Susan Seidelman's "She Devil" is a comedy that works on a simple but efficient formula: opposition. The opening credits consists on a delicate and feminine music, a Santa Barbara- like cursive writing, and several shots of glamorous women putting on some make-up, lipstick or perfume, like in these corny cosmetic ads, so typical of the 80's. In fact, the whole intro is so cliché that we expect a punch-line. And rightfully, we get one when emerges the face of Rita, Roseanne Barr as the unpleasant, plump, average-looking and (not yet) desperate housewife, the soon-to-be She-Devil.
Roseanne Barr, whose breakthrough role in "Roseanne" had already launched her career; has never been considered a beautiful woman, yet she still pushes herself to the most atrocious physical limits by adding a big mole on her upper lip. It takes some great deal of courage to abuse one's own image, but it's essential to recreate the perfect contrast with Meryl Streep, who incarnates Rita's nemesis, a rich "roman rose" writer, beautiful, blonde, distinguished and literate, a caricature in all pinkness and sophistication. The film is often credited for featuring the first comedic role of the ultimate drama actress. Is she good? Delightfully: Streep's capability to caricature herself and play a woman who takes herself so seriously almost works like a refreshing self-derision, deserving the Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy.
The opposition between Rita and Mary is the core of the story; the whole narrative depends on our empathy toward the ugly duckling and our sadistic delight to see the beautiful princess' life falls apart. Oddly enough, Mary and Rita hardly interact. The intercessor is Bob, Rita's unfaithful husband played by Ed Begley Jr., probably the only actor whose hair can compete with Meryl Streep's. With his tall and athletic body and his elegant demeanor, it's a wonder how he and Rita ended up together. When Mary finds out he's married, "it's too bad" she says, to which he replies "it's too late": not to have some sex though. Indeed, after Rita dropped some drink on Mary's pink dress, he apologetically suggests driving her home. What did Rota expect?
Still, although she suspects Bob to be screwing around, she gives him the benefit of the doubt. It's not until a disastrous dinner in front of her stepparents that Bob can't take it anymore and leaves the house. He then delivers the film's pivotal rant, against his wife. Rita remains silent, contemplating the failure of her own marriage while Bob lists the four assets he most valued: a house, a family, a career and freedom. Not part of them, Rita decides to destroy these sacred pillars one by one. At least, she'd deserve to be called a "liability", and worse, a "she-devil". The film turns into a delightful revenge comedy, working like a missing link between two movies of the same year : "Look Who's Talking" and "The War of the Roses".
Like "Look Who's Talking", "She Devil" is a sweet and entertaining family comedy appealing to a younger audience while the main target are adults; it has its share of goofiness and physical humor, but under the surface, there is a lot of wit and sensitivity. I guess it's not a coincidence that both movies were released by women, which might explain the choice of tone, apparently sweet enough to hide a good amount of bitterness, like a frail and fragile woman hiding a burning flame inside her heart, like all the everyday heroines of Rita's employment center. And the film works thanks to this distance, this capability to turn every situation into something both insightful and comical, it's almost like a trick so the movie could win men's hearts despite its feminist undertones.
Take the scene where Rita, who had just destroyed the house, sends the kids to Mary's house, to break up her idyllic routine with Bob. This is one of the movies' funniest and smartest moves: while many mothers would have played the "victim" card and console themselves by keeping the kids (which any cheating husband would expect), Rita doesn't lament on herself, and just reverse the roles between the mistress and the housewife. With more free time, she works as a nurse in a hospice where she teams up with Hooper (Linda Hunt) another woman touched by an ungrateful looks. Then, she manages to get Mary's mother (Sylvia Miles) off the house. The mother is another scene-stealer, finishing the mayhem started by the kids, and ruining all the facade Mary built during her successful career, starting with her age.
And the marital conflict, the whole love-and-hate relationship between Bob and Rita reminds of "The War of the Roses", a superior masterpiece of Black humor starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. "She Devil", with a bit of schmaltz's, is as politically incorrect and even flirts with very borderline humor, having a luscious butler (played by A. Martinez) flirting with Rita's teenage daughter and some implicit sex scenes
the film assumes some crudeness even though it tries to sugarcoat it. And while we empathize with Rita's feminist career, it's impossible not to resist to Ed Begley as the victim. Yet we know we're watching a slow but possible redemption. The same goes for Mary Fisher who learns not to take her success for granted and tries to change.
This is what elevates the film above the basic standards of comedy: its characters play like archetypes, but they do change for the best. The ending has something very inspirational: the looks on Roseanne while she walks and smiles surrounded by an army of female underdogs during the "You Look Like an Angel" song is almost beautiful. And then we understand why she had to be so 'ugly' at the start, less for the contrast with Streep than with herself at the end, which is even more satisfying.
She might have looked like a devil, but she was an angel in disguise.
