Sorry, this movie sucks

Great Film overall

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

An American road movie about two women in a red car. It's « Thelma & Louise » from Ridley Scott for sure but you are wrong : it's this « just like a woman » from french director Bouchareb. As he is a famous director in my country for « Indigenes », i really don't understand why this movie was still unknown, above all it has such famous cast : Zem + Golshifteh + Sienna. In all cases, all my fellows french ignorant don't know what they miss as it's really a strong, moving movie. Maybe the stories of those women can be a little too much in despair and bad relationships (which husband can cheat on Sienna or be distant to Golshifteh ?) but their trip is just a great breath of liberty, freedom and dreams ! I don't know about you but i resent my actual life the same way they did : i'm a bachelor so maybe I don't know about quarrels but i'm for sure restless and if i'm not without job, the one i do is just alienation. So, like those 2 women, i would like to run away « where the streets have no name » like U2 sing accurately ! Actually, the movie offers this opportunity for a too short 90 minutes and in addition, it's also back to nature and escaping civilization because this team goes camping in the West. And can you imagine that for this fundamental trip, you go along brunette Goldsifeth and blonde Sienna. It's a dream-team for me as i appreciate the two of them but if Sienna can find now at least one good movie, for personal reason, the black sad eyes of Goldsigeth just take me away !

Some critics are calling this engaging film a modern day 'Thelma and Louise, but with a happy ending'. Yes, is it is a story about tow disconsolate women who decide to take their lives in their own hands and set out on a road trip to prove they can indeed survive. As written by Joelle Touma and Marion Doussot and directed by Rachid Bouchareb (highly regarded for his touching films 'Days of Glory' and 'London River') JUST LIKE A WOMAN takes on a pair of women who have issues with men and allows us to see the building of a friendship of meaning and one that overcomes sour consequences with gentle grace.Mona (Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani), 26, is an immigrant from Egypt who was brought to America by her now mother in law (Chafia Boudraa) to run her in-laws' mini market in Chicago and to marry her arranged husband is Mourad (Roschdy Zem), a kind and gentle man who can't stand up to his authoritarian mother. Mona is harassed by her mother-in-law because after five years of marriage, she hasn't be able to get pregnant, something that's considered a shame and a taboo in her culture. Marilyn (Sienna Miller), 29, is a receptionist at a computer repair company. Her marriage with Harvey (Jesse Bob Harper) is on the ropes. The only thing in her life that makes her happy is her belly dancing class as taught by her close friend Peter (Michael Ehlers) who sees Marilyn's gifts and encourages her to try out for a belly dancing group in Santa Fe, NM. Marilyn shops at Mona's mini-market and they have become friends who both incidentally love belly dancing. Two tragedies occur: Mona accidentally gives her mother-in-law a lethal dose of digoxin and fearing she will be arrested she flees; Marilyn loses her job because of the recession and when she arrives home she discovers Harvey cheating on her. With nothing left to lose, Marilyn decides to go to Santa Fe after all. Mona and Marilyn run into each other on a rest area on the side of a highway. They decide to continue the trip together. They cross the USA, pitching their tent in trailer parks and in the middle of the desert. They earn some cash belly dancing together in restaurants and bars. Back in Chicago, Mona is considered a fugitive; she's wanted for the murder of her mother- in-law. Harvey asks the police to look for Marilyn who disappeared without leaving a trace. How the plans of the two women who have become fast friends are resolved provides the somewhat surprise ending.Miller and Farahani create a magnetic chemistry on screen and from the get-go they have us routing for their flight to freedom. The various characters they meet on this road trip are well acted and the general feeling at the end of the film is one of warm applause. Grady Harp

I was interested in seeing this movie because I really enjoy road trip movies. Somehow you tend to meet interesting people and it comes out well in movies especially when coupled with great outdoors. I was also interested because it features Golshifteh Farahani who I really enjoyed in About Elly (2009).Just Like a Woman is the story of two wives. Egyptian born Mona lives with her husband and his mother. Mona's husband owns a shop which Marilyn visits. The mother-in-law treats Mona awfully because they can't have children and she blames it on her. Marilyn has a low paying job but doesn't complain. Then one day, she is fired with no notice, and saddened, she goes home to find her husband cheating on her. Around the same time, Mona accidentally mixes up her mother-in-law's medication which causes her mother-in-law's death. Afraid and lost, Mona runs away on the first bus she finds. Marilyn takes the car and leaves everything behind to pursue an audition to become a belly dancer. The two women then meet on a highway stop and continue their journey together.I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. The two actresses do a really good job. One has to wonder why they cast an Iranian actress in an Egyptian character, is there a shortage of Arabic actresses? Sure, it's geographically closer than having Freida Pinto play a Palestinian but still. The movie starts with some really down on their luck women, but I appreciated the vision of running away as getting a second chance. It seems to hold the message that it's not the goal but the pursuit of it that really matters. Being not personally a fan of dance scenes in any movie, I was a little scared but the scenes are not too many and the ones that are there are actually beautiful.The movie might hold a very feminist view and some will say that all men are portrayed as evil, however, I think the sweetest and most gentle character was the tribal security guard who helped them out. It is also to be noted that women are not all portrayed as angels as characterized with the scene of the woman watching from the mobile home's window or the mother-in-law. Some scenes might have been included for shock or emotional virtue alone but it brought out good acting. The Indian Reserve had really beautiful spots.All in all, the movie might try a little too hard to have weakened characters in order to make them shine stronger when they succeed. In a way it's annoying but it is also more rewarding to see them overcome their struggles.I liked: Road trip. A follow your dreams attitude.I disliked: Feels a little forced sometimes. Were the racist remarks really needed or just added for shock value?68/100 As a feminist I liked it, these women got stronger together and extracted themselves from their husbands' influence. For a breath of fresh air and a second chance.Read more reviews at: www.theordinaryreview.blogspot.com

I think your chances of enjoying this movie increases if you're not burdened by having a penis and/or a brain.The central theme seems to be that most males (except for a gay dance instructor) are complete and utter misogynistic assholes and perverts, not to mention racists. The two girls technically look good dancing, of course, but this movie is so full of self-righteousness and feministic self-pity that it somehow manages to make even a pair as gorgeous as these two come across as almost completely devoid of any sexiness. Of course, that's probably the last thing they're aiming to be -- I'm just warning any fellow male viewers out there who somehow think this movie is a good source for eye-candy. It's really not. Most characters are stereotypical caricatures and you're left with little else than the clear impression that the writers want to inform you that it's not easy to a be a woman, and especially not a non-caucasian immigrant woman. Which I'm sure is correct, to some extent, but it makes for a god-awful, hysterically untertaining(TM) movie.