The First Wives Club (1999)

Elise Elliot (Goldie Hawn), Brenda Cushman (Bette Midler), Annie Paradis (Diane Keaton), and Cynthia Griffin (Stockard Channing) were best friends at Middlebury College during the 1960s, but marriage and children force them to drift apart. Decades later, Cynthia commits suicide because her husband has divorced her, having left her for a younger woman. The three remaining women reunite at her funeral. Subsequently, we learn that their husbands are divorcing them too, and, like Cynthia's ex-husband, are taking up with younger women. All three had helped their husbands' careers, and all three feel they are being shafted. They plan to get revenge by ruining their husbands' careers. Brenda plans to expose her ex-husband Morty's (Dan Hedaya) income tax fraud, Elise plans to reveal that Bill's (Victor Garber) mistress is a minor and ruin his reputation, and Annie buys out Aaron's (Stephen Collins) partner, taking half of his advertising business. Deciding that revenge would make them no better than their husbands, they instead use these situations to push their men into funding the establishment of a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding abused women, in memory of Cynthia. It is important to note that the plot of the movie diverges significantly from that of the novel. In the novel, the wives also seek revenge on Cynthia's ex-husband Gil (James Naughton), each wife has a romantic subplot, and the children have more significant roles.