mariaplombon
The movie The Stepford Wives, directed by Frank Oz was absolutely and truly horrible. There are few things I genuinely enjoyed about this film, and the end was almost painful to watch. Now, it is important to note that this 2004 film is a remake of the 1975 movie, and the 1975 movie was adapted from the novel The Stepford Wives, which was written by Ira Levin. And sadly, this tacky comedy remake, which had endless amounts of potential, was horrendous to watch and downright embarrassing.
The main character in this film, Joanna, is a strong, driven woman who runs a reality television network. Surprisingly, she is fired after a man, who was on one of her shows, attempts to shoot and kill her at her own award ceremony. After this incident, her husband, Walter, and her family decide to move their family from Manhattan to the suburbs of Connecticut. Upon arrival, Joanna notices how perfect everything is, especially the woman. The wives in her new neighborhood always have their hair and makeup perfectly done, with their clothes always perfectly clean and ironed. The women in this town even work out in their baby pink high-heels and lavender seersucker day dresses. After going to a neighborhood barbeque with her husband and kids, Joanna became extremely suspicious when she saw one of the Stepford women fall down and begin to spark after violently dancing and twitching. After this incident, Joanna and her two Stepford friends seem to witness more and more strange things as the movie progresses. Joanna knows this town is hiding something dark, and she is determined to solve the mystery.
While the idea of the movie sounds smart, intriguing, and creepy, the way this film was remade and executed was shameful. The producers attempted to turn an originally interesting and well respected film into a comedy, which sadly just ended up cheesy and hard to watch. Although the majority of the acting was terrible, I will admit that I believe Nicole Kidman played her character, Joanna, fairly well. Personally, the script and dialogue were some of the worst aspects of the film, and one specific example is Bette Midler's role. Midler played Bobbie, one of Joanna's new Stepford best friends, and many of the jokes she made were tacky and the acting seemed as if she were a 40-something-year-old mom trying too hard to act cool around her daughter's friends. To be blunt, Midler's acting and script seemed far too forced and ended up being cringe-worthy.
This film and the overall plot and idea is so clearly not meant to be a comedy. The original film, produced in 1975, is known to be unsettling and thrilling, as the idea behind the movie is extremely creative and not too unrealistic to still be considered creepy. The issues presented in the 2004 movie are just as prevalent today as they were in 1975, when the first film was adapted. This movie deals with the roles and expectations of women in one's household, and to turn a film that has the potential to be impactful into a comedy is a very slippery slope.
The remake also replaced many good aspects of the original film with less-powerful ones. For example, in the original 1975 film, the wives of the Stepford men were murdered and then replaced with robots. But, in the 2004 film, the women's brains were just altered by having microchips in them. This does not make complete sense given their bodies could be physically changed with a remote at any given moment, but if the chips were removed or destroyed, they went completely back to normal. How could one of the wife's bodies be physically changed with only a microchip in their brain? This to me is a major plot hole. Personally, in my opinion, the story is far more powerful when the wives are murdered (like the 1975 film) by their husbands and then are replaced by robots, rather than just being brainwashed by a microchip.
Overall, the 2004 version of The Stepford Wives was more than underwhelming; it was awful. Yes, I think Nicole Kidman did the best she could have done under the given circumstances, but that is the only positive thing I could take away from this movie. The acting was bad, the dialogue was cringe-worthy, and the plot was weak and inconsistent at times. I would most definitely not recommend watching this film, as it will be an enormous waste of your time.
vandelour
What they got right: 1. Great opening titles, the color was fantastic.. vibrant hues of all shades. 2. The movie ended. What they got wrong: Everything in between numbers 1 and 2 above. Ira Levin must be spinning in his grave. This abomination of product sponsor shots, inane attempts at 'contemporary humor and viewpoints' and a tooth grinding catastrophe of an ending… well, you have to experience it to understand. But I recommend getting sloshed before watching.I gave it a 2 for Christopher Walken. Given so little to work with though
Python Hyena
The Stepford Wives (2004): Dir: Frank Oz / Cast: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Christopher Walken, Glenn Close: Remake of the 1975 thriller only this time director Frank Oz chose to play this as a dark comedy. It is a film about image and the idea that these wives are so radiant. Nicole Kidman stars as a successful T.V. producer who is fired when one of her participants goes on a killing rampage. Her husband decides to move them to Stepford where "there is no crime, poverty or pushing." It is a place lined with beautiful mansions and women who are just too artificial. Another achievement by Oz who also made Bowfinger and What About Bob? Kidman is superb as a woman surviving a nervous breakdown and learning that true love is never artificial. Matthew Broderick is well cast as her husband who is adopted into the Stepford Men's Club. Bette Midler steals scenes as a cynical novelist. Christopher Walken plays the head citizen who shelters a secret that won't be revealed here. Glenn Close plays the female who seems to second the Walken character and does so with a lot of spirit. Beautiful sets and art direction highlight despite a plot concept that isn't probable due to operation and effect. The film exposes consumerism and the reality that everybody has flaws and defects. It also exposes bad traditions and the reality that no place on earth is this pleasant. Score: 9 / 10
