REVENGE MOVIES

While in life Living Well is the best revenge, movie makers have other ideas. Because of this we get films such as KILL BILL 1 and 2, THELMA AND LOUISE, PAYBACK, for High Schoolers – TAD HAMILTON MUST DIE; years ago SHE DEVIL, SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT, LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, and very recently, THE OTHER WOMAN.

Years ago a movie called, ENEMIES: A Love Story showed Anjelica Huston and a couple of other Women ending up caring for the Husband and Boyfriend’s child by another Woman. I think there were 3 Woman involved and they all seemed to be happy in the end and quite calm about it all. No wonder Movies are make believe. In Real Life, this quiet acceptance is doubtful at best amid the hurt and pain that a living, breathing Woman is feeling. Active Revenge seeking is probably also rare.  

The latest of the genre, THE OTHER WOMAN, takes a fairly plain looking guy (obviously not my type) who has a formula down, including asking to meet his Girlfriend’s Father, Flowers at the Office, lots of Romantic Dinners and consideration etc.

The clue should have been the combination of a $300,000 car with a House in Connecticut. Connecticut…really? However, Women generally try to believe and trust a Man they are interested in, so it comes as a big surprise that dropping in on him at home means meeting a Wife, the Girlfriend hadn’t imagined. As if this wasn’t enough and because CHEATERS CHEAT, there is, we soon find out, another current Girlfriend as well.

The Women, realistically join forces but in a Movie Comedy sort of way. The details are therefore not very likely, and ultimately, the guy is exposed as a Crook, as well as, a Cheater on a big scale.

It is not a Men’s Revenge Movie which would be full of explosions, car chases, buildings getting blown up and other loud and gratifying scenes of creative and diabolical destruction, up to and including Murder. For example ones like, LAW ABIDING CITIZEN.

The Women’s version is a group of Women who turn humiliation and their anger into an effort to hit The Cheater where it hurts. Often this is not physical, or only physical, but involves stripping off the things he values in life.

In SHE DEVIL, it is His Home, His Family, His Career and His Freedom. In The Other Woman, it involves discovering that there are more Women, and revealing his fraudulent financial dealings.

It is disappointing to think that today’s Men behave like this one. Maybe THE UGLY TRUTH tells us more about today's male than anyone admits. I know it is possible and even likely for some to carry on this way. Mercifully most of those who want a Single life just stay Single. Either they seem to have never Married or found one marriage was enough.

Perhaps, as in SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT, someone understands Julia Roberts remark about not getting Married when you are still interested in Dating and decides to play fair. Probably a good idea for the type that thinks of himself as a Player.

However, I actually know at least one socially. He follows the separation of home and social life quite well and totally avoids workplace Hanky Panky. He is however, quite forthcoming about elements of his ‘Game’. As a ‘Woman Friend’ you finally understand that he absolutely does not consider any Woman his equal.

So what is the guy getting out of this? What are the Revenge seekers? I could speculate but… I guess because I think Living Well is the Best Revenge, whatever either gets isn’t much that would bring me happiness.

The Movies are usually still fun. They neglect to show the real pain this behaviour actually brings and the lives that are ruined. For the Revenge Seekers, there is a Victory of sorts and Justice, but only after a lot of time and effort is spent on trying to ruin the hurtful person who used, humiliated and tricked them. The Men’s Revenge version meanwhile, is stimulating and interesting to Crash and Burn enthusiasts such as myself.

Probably both Men and Women into Revenge are best left on the Movie screen, since neither is living a very nice or happy life that they can be proud of.