This 1992 dark comedy, directed by Robert Zemeckis, is a campy, glittering wake-up call. The story follows Madeline Ashton (Meryl Streep), a fading Hollywood star who is desperate to stay young forever, and her “frenemy” Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn), who is almost as obsessed with revenge as she is with her own vanity. With a nervous, easily manipulated Ernest Menville (Bruce Willis) as their unlucky, shared man, the story becomes just as absurd as it is glamorous. 

When both women decide to take a mysterious potion that promises them eternal youth, what comes after is a wildly over-the-top competition to see who can look better, live longer, and one-up the other, even if their bodies begin to literally fall apart in the process. 

While the movie is full of comedy and absurdity, it also delivers a message about vanity and the obsession that society seems to have with staying youthful and beautiful. Beneath the exaggerated acting, Death Becomes Her reminds the viewers that trying too hard to achieve perfection can end badly, and that sometimes, it’s better to just accept yourself for who you are. 

In short, Death Becomes Her is a fun and creative movie that is weird in all the best ways and still manages to feel relevant decades after its release. It’s definitely worth a watch.