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In the climax of the 1996 film The First Wives Club, the three main characters—Annie Paradis (Diane Keaton), Brenda Cushman (Bette Midler), and Elise Elliot (Goldie Hawn)—go to the luxury penthouse apartment of Brenda's ex-husband, Morty, and his young girlfriend, Shelly.
Specifically, they infiltrate Morty and Shelly's apartment (filmed at 1056 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan). While they are inside, Morty and Shelly return home unexpectedly, forcing the three women to make a "daring" and comedic escape via a window washer's hoist (scaffolding cradle). They dangle high above the New York City streets and eventually descend to the ground in a frantic, uncoordinated fashion.
They go to the apartment to obtain fraudulent financial records and "the books" that prove Morty's electronics empire was built on illegal foundations (specifically, the sale of stolen merchandise, a secret revealed to Brenda by her Uncle Carmine).
This break-in is the pivotal moment of their "justice" phase:
Following the heist and the subsequent confrontation at their headquarters (4 Bond Street), the film concludes with the grand opening of the Crisis Center. Here, the characters achieve their personal resolutions:
The film famously ends at this location with the three women performing a triumphant rendition of "You Don't Own Me" as they celebrate their independence and friendship.
This is a narratological distinction. Roger Ebert's review and the overall plot structure show the apartment scene is 'one of many slapstick situations' while the confrontation where all storylines converge (Morty's fraud, Bill's statutory relationship with 16-year-old Phoebe, Aaron's partners being bought out) represents the true climax. The resolution at the Crisis Center opening follows immediately after.
Wikipedia states: 'Elise asks Bill if he knows Phoebe's age and reveals to him that she is actually 16 years old, producing Phoebe's high school yearbook and a copy of her birth certificate as evidence. All three women coerce the men into meeting at their club.' This is a major plot point at the actual climax that the AI Summary omits.
This represents a factual error about a major plot mechanism. The scheme involving Annie, Elise, Gunilla, and Shelly at Christie's auction house is a separate revenge plot from the Morty evidence gathering. Wikipedia clearly details this multi-step scheme.
In 'The First Wives Club' (1996), the three main characters—Annie Paradis (Diane Keaton), Brenda Cushman (Bette Midler), and Elise Elliot (Goldie Hawn)—have multiple important locations they visit during the escalating action and climax.
The most memorable scene occurs when they infiltrate Morty and Shelly's luxury penthouse apartment at 1056 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to steal fraudulent financial records proving Morty's electronics empire was built on stolen merchandise (as revealed by Brenda's Uncle Carmine). When caught, they escape via a window washer's scaffold in an iconic comedic scene.
However, the true climax of the film occurs later at their headquarters (4 Bond Street), where they coerce all three ex-husbands into meeting them. Using multiple forms of leverage—Morty's financial fraud, the discovery that Bill's girlfriend Phoebe is only 16 years old (statutory rape), and Annie's acquisition of Aaron's advertising firm through a separate scheme—they blackmail the men into funding the Cynthia Swann Griffin Crisis Center for Women.
The film's resolution takes place at the grand opening of this Crisis Center, where: Brenda reconciles with a humbled Morty (after Shelly's mercenary nature is exposed); Elise finds success in a Broadway play and begins dating a co-star; and Annie confidently rejects Aaron's attempt to reconcile. The film concludes with the three women triumphantly performing 'You Don't Own Me,' celebrating their independence and sisterhood.
So to directly answer the question: The climax involves them going to their club headquarters to confront and blackmail all three ex-husbands, which then resolves at the Crisis Center grand opening. The apartment infiltration, while crucial and memorable, is part of the rising action that provides the evidence needed for the actual climax.