Bewitched (2005, UMD)

I grew up with Samantha Stevens and like all of my friends I dreamt of waking up with those magical powers. She was fun, she was ornery, and she just wanted to be normal and live a normal life... but things kept happening to tempt her into using her witchcraft in the funniest and orneriest way imaginable. This, then is the movie version of the old TV series... sort of.

Bewitched is actually a movie about the remaking of the TV series, only with Darren as the main character this time to assuage the ego of one Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell). He stumbles upon a nobody to play Samantha so he can have all the glory. This nobody is Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman), and she really is a witch trying to be normal. Kinda like a picture inside a picture inside a picture typa-thang.

So, this had two major plusses going into it and one major negative. I loved the old TV series, and I love Kidman, but I really do not like Ferrell. Guess what. I loved this movie! So there.

Now, we all know that they really shoulda cast Millinocket in the lead role, but in her absence Kidman did a fantastic job of it. She had the whole nose wiggle thing goin' on and just the right amount of naivette. She's just so damn cute! And although I could not begin to picture on what planet she would begin to be attracted to Ferrell, I have to say that there actually was what appeared to be a bit of chemistry going on here. Sometimes you just have to see a thing to believe it.

I said I don't like Ferrel at all, and I still don't, but I have to give credit where credit is due in spite of myself and therefor I must say that he was pretty damn good here. Yeah, he used his idiotic over-the-top antics here and there, but they fit the way they were used. It made a difference. I wouldn't hold my breath for an Oscar, but for a fun comedy like this one, well, he did alright.

You have to understand that this is not a serious film. It didn't try to be, or want to be. It wanted to play on the prat falls and silliness aspects of the original and make them even more so. At that it succeeded. I wasn't the only one laughing, either. The whole theater was just losing it in several places. Given that this one has gotten such bad reviews, I have to conclude that it must be one of those things which are just very mood dependant. I was in a mood for schlocky fun, and that is exactly what I got.

I do have to mention two other folks from this flick before I let you head to the theater to see this one though. Shirley MacLaine as the actress cast to play Endora, and Michael Caine as Isabel's incorrigible father. What a pair! These two were flat fabulous and contributed greatly to the mirth and fun of the thing. Excellent score on the casting.

I'm going with 4 stars here though rather than the 5 I'm tempted to give it simply because of a really relatively minor irk. The opening song just did not in any way fit this film or set the mood for what was to come. I was physically twitching in my seat during the opening credits over it. I don't think opening music has ever had that effect on me before. It really was so annoying to me that it cost them that precious star. Ah well, I'm mean.

Highly recommended. This will find a spot on my Best of 2005 movies. Bet on it.