She-Devil

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She-Devil

PG-13

Released Dec 8, 1989

1h 39m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

48%

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25 Reviews

49%

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10,000+ Ratings

Housewife and mother Ruth Patchett (Roseanne Barr), an overweight and unkempt woman, can seem to do nothing to make her husband, Bob (Ed Begley Jr.), happy. When he becomes embroiled in an affair with romance novelist Mary Fisher (Meryl Streep), Patchett does all she can to ignore it until Bob finally leaves her for Fisher. Bent on revenge, Patchett begins an intricate undertaking that will lead to the destruction of all that Bob holds dear -- and she also has plans for Fisher while she's at it.

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Variety Staff

Variety

The casting is a real coup, with Barr going her everywoman TV persona one better by breaking the big screen heroine mold, and Streep blowing away any notion that she can't be funny.

Jan 11, 2018

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Barr demonstrates that there is a core of reality inside her TV persona, a core of identifiable human feelings like jealousy and pride, and they provide a sound foundation for her comic acting.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a mostly watchable yet thoroughly erratic comedy...

Rated: 2.5/4

Sep 23, 2023

Full Review

Kristin Battestella

InSession Film

Roseanne Barr’s ugly and unloved housewife Ruth reads romance novels and dreams of making herself as beautiful as enchanting author Meryl Streep in this witty 1989 revenge tale.

Jul 25, 2023

Full Review

Eve Tushnet

Patheos

A lot of the choices, from Streep’s acting to her pink-princess mansion, seem like they’re aiming for camp but don’t go hard enough.

May 24, 2023

Full Review

Candace Wiggins

Southern Voice (Atlanta)

Worth seeing, but don't expect a screamingly funny film.

Rated: 3/4

May 9, 2023

Full Review

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Hue S

Really loved this. Stumbled on it after watching some of "Death becomes her," which I didn't get into. She devil, however? Loved it! Barr is funny and smart and willing to push the parts of her so criticized by others. Streep falling apart trying to take care of Bob's kids and her Mom released from the nursing home is hilarious. The character of her Mom is great too. And loved the reminders of Sally Jessie Raphael and Robin Leech, big touch points from my teenage hood in the 80s. Definitely will come back and watch this one again. Oh, and almost forgot, seeing Barr reach all those women who'd been forgotten etc and them becoming an army who have each other's backs is great.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/22/24

Full Review

Candace C

This movie has always been one of my " guilty pleasures" a long with " Death becomes her" I enjoy watching it whenever I am having a particularly bad week.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/20/24

Full Review

Ricarda W

Entertaining! The very talented cast makes a scorned housewife's revenge fantasy fun to watch. This has been a guilty pleasure, junk food of cinema, of mine for years.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/21/24

Full Review

R 9

Big fan of this! Recommended. 'She-Devil' offers up a pretty simple story but it's one that is portrayed in an amusing and interesting manner. Meryl Streep, Roseanne Barr and Ed Begley Jr. all give top performances, in a film that lasts a brisk 90 or so minutes. Streep and Barr are the particular standouts, I enjoyed them from the beginning to the end. Begley plays an asshole character very well, much different to my only previous experience if him as a nice guy in television's 'Better Call Saul' some 27 years after this. Also neat to see newbie-at-the-time Lori Tan Chinn appear, albeit minutely - always like seeing actors pop up randomly in their early movie roles.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/28/23

Full Review

Sophia S

Excellent revenge movie, very entertaining

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/09/23

Full Review

Demented N

Love Rosie Great Movie but it flopped well of course it did the BBC did there own version a year earlier and it was odd creppy and very hammer horror and went on to win a Bafta check it out if you didn't. The Roseanne version is simply more Beverly Hills.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/17/23

Full Review

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Susan Seidelman

Director

Meryl Streep

Mary Fisher

Roseanne Barr

Ruth Patchett

Ed Begley Jr.

Bob

Linda Hunt

Hooper

Sylvia Miles

Mrs. Fisher

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She-Devil: Official Clip - The New Novel

2:11

She-Devil: Official Clip - Court Hearing

1:58

She-Devil: Official Clip - Sad Mary Fisher

2:34

She-Devil: Official Clip - Four Assets, One Liability

0:52

She-Devil: Official Clip - The Kids' New Home

2:09

She-Devil: Official Clip - Mary's Research

2:30

She-Devil: Official Clip - Dinner Disaster

2:35

She-Devil: Official Clip - Ruth's Exit

2:22

She-Devil: Official Clip - Olivia Honey

1:59

She-Devil: Official Clip - Taking Back Control

2:12

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Synopsis

Housewife and mother Ruth Patchett (Roseanne Barr), an overweight and unkempt woman, can seem to do nothing to make her husband, Bob (Ed Begley Jr.), happy. When he becomes embroiled in an affair with romance novelist Mary Fisher (Meryl Streep), Patchett does all she can to ignore it until Bob finally leaves her for Fisher. Bent on revenge, Patchett begins an intricate undertaking that will lead to the destruction of all that Bob holds dear -- and she also has plans for Fisher while she's at it.

Director: Susan Seidelman
Producer: Jonathan Brett, Susan Seidelman
Screenwriter: Fay Weldon, Barry Strugatz, Mark R. Burns
Distributor: Orion Pictures, 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Orion Pictures Corporation
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 8, 1989, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 16, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.8M
Runtime: 1h 39m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SR

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