After watching “The Women” (which premiered on September 12th) with my fellow Beauty Chatter, Jennifer, two words came to mind: women empowerment.

The film is a remake of the 1939 classic film “Catfight” and is directed by Diane English. Having an all-female cast and production crew; starring some of Hollywood’s top women actresses, Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Eva Mendes, Bette Midler, and Candice Bergen, this movie was made for women, by women.

Although, the film got scant reviews from a lot of critics, spitting out comments about it being “cliché” and “poorly directed,” the concept behind the flick showed a representation of the women in each one of us. It touched on women’s issues from all directions, such as issues with body image, gossip, women against women, career vs. family, marriage, mother-daughter relationships, infidelity, babies, plastic surgery, and so much more. Maybe it was a little cliché, but in my opinion, aren’t “chick flicks” supposed to be cliché? That is what draws us to them. This film is fun, it will make you laugh, and my favorite, it will make you cry.

This unique cast of characters put together a story about Mary Haines (Meg Ryan), a clothing designer who has it all, a rich financier husband, a charming 11-year-old daughter, and a part-time career creating designs for her father’s clothing company. Her best friend, Sylvie Fowler (Annette Bening), is a prominent editor for a woman’s fashion magazine and happily single. Other friends in the film are Edie Cohen (Debra Messing), a mega-mom, and lesbian writer Alex Fisher (Jada Pinkett-Smith). The story unfolds when Mary’s husband starts to have an affair with a Sak’s Fifth Avenue perfume counter girl named Crystal Allen, played by the gorgeous Eva Mendes. Mary is distraught about the whole incident and it tears the foursome into pieces. The film focuses around the dramas that explode after Mary leaves her husband.

Here is what Jennifer had to say about the film: “This was a great movie, definitely a “see this with your girlfriends” flick. (Which I did, thanks for being my date Ms. Sara!) I loved that the characters were so different from each other, yet they were able to come together so well. The most interesting thing I noticed about it was that there are no men in this film, none! It really is just ‘The Women.’”

To fully get enthralled into what this film represents, go behind the scenes and check out the Women Behind “The Women” on Dove’s Web site, which is a documentary made by junior journalist, Cammy Nelson, who asks the women behind the film, “What is real beauty?”

I would definitely recommend this movie to all women, just because it represents what it means to be a woman, and focuses on the pressures we face. The question that popped into my mind after I watched this film is what Mary asks herself while trying to rediscover who she is after splitting from her husband, “Who am I?” And the questions I must ask our readers are:

Who are you as women? What makes you the woman that you are?

Photo Credits: janarobbins.com and Credit: stltoday.com