The Stepford Wives (2004, DVD)

Welcome to Stepford! The super perfect community found in the Suburbs of Connecticut. The only problem in this community is that it is too perfect and with only one half of the population aware of what that perfection has cost the women that live here..That is, until Joanna (Nicole Kidman) and Walter (Matthew Broderick) arrive on the scene.


Joanna and Walter, what a strange couple to begin with it seems. She, a high powered television executive who is suddenly fired due to a problem that arose during the taping of one of her reality based programs and Walter, a much more mild mannered person though a vice president of that station. So it seems money is not a problem when it comes to moving to this seemingly high end and expensive looking town of Stepford, Connecticut where all the homes are gorgeous inside and out, homes that look as if Martha Stewart designed and furnished each one.


So what is wrong with this town? The women are all beautiful, well endowed, dressed to the nines and always at their husband s beck and call. The men are happy, none of them seem to work and spend all their time at the Men s club. That is, when the women aren t having incredible sex with them or doing whatever it is they might want them to do.


Once Joanna recovers from her nervous breakdown and sees what seems to be the reality of this unrealistic world she finds herself in, she soon becomes friends with the only seemingly normal woman in this town, Bobbie, (Bette Midler), a frumpy, freethinking author who, along with their other new found friend, Roger, decide to find out just what is going on. What s more, her house is messy, messy beyond messy...A haven in this perfect world, at least for a while!


The movie follows the path of the original version in most respects except for the addition of a gay couple, Roger and Jerry, and the fact that this movie is made for laughs and has a much lighter tone, more campy then the terror it was supposed to portray in the first...Life today is much different so the story lines had to be played this way. Back then, when the first film was made in 1975, men were uncomfortable and somewhat fearful of woman s lib and the changes that were taking place in so many lives and homes. It was only natural then to create a story which changed the women back to the subservient way they were before. Therefore, the horror in that movie was driven home in a different way by the husbands and how far they would go to create the robots that replaced those wives. Of course, the audience then hadn t seen the first version or known the story unless they had read the book by Ira Levin so the actions of the men in the film were more horrific in the first place.


I have to say here that I really enjoyed the movie and laughed all the way through it..Each time Glenn Close (Mrs. Mike Wellington), I cant seem to recall if she even had a first name, appeared as the most perfect wife in her chirpy manner I smiled, she was so perfect , and the sets in the homes far exceeded even Martha Stewart as far as the abundance of flowers everywhere and the tables set so perfectly .
The Stepford Wives" themselves were a delight Each one dressed in the most perfect outfits, all
1950ish with swirling petticoats, tiny waistlines, high heels, perfect makeup and big boobs.


And the husbands, what a big group of nerds, (the biggest nerd of all, Jon Lovitz, Bette's husband) each one longing for the Good old days when their women would be home cooking their meals, tending to the kiddies and handing them their slippers, well, since these things weren t happening to them naturally they were easy prey for Mike Wellington s (Christopher Walken) scheme to create the perfect wife even if it meant as robots. Walken played his part to the hilt and I enjoyed every minute he was on the screen.


So Joanna, Bobbie,(the only Jewish member of this community which was brought out in one hilarious scene) along with Roger, set out to find out just what was going on in the Men s Club. The only problem is that soon the only one left who is normal is Joanna and that won t be for long if Walter and his new found cronies have their way.


I do not want to go into too much more detail as I don t want to give the whole story or ending away, though the end was a bit over the top, but I do want to say that this version of Stepford Wives is truly a spoof of the first and when you go to see it, if you watch it in that vein, you can t help but enjoy it for what it is. The sets, the costuming, the special effects and the director (Frank Oz) create a movie filled with smart dialogue, satire and funny pop culture references to the past and even to today, especially the new reality TV phenomenon and the actors shine as they seem to be having as much fun as the audience as they set about to tell this horror story. Go for a laugh, not to be scared and the movie will not fail in that regard.




The Cast:

Nicole Kidman
Matthew Broderick
Glenn Close
Bette Midler
Christopher Walken
Jon Lovitz
Roger Bart
David Marshall Grant
Faith Hill

Directed by: Frank Oz
Screenplay: Paul Rudnick from the novel by Ira Levin