Directed
by: Frank Oz
Starring:
Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette MidlerRunning time: 93 minutes
This
movie is a remake of a 1975 film and is still based on the novel of the same
name by author Ira Levin. Joanna Eberhart (Kidman), the head of a TV network,
has to leave her job, so she moves to the fictional town of Stepford,
Connecticut, with her husband Walter (Broderick) and their children. She
quickly starts to find it suspicious that all the women in Stepford are docile
little dolls, while all the men are nerds, so she investigates the situation
with her friend Bobbie (Midler).
Contrary
to the 1975 original, this movie was played for laughs. The first one was a
creepy little thriller, but the filmmakers were trying to tickle our funny bones
with this one. Work, it didn’t. They tried to reinvent the story, with
different plot twists, but all they accomplished was screwing it all up.
There
supposedly was a lot of fighting between director Frank Oz and many cast
members. It is also said that there were many rewrites of the script before the
movie was finally made. It shows. They were probably trying to appease some
feminists or other groups that were offended by the original flick, so they
invented a whole new ending that made no sense. In the end, many actors and actresses
regretted their participation in the movie.
There
definitely was a compelling story to tell here, that of a bunch of insecure men
being intimidated by their very powerful wives and wanting to control them by
turning them into docile robots, who cook, clean and make love on demand. The
problem is in the delivery. The filmmakers tried to get too fancy with it, and,
in the end, it all fell really flat.
The
acting was also subpar. Considering all the acting talent involved here, that
is quite a shame. There were a few glimpses of promise through it all, but nothing
that was ever sustained.
Rating:
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