A Cult Classic is a piece of cinema that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans over time, typically due to its unconventional storytelling, which was not well-received upon release. As a cinematic piece, Death Becomes Her (1992) is an intriguing take on the campy horror and black comedy genres. With iconic performances from Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, and Bruce Willis, the elements of comedy, combined with 90s body-horror gore, create a fun, campy story about two women, powered by a magical potion that promises eternal youth and beauty, and their fight for love from a man. Pop star Sabrina Carpenter has referenced the iconic story in her single, "Taste" (2024). The film’s cult status has led to a musical adaptation, which first premiered in Chicago before moving to Broadway and is slated for a North American tour in 2026. The film itself provides a metacommentary on the impacts of the weight of feminine beauty standards on women, serving as a cautionary tale on embracing vanity in life rather than savouring it while it lasts. Death Becomes Her’s cultural significance as a cult classic, its cultural criticism of the feminine experience, and its exploration of the brevity of life and death relate to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on Gender Equality.
Death Becomes Her (1992) emerged as a cultural phenomenon, beginning as a film with a cult following within the queer community. Vanity Fair reports that, despite its slim box-office revenue of $58 million on a $55 million budget, 25 years after its initial release, it has become a touchstone of the queer community, inspiring cosplay, drag performances, and even a runway challenge on the reality competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race. The film is screened during Pride Month in theatres full of fans, as the film is fully embraced by the community as a whole. The musical version of the film, which premiered in Chicago in 2024, solidified its cultural relevance through the virality of two of the show’s musical numbers, Let’s Run Away Together and Tell Me, Earnest, on TikTok as sounds for content creation. Death Becomes Her’s dark, comedic storytelling, peppered with iconic one-liners and morally complicated protagonists, may not have taken the world by storm. It has, however, aged like fine wine to the people who have the taste to fully appreciate it.
As a cautionary tale, Death Becomes Her’s exploration of vanity from the rigid feminine beauty standards imposed on women of the time offers bold criticism of these standards. The film presents the concept of an ‘anti-aging magical potion’ with Meryl Streep’s character, Madeline Ashton, as she attempts to find a miracle solution to her fading stardom while she grows older, losing her relevance in the process. The film criticizes the lifespan of female celebrities, contrasting the longevity of male careers with that of female careers in the industry. Research shows that female movie stars’ average earnings tend to increase until they turn 34, then rapidly decline as they age. In comparison, male movie stars' average earnings maintain an upward trajectory through their early 50s, after which they plateau as they age further.
Death Becomes Her also explores the concept of feminine rivalry caused by patriarchal systems. The film begins by telling its audience the story of its secondary protagonist, Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn), and her relationship with her fiancé, Earnest Menville (Bruce Willis). It then touches on Helen’s rivalry with Madeline, Madeline stealing Earnest from Helen, resulting in Helen's institutionalization for her supposed mental breakdown. Women’s intrasexual competition often leads to the development of detrimental consequences of female self-objectification, leading to negative self-evaluation, eating disorders, a threatened moral self, and reduced interpersonal intimacy. These consequences often shape women's behaviour and consumption, leading them to engage in beautification routines to compete for men. As sex appeal and physical attractiveness are deemed highly valued qualities in women, many women turn to body modification, such as cosmetic surgeries and other rigid beauty regimens, to gain an advantage over their competitors to attract a partner. Helen’s story mirrors this concept, as she uses the same magical potion as Madeline to gain an advantage in their apparent competition for Earnest.
Death Becomes Her also explores the importance of female friendships and appreciating one’s life. The ending of the film shows Earnest leaving the clutches of Madeline and Helen as they depend on him to maintain their appearance after their cinematic death caused by their violent fight over him. Unlike Madeline and Helen, Earnest is uninterested in having eternal youth and beauty, choosing to live his life to the fullest after seeing what focusing on appeasing one’s vanity did to Helen and Madeline. In the end, Madeline and Helen are left to rely on each other as a source of refuge, finding humour in how their rivalry has led them to now need to be together for their survival.
Studies on female friendships show that women often support each other in learning to navigate the demands of life more intimately, providing emotional support and nurturing regardless of proximity to closeness. A female friend from work you have known for one week is likely to be just as supportive as your female friend you have known for many years. Emotional intimacy comes easily between women as they are liberated from the gender performance required in male-female interactions. In the film, Helen and Madeline find comfort and humour in the intimacy they now share, as they can rely only on each other, given their current conditions as undead women.
Death Becomes Her has become a masterpiece in showcasing the complexities of women's relationships with the world through the lens of campy, dark humour and classic 90s over-the-top gore. Its exploration of womanhood and its complexities offers fascinating insights into the effects of rigid beauty standards on women, female intrasexual competition, and philosophies of living life to the fullest. In a world where women are pitted against each other, one must embrace the death of the performativity of gender to truly become her.