Primetime Emmy® Award winner Debra Messing (Will and Grace) lights up the screen in The Starter Wife! Follow the uplifting adventures of Molly Kagen (Messing), a Hollywood wife who must reinvent herself after being l... more »eft by her movie executive husband. Jon Avnet (Fried Green Tomatoes) directs a dazzling ensemble cast, including Judy Davis (Husbands and Wives), Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), Joe Mantegna (Bugsy) and Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls). Based on the bestselling novel by Gigi Levangie Grazer, this must-own 2-disc set includes all 6 liberating TV-hours of funny, empowering entertainment. Say "I do" to The Starter Wife on DVD!« less
Charlene C. (mccoffield) from SOUTHLAKE, TX Reviewed on 2/14/2012...
I thoroughly enjoyed this mini-series and gave it four stars. I had intended for it to provide several evenings of viewing, but I became so enthralled in the plot-line that I watched all seven parts in one sitting.
Probably more of a chick-flick than not, so I would recommend it to most women and some men. It's part SEX IN THE CITY, part THE WOMEN, part IT'S COMPLICATED, part BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS, all roled into one. Part serious, but mostly funny. I thought the characters were believable and mostly well developed. I wasn't that fond of the 'beach bum' character, might have changed the ending and expanded the gay friend's role, but other than that, I wouldn't change a thing about it. Very entertaining.
2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Heather F. (8izenuff) from PHOENIX, AZ Reviewed on 7/1/2010...
I loved the book. If you read the book you will not be disappointed, they changed some things that only made the movie better. The whole movie has a great message. The characters are all enjoyable.
0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Miki O. (MikiOz) from WILLISTON, VT Reviewed on 8/5/2009...
The Malibu scenery is more impressive than the acting in this made-for-TV mini-series based on the Gigi Levange-Granger chick lit book of the same name. The supporting cast is pretty great, especially the relatively unknown male actor who plays Molly's decorator friend. If you can stomach Debra Messing's pretentious, almost-a-whisper "accent" for 6 hours (not to mention the actor who plays the annoying husband who dumps her), then it's not a bad way to kick back on the couch and kill an afternoon or two.
"You must forget Will & Grace when you watch the Starter Wife. Kiss Grace goodbye, this aint her. Messing shows how she can take the lead and keep this mini series moving. She plays an ex-wife of a Hollywood studio boss starts her life after her divorce
The supporting cast of Judy Davis, Joe Mantegna, Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls), and Peter Jacobson (Transformers & the Lost Room)mesh with Messing. Mantegna best scene is hom in drag-DONT MISS IT
On the whole, the mini series, which is based upon the novel by Hollywood Wife Gigi Levangie Grazer, the wife of Producer/director Brian Grazer, is a great story. It ranks up there will Jackie Collins's Hollywood series of books and movies
Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD"
A Pleasant Series
Deborah B. Miley | The South | 07/05/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This show wasn't mindblowing and it wasn't super original, but it had heart, something I think is missing from TV today. It surprised me that I could sit and just get lost in this show and its quirky characters. Debra Messing is a great actress and I love the fact that Anika Noni Rose played the security guard for the community. If you haven't seen this show in it's original network run, please pick up a copy or rent it from Netflix. I guarantee you will not be disappointed."
Can a guy review this without choking?
JOHN GODFREY | Milwaukee ,WI USA | 09/19/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Sure. It's not bad. This is not a show I'd would have considered on my own or even remembered to watch. My wife was watching & I stopped for a moment & stayed because Debra Messing is so excellent- fashion, comedy & drama. It's not marketed to us 50+ males but is a perfect, summer mini-series. It went to dvd pretty quick in case you missed it. I'd recommend it. Debra's scenes with Joe Montegna are the best."
A cream-puff of a miniseries
Divascribe | San Antonio, TX | 10/25/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I thoroughly enjoyed "The Starter Wife," even though it isn't the type of show I usually watch. It was a delight -- lots of chuckles, with enough serious subject matter to keep it from being a dramatized version of the Shopping Channel. Deborah Messing is perfect as the "starter wife" who's dumped by her studio honcho husband and thinks her life is over. Not so -- a new life is just beginning. Messing and her small coterie of loyal friends are great, and the hunk she finds on the beach is a feast for the eyes. The miniseries is great fun, guaranteed to bring a smile."