The Stepford Wives (2004, DVD)

I never saw the original Stepford Wives and aside from the trailers I've seen in the theater, I really haven't been in the loop about this remake. There's only one reason I saw it - Nicole Kidman.

The story goes like this. Joanna Eberhart (Nicole Kidman) is a high-powered, broadcast executive who is fired at the top of her game because of some liability issues surrounding one of her shows. Her husband, Walter (Matthew Broderick), takes his depressed wife and two young kids to another town, where they can relax and start over.

Stepford is beautiful. The houses are large, equipped with all of the latest high-tech gadgets, beautiful surroundings, and friendly neighbors. There's something quite, not right however, about the women. They're too perfect both in appearance and in demeanor.

Claire (Glenn Close) and her husband Mike (Christopher Walken) seem to be the leaders of the town. While Mike entertains the men at the famous men's association building, Claire keeps the women busy with workouts at the day spa and indepth book club discussions.

While Walter is starting to fit in and certainly, enjoy his new surroundings, Joanna is having a more difficult time socializing and appreciating the women who all resemble perfect, Barbie dolls.

Luckily, she finds two friends in Stepford who appear to be normal - Bobbi (Bette Midler) and Roger (Roger Bart). Do Joanna, Bobbi, and Roger discover why the women of Stepford are so perfect?

Well, if you've seen enough of the trailers than you know that they do eventually find out. I'm not gonna tell you why though :).

The Stepford Wives isn't a bad movie however I certainly wouldn't label it as a memorable one. If you do see it, you'll probably enjoy it for the entertainment it is and then forget about it the next day. I blame this mostly on writer Paul Rudnick and director Frank Oz. They couldn't seem to make up their minds on what kind of movie they wanted this to be.

Partially, I could see them trying to imitate the satirical comedy/drama of To Die For. Unfortunately though, the scenes were not executed in a manner in which they could pull off anything comparable. There was one scene where they came close to the Gus Van Sant approach. It was where Nicole Kidman confronts the men in the men's association building and she and Matthew Broderick are having a moment where they lay all of their cards out on the table. THAT was a fantastic scene and had the rest been orchestrated in a similar fashion, we would have been treated to a much better movie.

Not to totally take away from Mr. Director - he was able to deliver some very witty scenes of dialog. Those were a treat because of the three actors - Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler, and Roger Bart - who delivered them.

Loved Nicole's character (despite feeling the the movie wasn't nearly as strong as it should have been). In the beginning, the way she sways her hips back and forth as she moves through her high-powered life is a HOOT. Every now and again, she seemed to struggle with her accent. At times, I could hear that Aussie side of her. Two things I walked away from this movie knowing. First, Nicole looks horrible as a brunette. Second, Nicole needs to keep her hair at least shoulder length :).

Matthew Broderick was like Ferris Bueller - all grown up and without much humor. There was virtually no chemistry between him and Nicole. Maybe their next movie will change that.

Bette Midler and Roger Bart stole the movie. They were snappy, outlandish, and hilarious.

Glenn Close and Christopher Walken were - well - annoying and I suppose that was their calling for their characters however, I think that it was a huge waste of both of their talents. How they got through the ending of the movie with a straight face - I'll never know :). Let me add that the talented Jon Lovitz who played Bette Midler's husband, was also annoying.

It seemed like a big deal was made out of the fact that Faith Hill had a large role in this movie. Well I'm here to tell you that she was nothing more than window dressing.

The Stepford Wives is rated PG-13 for sexual content, thematic material and language. This isn't a horrible movie however, it's definitely one that you should catch at a matinee - or - wait to see until it hits dvd.