives her further away. He offers Barbara cash to surrender the house, but she refuses and attempts to seduce Gavin so he will take her side, while Oliver divides areas of the house between them. Realizing Oliver is in a hopeless situation, Gavin advises him to give Barbara the house and move on. In response, Oliver fires Gavin as his lawyer.

After Oliver accidentally runs over Barbara's cat and blames her for it, she traps him inside his private sauna to overheat, before again begging him to leave. Oliver later interrupts a dinner that Barbara is hosting for her clients, humiliating her and urinating on the food, leading to a fight in which the pair destroy furnishings and ornaments, including the antique from their first meeting. Though worried, the children finally leave for college and the housekeeper Susan moves out, leaving Barbara and Oliver alone.

Barbara invites Oliver to dinner to talk, but he still refuses to accept she no longer loves him, leading Barbara to claim she made the paté from Oliver's beloved dog. The pair physically attack each other and Barbara retreats to the attic to loosen restraints on the hallway chandelier, hoping to drop it on Oliver while he boards up the house to trap them both inside. Susan visits and enters the house through an upstairs window, finding a manic Oliver and Barbara; she leaves and contacts Gavin for help.

By the time Gavin arrives, Oliver's and Barbara's quarrel has culminated in the pair hanging from the chandelier, where Oliver admits that, despite their hardships, he always loved Barbara, but she does not respond. The chandelier cable fails, sending Barbara and Oliver crashing violently to the floor. With their final breaths, Oliver reaches out to touch Barbara's shoulder, but she pushes his hand away.

Gavin, having recounted their tale to his current client, gives him two options: proceed with divorcing his wife, being as generous as possible so it is resolved quickly and he can rebuild his life; or go home and remind himself what made him fall in love with her. The client leaves, and Gavin, having been changed by his experience with the Roses, calls his wife to tell her he loves her and is on his way home.

Release
The premiere of The War of the Roses took place in Los Angeles on December 4 and in New York at the Gotham Theatre on December 6, 1989. It was released in the United States on December 8, 1989, by 20th Century Fox. The film was preceded in theaters by "Family Therapy", a The Simpsons short from The Tracey Ullman Show which was also included on the film's UK and Australian VHS rental releases.

Home media
The War of the Roses was released in the United States on DVD Special Edition on December 18, 2001. Released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, the film is presented in its original 1.85:1 widescreen format; and features director commentary with Danny DeVito, deleted scenes, computer sketches, storyboards, still galleries, 4 theatrical trailers, and 6 TV advertisements. A Blu-ray Filmmakers 'Signature Series' released on September 18, 2012 ports over old bonus features and adds new featurette interviews in HD about revisiting the film and its musical score. A Blu-ray was released by Fox in the United Kingdom in January 2013 with the same extra features.

Box office
Upon its release, The War of the Roses grossed $87 million in the United States and Canada, and $73 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $160 million.

During the film's weekend debut it grossed $9.5 million across 1,259 theaters, finishing number-one at the box office the week ending December 10. The film grossed $6.9 million in its second weekend, representing a drop of just 26.5% and finishing second, and then made $5.5 million on the third. On its fourth weekend the film climbed up to first place again grossing $10,490,781 across 1,526 theaters on New Years long weekend. In its fifth weekend the film made $7 million, bringing its running domestic total to $53.4 million. In its twelfth weekend, its domestic total earnings reached $80.5 million. It was the thirteenth highest-grossing film of 1989.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an 83% rating based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "The War of the Roses is a black comedy made even funnier by hanging onto its caustic convictions -- and further distinguished by Danny DeVito's stylish direction." On Metacritic the film has a score of 79% based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

The Chicago Sun Times film critic Roger Ebert gave it three out of four stars, writing "The War of the Roses is a black, angry, bitter, unrelenting comedy, a war between the sexes that makes James Thurber's work on the same subject look almost resigned by comparison. And yet the Roses fell so naturally and easily into love, in those first sunny days so long ago." He concluded "This is an odd, strange movie and the only one I can remember in which the moral is, "Rather than see a divorce lawyer, be generous - generous to the point of night sweats." Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times called it "Biting and vicious, a styptic pencil on the battered face of "civilized divorce." It's also thoughtful, laceratingly funny, and bravely true to its own black-and-blue comic vision." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote: "Under the astute direction of Danny DeVito, who does a sly turn as Oliver's attorney, this acid-dipped epic of revenge is killingly funny and dramatically daring."

Remake
In 2024, it was announced that Searchlight Pictures is set to remake the film, simply titled The Roses. The new film will be directed by Jay Roach and star Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman. In June 2024, Ncuti Gatwa, Kate McKinnon, Andy Samberg, Sunita Mani, Zoë Chao, Jamie Demetriou, and Belinda Bromilow also joined the cast.