Hey gang, Valkor here. It’s tough being a single guy living amongst
the married or those in relationships; on the one hand you’re
expected to take the plunge with your brethren and get involved
in all those bro-marriage togetherness or relationshipy things.
“Come on bro, get married! It’s the best thing ever! You’ll never
have to cook again”. And then when you do get married or find
someone whom you can spend some serious time with then you get
this response “Dude! What the fuck were you thinking? You’re life
is so over now! Yo man, yo girl is such a bitch”. Or my favorite
response to even considering getting married, “Don’t do it. You’ll
regret it for the rest of your life”. Where am I going with this?
Well it all relates to the next film to slide the MediaView desktop
– “Let’s Kill Wards Wife”, where we learn that if you’re ever
gonna get married – for any reason - make sure she’s truly the
one… or else. Spoilers!
In “Let’s Kill Ward’s Wife”, we’re introduced to… well Ward (Donald Faison – Venus & Vegas); hardworking, father of a newborn and unfortunately married to the most annoying woman on the planet named Stacy (Dagmara Dominczyk). She’s a total bitch who literally controls his life from the moment he starts to leave the house, back again and everything inbetween - Stacy is in complete control. Dude can’t even take a shit without getting her fired up. And on father’s day when his buddies Ronnie (James Carpinello), Tom (Scott Foley) and David (Patrick Wilson – The Ledge) want to spend time on a golf outing, but Stacy basically guilt trips Ward out of it. During the golf session, his buddies play around with the idea of killing Stacy and how much better Ward’s life would be without her. Well opportunity strikes, when out of anger, Tom’s conversation with a possible side piece is overheard by Stacy. And in a fit of rage he slams her face into this cake, to which she slips on the frosting and slams her head onto the counter. She lives, but Tom proceeds to finish the job by choking her out. When it’s discovered what he’s done, David is called in to help with the clean up (since he actually did the research of getting rid of bodies). And with Stacy out of the picture (not completely as there is the issue of the body and what to do with the remains), life begins to improve for everyone – everyone!
How is that possible that everyone's life improve? Well, from the jump we learn that each of Ward’s friends has issues of their own. First there’s Tom, whom is losing that loving feeling with his wife and now the spark is back after they’ve discover something of sexual interest they can both enjoy. David was in the midst of separation from his wife. But his ex, seeing how he can truly take charge and be the bigger man, the two begin to patch things up. Then there’s Ronnie, who lives the fun-loving, single man’s life. He’s also the lose end that could bring the whole thing down, but even he’s given something that can take his mind off this morbid nightmare of a predicament. Finally there’s our man Ward. How does this help him? Well not having Stacy around to annoy the living shit out of him day in and day out, he seems more relaxed and truly embracing his existence without this nagging bitch by his side.
However, the only real issue this group has to deal with is Officer Bruce (Greg Grunberg – Group Sex) who could discover at any moment what these guys are up to and the whole thing could come crashing down. And does it all come to a screeching halt to a bunch of friends who wanted to save another friend from “pussywhip hell”? You’ll have to watch this one to find out.
I’ve dealt with my share of films that dealt with crazy marriages and relationships (Home Sweet Hell is the first to come to mind - also a Patrick Wilson film), but “Let’s Kill Wards Wife” takes things to a whole new level. Alls I know is, when it comes to relationships and marriage, from now I’ll look before I leap.
The Good:
I had way more fun with “Let’s Kill Ward’s Wife” than I had intended; it’s a dark comedy that’s intelligent, funny and entertaining from start to finish. And what I enjoyed most about the film is that everything that happened and how it all plays out makes perfect sense. And what I mean is, characters don’t do stupid things to make the situation worse. And just when you think these guys are about to get pinched, the way they get out of it is works! I freaking loved it! The ending might throw some people off, but I feel it completes the film and it’s the kind of ending I was hoping for as I watched the film post Stacy’s death. Besides the insane yet wicked cool plot, the acting deserves a nod and the chemistry between this group – even the awkwardness of Grunberg’s character included – appear to work so well and everyone not only shines, but you can see they were really enjoying themselves. And what works best was how from the start of the film, almost everyone was equally unnerved until after Stacy’s death when you can literally feel the weight of these character’s burdens lifted. Shoutout goes to Patrick Wilson, who is the definite standout; some of films, with me, have been hit or miss but in Let’s Kill Ward’s Wife the dude shines! In the end “Let’s Kill Ward’s Wife” is a well balanced trifecta of cool with the plot, acting and writing all on point, brought together for one amazing film.
The Bad:
My only real gripe with the film is that I wanted to see Stacy be even more of a bitch. We kick things off with her and her abusive nature and then we jump right into the lives of Ward’s friends. I almost thought that’s how this film was going to go, pushing Ward’s bitchy wife and her death into the backdrop. That doesn’t happen and it's pretty well balanced, but I would have liked more of a reason to hate her.
The Ugly:
N/A
Let’s Kill Ward’s Wife is available now and if you’re looking for something that’s entertaining and engaging, with a nifty dose of dark humor, then look no further because this film is the one. I highly recommend it. And out of TOV 5 stars, I give “Let’s Kill Ward’s Wife” a perfect 5!
