Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Comically awful divorce spirals into violence; language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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The War of the Roses
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Materialism, entitlement, pettiness, contempt, and vindictiveness. Any one of them could kill a marriage. In THE WAR OF THE ROSES, it doesn't take long before all appear in the marriage of Barbara (Kathleen Turner) and Oliver Rose (Michael Douglas). In their earliest days together, he's pretentious and controlling. The worst you could say about Barbara in those days was that she was remarkably bull-headed and belligerent, but only when provoked. By the time Barbara wants a divorce, she says watching Oliver eat or sleep makes her want to smash his face in. Things quickly go downhill as the couple's desire to punish the other escalates. How will they settle their differences?
Is It Any Good?
The War of the Roses is a movie about the evils of materialism and vengeance. It's a kind of house-proud Nancy Meyers movie (the houses are also showplaces in Something's Gotta Give and It's Complicated) turned on its head. Instead of providing serenity and comfort, the pristine décor comically eats the Roses alive.
Danny DeVito's direction is a star of the film, clever, adroit, full of visual jokes and clues to what's coming. The extreme closeups give us a window into the maniacal side of two formerly sane people. And occasional shots of a spider web-like chandelier deliciously foreshadow a tragicomic end. Beyond the direction and spot-on performances by the three leads, what makes the movie difficult is the fact that the Roses are so odious. Although Oliver is by far the more repugnant, Barbara is his match in stubbornness and irrationality. Both refuse to budge from an absurd position, and in the end, it proves a fatal flaw.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way that social attitude changes about women and their roles in and out of the home have turned a once taboo topic—divorce—into a topic for a satirical black comedy.
What are some ways the movie illustrates how seemingly rational people can prioritize causing an adversary pain over making sensible decisions?
The Roses seem oblivious to the negative effect their ugly behaviors are having on their teenage children. Do you think in some cases kids are better off when their fighting parents split up? Why or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : December 4, 1989
- Cast : Kathleen Turner , Danny DeVito , Michael Douglas
- Director : Danny DeVito
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Family Stories
- Run time : 116 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Awards : BAFTA - BAFTA Nominee , Golden Globe - Golden Globe Award Nominee
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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