Stepford Wives....... Build One (The Stepford Wives [2004] (DVD))

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	The Stepford Wives [2004] (DVD)
Date:	27/10/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It has fantastic potential, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler and Christopher Walken

Disadvantages: Just about everything else . The script is full of holes and mis oppertunities, i couldnt accept Ki

The other night I decided to watch The Stepford Wives as I'd heard some encouraging things about it. A few people had recommended the book to me and the original film, but I thought I'd make my acquaintance with the story through the more recent version of the film. It boasted quite a star cast and the idea of the movie seemed creepy but entertaining. The original made back in 1975 is meant to be the better film and having watched this I'd certainly agree, without even seeing the original.

Joanna (Nicole Kidman) has been a high powered TV exec for 5 years now. She's created hundred's of programs for the network and made it a real hit. Until one of the contestants from one of the shows tries to kill her for ruining his marriage. The network decides its best that she leaves and from there she goes on to have a nervous breakdown. Her husband, Walter (Matthew Broderick) decides he can't work for them anymore and quits. To help his wife recover, Walter buys a house in Stepford Connecticut and moves the whole family there.

The town seems to be the perfect place. The guarded gates at the entrance, every house is like your dream house with loads of land. It's almost too good to be true. The whole place seems perfect and when they meet the residents Walter embraces the Stepford way of life, but Joanna resists it strongly. Everyone is so perfect and it just doesn't seem natural. She meets a couple of other newbie's, Bobbie (Bette Midler) and Roger (Roger Brat) and together they set about finding the Stepford secret.

The story had a lot of promise but never seems to really get there. At times I found myself wondering how much longer it had to go, which is never good in a movie that only lasts for an hour and a half. It seems to reflect part of the American dream and overall that's about the only part of the film that really worked for me. As I said the idea seemed to be perfect but something about the script just left it feeling empty.

It may have something to do with the choice of leads. I've never really been a big Nicole Kidman fan and I really don't feel she was right for this part. Her performance is quite flat and for me she never really seemed to take to the character. I did feel though there were a lot of points about her character that could have been expanded on to make her character and performance a bit more convincing. It also didn't help that there was no chemistry at all between her and Matthew Broderick. The scenes where they got close just weren't believable. Of course that made it harder to watch as you just couldn't accept them as a couple.

In the scenes on his own, Broderick was quite good and seemed to be a good choice for the part. Again though I felt there were a lot of chances to expand his character that were never taken. The other real stand out performance for me was Bette Midler. She didn't seem to be in the film as much as she should have been, but when she was it certainly made it funnier and easier to watch. I also thought that Christopher Walken was criminally under used. His character was quite flat and didn't really show how good Walken can be. There was so much about the casting and characterisation that let the film down that the few better choices couldn't make any difference.

I hadn't realised that director Frank Oz was also the voice behind Yoda. It made me feel almost guilty that I hadn't enjoyed the film. The direction itself is quite average without ever really meeting expectations. He enlisted the help of Adams Family Values writer Paul Rudnick to adapt the book into a more modern version. This is where the film seems to let you down most. The story is quite weak and could have been a lot more gripping. Instead it seems happy to drift along and a film that could have been great fails to perform.

I'm not too sure why that surprised me as films with great potential have been rather hit and miss for as long as I've been watching films. There are a lot that reach that potential and really stand out and then there are others like Stepford Wives that are hugely disappointing throughout. I can see why it might appeal to someone but it really is firmly in the market of chick flick. If it's a rainy night and its on TV then perhaps I'd suggest watching it, but don't bother spending any money on it and that includes renting, you'll just be disappointed.

Summary: A remake of the 1974 orignal Stepford Wives