The War of the Roses

Director: Danny DeVito

1989 / 116min / 4K DCP

DeVito co-stars in his sophomore directorial outing as a lech lawyer caught in an acrimonious tug-of-war struggle between Oliver and Barbara Rose (Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner), an influential corporate lawyer and his soon-to-be ex-wife, battling one another tooth-and-nail over who will retain ownership of their tony Washington, D.C. home. An acidly funny celebration of loathsome behavior.

“My mother used to say this was her favorite divorce movie, and as a family mediator who worked out of our basement while I was growing up, she comes by this opinion honestly. As I grew up, I learned more about Polly Platt’s involvement in Roses (she almost directed it herself, before becoming executive producer) and highly recommend reading Rachel Abramowitz’s Is That A Gun In Your Pocket? to find out more about Platt’s career and the role this film, along with so many other excellent movies that she worked on, played in her life.” —Haley Mlotek