Karen Was The Real Enemy
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — General Discussion
BlondeIsBetter — 17 years ago(January 20, 2009 04:39 PM)
Karen was the one that brought Eve to Margo in the first place, and then helped Eve stab Margo in the back. She made Eve Margo's unerstudy, and made sure that Margo missed that performance, so that Eve could play her role and get the good reviews from the critics.
So it was kind of heart warming to see that Eve had an affair with Karen's husband after all that. Heh!! Karen was not exactly what I would call a good friend to Margo With friends like that, who needs enemies
Without the help of Karen, Eve would have never gotten her foot in the door Karen was pretty evil as well. The more I watch this film, the more I really hate Karen -
Harold_Robbins — 17 years ago(January 21, 2009 04:51 AM)
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Karen's motive in introducing Eve to Margo was sincere - blame it on her naivete - the cunning Eve played her like a Stradivarius.
"Somewhere along the line the world has lost all of its standards and all of its taste." -
BlondeIsBetter — 17 years ago(January 21, 2009 04:21 PM)
Well I agree, that first introduction was innocent enough But think about Karen for a moment, she went to Radcliffe, and all of a sudden, she marries a playwrite, and really doesn't have a life of her own, so she spends her time and energy thinking about ways to hurt Margo
She makes sure that Eve becomes Margo's understudy, and makes sure that Margo doesn't know, then drains the gas tank so that Margo misses a performance In the words of Margo "Men have been hanged for less"..
I think in a way Karen was jealous of Margo's achievements, after giving up her own ideals of any kind of career.
I think my favorite character is Birdy, who had Eve pinned right from the beginning. Eve had everyone fooled, everyone except Birdy Birdy is a smart, funny, and tough cookie Love Birdy!!! -
wrightx6 — 17 years ago(January 24, 2009 05:07 PM)
This is one of my favorite movies.
Karen had good intentions that backfiredwell, at first, then it all turned out for the best in the end. Margo got her man and Eve out of her life and Addison DeWitt had to find another stooge. -
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jcurrie58-1 — 16 years ago(January 08, 2010 08:02 AM)
I feel that Karen only did what she did to pay Margo back in a way; remember the scene at the party when Margo was rude to Karen about her background in front of other people. She had been drinking, of course, but despite that it was inexcusable to be rude about her so called best friend in front of other people.
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chester-copperpot-1 — 16 years ago(September 17, 2009 05:13 PM)
I think that she was a very lonely woman, that lived a very unsatisfying life, she seemed to be so unfullfilled. Such a bright future, just to become a cocktail-drinking trophy wife of a playwriter. And surrounded with such talented and charming people all the time. And if I was so inclined, I would say that she didn't get any either, from her husband. They had separate beds, anyway. Being gifted can be a burden. Being gifted but not enough to make a difference can actually be worse. Karen was smart, beautiful, educated, a gorgeous woman. But not gifted enough to succeed in that crowd by her own means, besides just being who she was, being charming and nice to everybody, and "doing good" all the time. Mediocracy is not measured in a vacuum, but in a context. In that context, she was a flower on the wall.
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purple_honey1 — 15 years ago(May 04, 2010 09:30 PM)
Yeah she set Margo up, but afterwards she felt really bad about it. She saw through Eve's facade a little too late and had already served her purpose 2 Eve. Though I can't help but think Karen was jealous of Margo a little herself, she was her friend to the end, not a very loyal one but one that stuck with her to the end. She was Margo's shoulder when Sam was gone.
Cheers!
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ozzieink — 15 years ago(July 05, 2010 09:27 AM)
Actually she did. And Karen knew exactly when it began: the night Eve's friend calls the husband late at night and he leaves his bed to go to another woman. At one point he thinks of marrying Eve and divorcing Karen, who waits out the affair.
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Moon_and_New_York_City — 15 years ago(July 22, 2010 06:25 PM)
Man, all this Karen hating is coming out of left field!
The practical joke on Margo was totally justified - she was just missing a performance, not a kidney for crying out loud!
And unlike Birdy - Karen did not figure out Eve until it was way too late, at their final confrontation in the ladies room (Bill quips, "I understand she might be the understudy in there too").
Karen did NOT tell Lloyd to give Eve the part of Cora either. I wonder sometimes if people even watch the movie before they criticize it! Margo had already decided NOT to do the play; Karen didn't have to tell Lloyd!
I think in the end - Karen was a very good friend. You can tell she was genuinely upset by the turn of events.
The irony is that Bette Davis and Celeste Holm were NOT friends at all. Apparently the first day on the set, Celeste said "Good Morning!" and Bette Davis cracked, "Oh, sh&t she's got manners!" and they never spoke again, except while in character.
"the best that you can do is fall in love" -
ladylaughinglizard — 12 years ago(January 05, 2014 09:41 AM)
Do you have a special DVD with deleted scenes or something?
At one point did he think of marrying Eve and divorcing Karen? I hope you didn't gather that by what Eve said, Eve was lying the whole movie. -
morgana-31 — 16 years ago(February 02, 2010 02:13 AM)
Karen bringing Eve to Margo in the first place was understandable. She thought she was helping a star struck young girl meet her idol.
But I can't understand why she arranged for Eve to miss her performance. Even if she was trying to cut Eve a break, surely you don't do stuff like that to your supposed best friend?
Love is never having to say you're sober. -
sstrnod — 16 years ago(February 03, 2010 01:24 PM)
Karen arranged for Margo to miss the performance as an intention to help Margo (perhaps somewhat vindictively) not Eve by taking the petulant Margo down a peg and off her high horse with a figurative swift kick in the rear.
What prompts the idea is the scene where Lloyd comes home while Karen is painting the fruit basket and is falling all over himself with praise for Eve's reading (remember Karen says "Don't run out of adjectives dear"). After Lloyd puts down "Miss Channing" and Karen attempts to defend her, Lloyd responds "Margo? Margo's great. She knows it. That's the trouble. She can play Peck's Bad Boy all she wants, and who's to stop her? Who's to giver her that boot in the rear she needs and deserves?"
Soon after, Karen as narrator says "My big idea came to me just sitting on a couch: that boot in the rear to Margo. Heaven knows, she had one coming. From me, from Lloyd, from Eve, Bill, Max, and so on. We'd all felt those size 5's of hers often enough. But how?" She has it, then decides to let it go. "Screaming and calling names is one thing, but this could mean " I think she momentarily realizes this could possibly lead to Eve's ascension at the expense of Margo.
However, the classic rationalizations then begin: "Why not? It would all seem perfectly legitimate. And there were only two people in the world who would ever know. Also, the boot would land where it would do the most good for all concerned. And after all, it was no more than a perfectly harmless joke which Margo herself would be the first to enjoy, and no reason why she shouldn't be told about it in time." Finally, she places a phone call to Eve.
Of course, the great irony is despite things appearing to unravel for Margo as a result of these "good intentions", it actually DOES directly lead to and end up benefiting her, for she does show some humility with Karen while sitting in the empty car and attains the one thing she's desired and is missing but but hasn't yet got: marriage to Bill.