Death Becomes Her (1992)
In one small bottle... The fountain of youth. The secret of eternal life. The power of an ancient potion. Sometimes it works... sometimes it doesn't.
Madeline is married to Ernest, who was once her arch-rival Helen's fiancé. After recovering from a mental breakdown, Helen vows to kill Madeline and steal back Ernest. Unfortunately for everyone, the introduction of a magic potion causes things to be a great deal more complicated than a mere murder plot.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 30 July 1992 |
| Genre | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror |
| Director | Robert Zemeckis |
| Starring | Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis |
| Runtime | 104 min |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 5.8/10 · Metacritic 56/100 · Rotten Tomatoes 58% · TMDB users 6.8/10 |
| Budget | $55 million |
| Box office | $149 million worldwide |
Where to watch Death Becomes Her
Death Becomes Her is streaming on Prime Video ($8.99 a month) in the US. It is also on Peacock ($16.99 a month). If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Prime Video is $8.99 at list price.
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Rent or buy
You can rent or buy Death Becomes Her on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Death Becomes Her in 29 other countries
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| Argentina | Max $9590 ARS |
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| Japan | U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
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What kind of watch this is
Robert Zemeckis directs a 1992 fantasy comedy that treats a murder plot like a plumbing leak. Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn play women who want the same man, but the magic potion they drink turns the stakes from romantic rivalry into body horror. The film runs 104 minutes, which is enough time for two women to fall apart and reassemble in increasingly bizarre ways. It is a movie where the body is a site of aesthetic failure rather than just emotional pain. The tone is dryly absurd, letting the visuals do the screaming so the dialogue can stay polite.
What the critics said
Critics treated Death Becomes Her like a difficult dinner guest. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 58% based on 59 reviews, with an average of 6/10. Metacritic lands on 56 out of 100, labeling the reception "mixed or average." The praise targets the technical wizardry and the leads, while the script takes the fall. Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune called it "diabolically inventive and very, very funny." Todd McCarthy of Variety noted the treatment was unlike anything seen before. Not everyone enjoyed the spectacle. Siskel and Ebert both gave it a thumbs down, arguing the satire lacks depth. The special effects impressed; the soul did not show up.
How it did with audiences
It cost $55 million and pulled in $149 million worldwide, a margin that studios usually try to hide in the footnotes. In the United States, it took $58 million. Audiences voted it 6.8 out of 10 on TMDB, a score that suggests people enjoyed the corpse but questioned the rest.
What came next for the cast
Bruce Willis walked into the film fresh from Die Hard and Die Hard 2. He emerged to star in Pulp Fiction and The Sixth Sense. The credits do not claim the vampire plot boosted his box office. They just record the sequence. Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn arrived with established names, moving from The Deer Hunter and Manhattan to The Devil Wears Prada and Don't Look Up, and from Bird on a Wire and Overboard to The Christmas Chronicles and The First Wives Club. Isabella Rossellini shifted from Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart to Enemy, Joy, and Conclave. The timeline is a list, not a cause.
Where it left its mark
The film found its second life not in mainstream re-releases, but in queer spaces. Jessica Ritchey at RogerEbert.com noted how it holds its ground by centering two strong actresses, a rarity in an industry that rarely looks past women in their thirties. Vanity Fair labeled it a gay cult classic and a touchstone of the community. The characters Madeline and Helen became favorites for drag performers, inspiring a themed runway on season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race. Even Sabrina Carpenter’s video for "Taste" borrowed from its visual language. It is a zombie movie that became a mirror.
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Sources
- Death Becomes Her on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q1160186 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Death Becomes Her” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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