When "The Six Wives of Henry Lefay" is just a screwball comedy, it's actually pretty good. Every ex-wife has something to add to the hilarity and absurdity, and Tim Allen is the best he's been in years as the unapologetic Lothario, Henry Lefay.
Jenna Elfman is the crazy ex-wife, Ophelia, she could very well be his one true love except for when she's chasing him around the house with a carving knife. Andie MacDowell is her usual self, trying to bring stability as the mother of Henry's child. Lindsay Sloane is particularly hilarious as the naive and current but soon-to-be ex wife. However the star of this movie is Elisha Cuthbert, Barbie, Henry's daughter. She has had it with him marrying women younger than her, lying to her, and tricking her into trying to break up with a wife for him. She's at her best as a tough, together, independent woman when she as to arrange her father's funeral while trying to appease all the wives.
Cuthbert is great as Barbie, and the movie really is about her, but she's the only character with any kind of depth. When "The Six Wives of Henry Lefay" tries to be a touching drama, it fails miserably. There is nothing particularly thoughtful about this film, and all the wives are painfully painted one-dimensionally, and I don't think they were supposed to be.
"The Six Wives of Henry Lefay" is funny, but it's not particularly wise or emotionally profound.
