Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1399 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-01-06
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Running time: 109 minutes

Review
Although Divorce American Style has lost some of its bite since 1967, it still packs a considerable punch. Norman Lear and Robert Kaufman's dialogue may occasionally come off as dated, and the attacks on marriage, divorce, and relationships may not feel as fresh as they once did, but there's still an abundance of wit in this sharp, abrasive movie -- as witness the opening, in which an orchestra conductor directs a concerto of domestic unhappiness. Director Bud Yorkin does not make the most of all the comedic opportunities presented in the screenplay, and there are stretches when the material cries out for a more imaginative approach, but he has cast it with a sterling ensemble, with Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds turning in solid comic performances that still have warmth and humanity (not a small feat, considering the darkness of much of the humor). The supporting cast is a feast of character talent, from Lee Grant and Shelley Berman to Eileen Brennan and Dick Gautier, and not a weak link among them. Divorce may not be a timeless classic, but it's good, wicked fun. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

On the DVD
ccTheatrical trailers

Synopsis
An unhappy couple discover breaking up really is hard to do in this satiric comedy. Richard Harmon (Dick Van Dyke) and his wife, Barbara (Debbie Reynolds), are a typical married couple in American Suburbia -- which is to say they're not very happy with each other. After 15 years together, Richard and Barbara decide they've reached the end of their collective rope, and after several rounds of marriage counseling proves fruitless, they file for divorce. Between negotiating child custody, alimony, and finding new places to live, Richard and Barbara discover divorce isn't appreciably easier than being married; meanwhile, Richard makes a new friend in Nelson Downes (Jason Robards), a fellow divorc� who would love nothing more than for Richard to marry his former wife, Nancy (Jean Simmons), and take away the burden of alimony. Also featuring Van Johnson, Lee Grant, Shelley Berman, and Eileen Brennan in her first film role, Divorce American Style earned an Oscar nomination for Norman Lear and Robert Kaufman's original screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Customer Reviews

AVOID FULL FRAME BUTCHER JOB
yet again...a studio "dumbs down" a release by not giving us the full image. Teach them a lesson by boycotting these "butchered" releases...Conrad Hall (the cinematographer) deserves better.

Divorce as business
That si nothing but a comedy, but a very good one. No real depth about life but a very clear vision of divorce as nothing but business for both sexes. A man can be nearly destroyed by a divorce, but he can be regenerated by the remarrying of his ex-wife. So everything is organized by everyone so that ex-wives remarry and ex-husbands remarry too. It means no real love but only some business agreements here and there along the way. The twist comes through some hypnosis that completely meddles with the cards of the game and everything can start from the very same point the whole film had started from. Divorcing is some kind of artistic game in the middle-class suburbs.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU