Heartburn
Release Date: July 25, 1986
Writer: Nora Ephron
Director: Mike Nichols
Writer: Nora Ephron
Director: Mike Nichols
Logline: An autobiographical look at the breakup of Ephron's marriage to Carl "All the President's Men" Bernstein that was also a best-selling novel. (Source: IMDb) Comedy/Drama, 108min
Bechdel Test: Passed all three tests.
Portrayal of Women: I love Rachel because she's full of contradictions. She's caring but also catty. She's funny but also a downer. She's likeable but also annoying.
There are couple times we see that Rachel can be a real push over - in one scene she reassures the man holding her at gunpoint that it's quite "alright" when he takes her wedding ring. The fact that she breaks the traditional theme of "standing by your man" despite her history of passiveness is a real sign of growth and strength.
Even though her most important relationship is with her husband and children, she also has a lot of female friends who are an important part of her life.
Sisterhood moment: There's a classic "girls talking about boy troubles" moment where Rachel and Julie discuss how much easier their lives would be if only their husbands would die in a tragic plane crash.
"I imagine the plane crash, the funeral, what I'd wear to the funeral, flirting at the funeral, how soon I could start dating after the funeral."
Rating: 3/5
PS Let's be honest, Meryl is on a whole other level than the rest of us - she's unbelievable. There's a scene where her hair is a disaster and she looks like a hot mess. It's nice for us mere mortals to see that even the great Meryl can have an off day. I am eternally grateful for this insight, bad hair days will be forever changed.
Review
This film embodies one of my favourite Nora Ephron quotes, "Don't be frightened, you can always change your mind."
Rachel (Meryl Streep) doesn't want to get married, then she gets married. She doesn't want to have kids, then she has two. She wants to be with Mark (Jack Nicholson) forever, then she leaves Mark forever.
Even though the movie is about Rachel and Mark's marriage, it's really about Rachel changing her mind and figuring out what is best for her. She isn't indecisive in a flaky way, she just doesn't allow circumstances to trap her in places she doesn't want to be. By allowing herself to change her mind, she has the freedom to live life the way she wants to. It may not be her ideal life, but it's the best she can do with what she's given.
There are some wonderful moments in the film that are very "Ephron" - lots of cooking and self deprecating jokes - but overall, it's very slow. Although I loved Streep's performance, I never felt overly invested in Rachel and Mark's relationship. At one point, Rachel says, "I love our life. I love how it just goes along." That's sort of how this movie feels, it just sort of goes along.
I wasn't really happy with this movie as a whole but I very much appreciated it's depiction of a working woman navigating marriage, motherhood, and divorce. There is really smart and fun dialogue but it is unfortunately bogged down by a lack of chemistry between the leads.
The scene with Streep and Nicholson trying to think of songs with the word "baby" in them bumps this up from a 2/5 to a 3/5 - it's adorable.
There are couple times we see that Rachel can be a real push over - in one scene she reassures the man holding her at gunpoint that it's quite "alright" when he takes her wedding ring. The fact that she breaks the traditional theme of "standing by your man" despite her history of passiveness is a real sign of growth and strength.
Even though her most important relationship is with her husband and children, she also has a lot of female friends who are an important part of her life.
Sisterhood moment: There's a classic "girls talking about boy troubles" moment where Rachel and Julie discuss how much easier their lives would be if only their husbands would die in a tragic plane crash.
"I imagine the plane crash, the funeral, what I'd wear to the funeral, flirting at the funeral, how soon I could start dating after the funeral."
Rating: 3/5
PS Let's be honest, Meryl is on a whole other level than the rest of us - she's unbelievable. There's a scene where her hair is a disaster and she looks like a hot mess. It's nice for us mere mortals to see that even the great Meryl can have an off day. I am eternally grateful for this insight, bad hair days will be forever changed.
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