Junior’s Rating ** out of *****

Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett, Candice Bergen

It’s clear that the makers of The Women were more interested in capitalizing on the recent success of the Sex and the City movie than in offering an updated remake of the 1939 original but the stereotypical characters, shallow story, and hopelessly inane dialogue of this latest entry do not stand up well in comparison to either of its predecessors.  Had the Sex and the City movie not provided us with such an appealing estrogen fest, equally inviting to both male and female audiences, perhaps we could look a little less critically on The Women but because we have seen a contemporary version of what this movie should look like it’s hard to accept this lame send up. And since the casting director picked virtual look-alikes for Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Catrall, it hard not to think of the far superior Sex and the City every time Meg Ryan or Annette Benning appears on screen. The Women is a hopeless mess.