8 ½ Women
Seen it?1999 | 121 min | Drama, Comedy
Weeknight Watchearly ratingWhy it’s a Weeknight Watch
With middling reviews (41% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a box office loss, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Tailor-made for anyone with a complicated family (so, everyone) and people ready for a good cry. Family ties get tested in ways that ring true. If you loved Happiness, start here. It's about loss, handled with care rather than melodrama.
- The mood
- Funny with heart.
- The pace
- Character-first and patient, at 2 hr 1 min.
- What might put you off
- Rated R: meant for adults.
- Skip it if you need something light and fast tonight.
After his wife dies, middle-aged businessman Philip Emmenthal, at the prompting of his playboy son Storey, populates his Geneva villa with eight-and-a-half concubines. Three are from Kyoto, where Storey manages Pachinco palaces. Each has a distinctive personality: a nun, a child bearer, a gambler, a student of Kabuki, a horsewoman with a pet pig, a maid. As a year passes, the women begin asserting their own power.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsBelow par
41% on Rotten Tomatoes
- AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Box office & staying powerBelow par
$438K worldwide on a $6 million budget; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactBelow par
About 21K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Peter Greenaway
- John StandingPhilip Emmenthal
- Matthew DelamereStorey Emmenthal
- Vivian WuKito
- Annie Shizuka InohSimato
- Toni ColletteGriselda
- Claire JohnstonAmelia, Philip's Wife
- Polly WalkerPalmira
- Amanda PlummerBeryl
- Elizabeth BerringtonCeleste
- Don WarringtonSimon