The First Wives Club

Three former college friends reunite in New York after many years apart, brought together by the death of a fourth friend, who took her own life after her marriage to a wealthy financier collapsed. Comparing their lives, the women discover a common thread: each helped build her husband's career, and each has now been set aside for a younger woman. Rather than accept it, they decide to work together and turn their shared grievance into a plan aimed at their ex-husbands' finances. Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton star as the three women, with Maggie Smith, Sarah Jessica Parker and Dan Hedaya among the supporting cast.

The film was directed by Hugh Wilson and written by Robert Harling, with Scott Rudin producing. It was Wilson's fifth feature, arriving between Guarding Tess and Blast from the Past in a run of six films he directed that began with Police Academy in 1984. Released in September 1996, it runs 102 minutes and cost about 26 million dollars to make, going on to take roughly 181 million dollars worldwide.

Audience response has been moderately positive: on IMDb it holds 6.5 out of 10 from around 60,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.7 out of 10 from far fewer votes. A critics' rating of 5.7 out of 10 from 77 reviews places it slightly below both audience scores.