The international success of the original version of And God Created Woman (1956) was influential in persuading French film producers to give money to youthful would-be directors. These included Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and Eric Rohmer, and the ensuing French New Wave changed the course of cinema history.
Frankly, the box-office clout of And God Created Woman had less to do with director Roger Vadim’s storytelling powers than it did with the natural wonders of his wife, Brigitte Bardot, who appeared au natural in a couple of scenes. Were it not for BB’s persuasive presence, the New Wave might’ve been a mere trickle.
As for Vadim, he never quite kept up with his New Wave contemporaries. He’s worked steadily, but it soon became clear that he was a lesser artist than his counterparts. Vadim was rather more famous for his love life: his wives (including Jane Fonda, with whom he made the wacky Barbarella in 1968) and mistresses (including Catherine Deneuve).
Now Vadim has remade And God Created Woman, this time in America. Unfortunately, this nutty version is not likely to change history.
It doesn’t even have much to do with the original. The new film tells of the romantic tribulations of an ex-convict (Rebecca De Mornay, of Risky Business) who’s been paroled on the strength of marrying a handyman (Vincent Spano). Also in her orbit: an interested gubernatorial candidate (Frank Langella).
De Mornay is much less a vixenish force of nature than Bardot was. Perhaps Vadim’s view of women has mellowed, for in this movie the woman is really the only person with anything on the ball. The men are such dunces that you’re completely on her side.
The sex is surprisingly tame, considering Vadim’s reputation. And there’s nothing in the remake as stylistically bold as the original’s first glimpse of Bardot, stretched out naked across the bottom of a sunny CinemaScope frame.
The movie is set in New Mexico and uses the dusty location to good use. There’s little else of interest, except to note that Vadim appears in a cameo as a photographer. And for her efforts as a singer in this film (the character wants to start a rock band), De Mornay wins this month’s “Justine” award, so named for Justine Bateman’s vocalizing efforts in Satisfaction.
First published in the Herald, March 1988
This was five years after Risky Business, so things had cooled off for Rebecca De Mornay, although she still had Backdraft and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle to come. Not much of a review here, but it’s something to remember that a remake of And God Created Woman actually existed. Vadim got married again, in 1990, to Marie-Christine Barrault, star of Cousin Cousine and My Night at Maud’s, which is impressive for the old goat. He died in 2000.
WHAT A FEELING! 