The Women as a screwball comedy

Having looked at the structure of The Women, I wanted to look at just the comedic part of the film that is so often referred to as a screwball comedy and see how much of it really is true to the genre. The truth of it is that at first I could only think of the dialogue, but upon rewatching the film a few more times I started seeing some things that are also reminiscent of the genre. So I wanted to see just how much of it could be considered a screwball comedy if you don't focus on the melodrama. Had Mary's storyline been more comedic, could this have been a screwball comedy? I kinda have a feeling that even so this would've been more satire, but I still wanted to see the screwy aspects of this film.

Straight off the bat, a key ingredient missing in this film is a man! What is a screwball comedy without a man? He's certainly talked about a lot, in fact quite a few men are talked about, but none ever appear, and that's okay, I'm not complaining, but the lack of men kinda makes it hard to classify this film as a screwball comedy. Where's the sexual tension between the two leads? It's all off screen apparently. And the tension that is often expressed through dialogue is not sexual. It's just women being catty to one another. But the tension is never elevated to levels of screwiness. The one who perhaps is the silliest of the bunch is Sylvia Fowler, who Rosalind Russell just plays to perfection. But while she is looking to disrupt Mary Haines' home life out of sheer jealousy, we're not following her story or how she goes about it. Sure, we see her first and see her spreading the gossip around about the Haines' marriage, but Sylvia never really goes out in full-blown antics to disrupt Mary's life. Perhaps following her around for a bit would've been funnier. In fact, I think if what Clare Boothe was really going for was a satire, then Mary's love life should've taken more of a back seat and the focus on the women and their friendships should've come front and center. The friendships are a focus, but the main storyline is Mary's marriage. But of course, we watch for the women.

One screwball ingredient in this film is the great supporting cast. Every performance, outside of Norma Shearer's, is purely hilarious. The women truly deliver exaggerated variations of their characters and in such delicious ways. And the thing that keeps the film going is the supporting cast. We love to watch Russell as Sylvia being the gossipy wife with no backbone, and Joan Fontaine's Peggy the naïve newlywed who's so in love. There's Lucile Watson as Mary's mother, the sage old woman who knows best and has some of the best lines in the films like, "I'm an old woman, my dear. I know my own sex." My favorites are Mary Boland's the Countess who's such a believer of l'amour that while divorcing she falls in love again, and Paulette Goddard's Miriam Aarons, the no-nonsense chorus girl who ends up with Sylvia's husband in the end. These caricatures are played to perfection by the actresses and enhance the comedy part of the film.

Another screwball comedy aspect to this film is the look at the rich vs the working class. This film looks at the lives of the rich and makes fun of them. But while rich people in the genre are usually clueless, the women here really aren't, except for Mary. These women call each other out to their faces about their hypocrisy and move along. It's ridiculous but entertaining because you never do that with friends, but think about it if you did tell them, don't talk about me behind my back while I go use the phone, and you know they will! So it's almost as if the women are too smart here. It would've been interesting to see them up against the men and see if they outsmarted them because clearly, the women identify themselves with who they're married to.

Now to look at another woman, Crystal Allen is the working-class girl and she definitely knows better than the Park Avenue ladies that surround her. Joan Crawford plays Crystal so convincing and ruthless when it comes to stealing Mary's husband. Crystal is another no-nonsense girl who can outsmart Mary and Stephen, but only until the end when her scheming catches up with her. But the incredible thing about it is that Crystal is still tough. She walks away knowing she'll be back to the perfume counter, but she keeps her head high and exits with, "There's a name for you, ladies, but it isn't used in high society ... outside of a kennel." Even though Crystal is a gold digger, you kinda like that she leaves having the last line. And while this isn't how screwball comedies tend to go, this character certainly is reminiscent of the tough working class you root for that is so familiar to the genre.

At over two hours in length, The Women is a long film, which isn't typical of the screwball comedy. I'm pretty sure Mary Haines' storyline takes a bunch of time and slows it down as well. If you took the comedy aspect of the film, it's probably about the right length of a typical screwball comedy, but then there's no backbone to the story without Mary's storyline. The Women definitely has screwball comedy aspects to it, but it's a rather different type of comedy, not quite screwy, not quite satire, but still flat-out funny. Would've been great to see a screwball comedy of this and without the men; parody women's film. But the truth of it is that if you do like films of the genre, then you will find things in The Women that will delight you and remind you how much it is kinda like a screwball comedy.