The War of the Roses (1989): Danny DeVito’s Dark Divorce Comedy with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner - The 80s Movie Podcast

This week on The 80s Movie Podcast, host Edward Havens revisits The War of the Roses (1989), Danny DeVito’s sharply observed black comedy about a marriage unraveling in spectacular fashion. Reuniting Romancing the Stone stars Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, the film follows Oliver and Barbara Rose, a wealthy couple whose seemingly perfect life collapses into an increasingly vicious battle over their home, possessions, and pride. Based on Warren Adler’s novel and co-starring DeVito as the couple’s divorce lawyer, the film turned domestic conflict into one of the darkest studio comedies of the late 1980s.

In this episode, Edward explores why The War of the Roses worked so well as both comedy and satire, examining the chemistry between Douglas and Turner, Danny DeVito’s direction, and the film’s willingness to push conflict into uncomfortable territory. He also looks at how the movie uses material success, resentment, and miscommunication to expose the fragility of relationships, while asking audiences to sit with the uncomfortable reality that neither side comes away looking sympathetic.

More than three decades later, The War of the Roses still sparks conversation for its unusually bitter tone, memorable performances, and refusal to offer easy answers about marriage or divorce. Whether you remember it as a dark comedy, a cautionary tale, or simply the final pairing of Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner’s 1980s collaborations, this episode of The 80s Movie Podcast revisits a film that remains surprisingly sharp and unsettling.