The Cemetery Club

Last updated
The Cemetery Club
The Cemetery Club.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Bill Duke
Written byIvan Menchell
Produced byHoward Hurst
David Brown
Sophie Hurst
Philip Rose
Bonnie Palef
Starring
Cinematography Steven Poster
Edited by John Carter
Music by Elmer Bernstein
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date
  • February 3, 1993 (1993-02-03)
Running time
106 min.
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$6,011,745 [1]

The Cemetery Club is a 1993 American comedy film directed by Bill Duke. The film stars Olympia Dukakis, Ellen Burstyn, Diane Ladd and Danny Aiello. Jerry Orbach and Lee Richardson appear in a brief prologue sequence.

Contents

Plot

Based on the play by Ivan Menchell, this comedy-drama concerns three friends, Doris, Lucille, and Esther. All three live in the same Jewish community in Pittsburgh, are in their mid-to-late 50s, and have become widows within the past few years. Once a week, they gather to visit their husbands' graves and meet at a deli afterward to talk about their lives.

Doris remains fiercely devoted to her late husband and takes her responsibilities as a widow seriously. Lucille is eager to get her feet back in the waters of dating, partly as revenge against her late husband, who often cheated on her, and partly because she's very lonely by herself. Esther is also not used to being alone after 39 years of marriage, but she doesn't feel ready to start dating again, at least not until she meets Ben, a former cop turned cab driver who gradually but firmly eases his way into her life.

Doris is appalled when she discovers that Esther is dating again and loudly protests that she's being disrespectful to her late husband, while Lucille is more than a bit jealous that Esther snagged a good man before she could. All of which comes to fruition at the wedding of their friend Selma.

Cast

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 57% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. [2]

Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times said:

The movie has a serious undertone, lightened from time to time by scenes that don't quite seem to fit, as if the revisions were designed to lighten the mood of an essentially thoughtful piece. Still, I liked it, partly because of the honesty of the love story, as Aiello struggles with issues we can hardly guess about. And I enjoyed the life-affirming counterpoint of Selma, the much-married character played by Lainie Kazan, who seems to be a golddigger but comes through with some sound and sensible advice for Burstyn. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ The Cemetery Club at Box Office Mojo
  2. ↑ "The Cemetery Club (1993)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  3. ↑ Roger Ebert (February 12, 1993). "The Cemetery Club". Chicago Sun-Times .
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