This is a comment about ‘The Butcher’s Wife’.
I enjoyed this movie overall.
I could do without the ‘Hollywood’ touch that the film doesn’t need. The story can support itself without the obvious writer’s jokes and camp, which can be seen coming a mile away. I know it’s an ‘old’ movie (1991), but it can’t resist presenting itself as a cheesy 80s movie. The White shoes, for example, that Marina buys for $3.50, are HIDEOUS. Straight out of 1981.
Mary Steenburgen & Francis McDormand are both, as always, on top of their game. Great talent can sometimes overcome a poorly-written script.
As far as a Rom-Com goes, this one’s got an interesting plot. I wish it had been placed in the hands of edgier writers. There’s so much untapped potential between the cast and the original plot that it’s frustrating to watch so many missed opportunities for real comedy. Playing to stereotypes doesn’t do any favors to a story that could have been poignant as well as cute and funny.
The thing that bothers me most, however, the thing I can’t get past, is Demi Moore’s patchwork accent. Sometimes she sounds Southern, other times she sounds Irish. And sometimes I have no idea what she’s playing. There are a few places where she seems relaxed enough to get it right, but not nearly enough. Mostly it’s just distracting because it takes so much effort for the viewer to overlook how hard Demi is trying to play this character. It’s obvious that she can’t quite get the accent, which stymies her ability to make Marina real.
Don’t they have people to train actors to use accents consistently and accurately?? Big $ changes hands on films like these, so it angers me that money for speech lessons weren’t afforded to DM. She was set up to fail, in my opinion.
Admittedly, not everyone pays attention to dialects in general, but hers is so bad....so all-over-the-place that I’m shocked no one else seems to have noticed. I know it sounds petty, but it really got on my nerves and prevented me from relating to her character. And, as the ‘star’ of the film, well...that’s a problem. The BS accent never lets me forget that I’m watching Demi act.
Final note: spend the $ on vocal lessons when the actor clearly isn’t pulling it off.