THE BUTCHER'S WIFE
A film review by Craig Good
Copyright 1991 Craig Good
THE BUTCHER'S WIFE is a romantic film based on the age-old conflict between heart and head. What isn't so old is the intriguingly- structured plot which drops Demi Moore, as the butcher's wife, as a pebble into a pond of characters. She plays a clairvoyant who simply tries to be helpful as she "sees what others want sometimes before they know themselves."
The pond is Greenwich Village in New York, and her innocence and caring combine with her vision to instantly touch the hearts of a group of people whose heads are all messed up. The ripples in the pond reflect back onto their psychiatrist, played by Jeff Daniels. The main conflict of the film then becomes that between the scientist and the clairvoyant. And so, naturally, does the main love story.
But the cagey script also swirls with the interwoven love stories of a dowdy music teacher, a soap opera actress, a shop keeper and a teenage boy -- all of whom are Jeff Daniel's patients -- and of course the butcher. Following the advice of the butcher's wife feels right at first and seems to make them all happy. Then they find that it has turned their world topsy-turvy. Daniels' character winds up confused and shaken to his core, and even Moore's character finds out something about herself that she never suspected. Since this is a romantic comedy, after all, I'm spoiling nothing by telling you that it all works out in the end , but the way and the speed with which the stories all resolve is satisfying and sometimes surprising (in fact, this must be about the shortest third act in modern film).
Even if Demi Moore's accent doesn't quite hold up, the movie sure does. THE BUTCHER'S WIFE may not change your life, but go see it if you want to spend some time with some engaging characters and enjoyable performances. And just in case you find yourself put off by the way off-base reviews of a couple of guys from Chicago, let me quote the butcher's wife herself: "What I say and what people hear aren't always the same thing."
--Craig
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