The Stepford Wives [1975] (DVD)

This is my favourite film of all time. It moves me in ways no other film can. Every time I watch it I am spellbound. The basic plot: Joanna Eberhart (Katherine Ross), a photographer, moves from Manhattan to the archetypal suburban town of Stepford with her family after her husband Walter (Peter Masterson) buys a house without consulting her. Finding it hard to fit in, she becomes increasingly concerned that the other women in Stepford, including her neighbour Carol van Sant (Nanette Newman), seem to live for housework and pleasing their husbands.She eventually makes friends with two other new arrivals, Bobby Marco (Paula Prentiss) and Charmaine ...  Read the complete review

Stepford wives is a film I have been wanting to see for a long time. I always thought of it as a comedy and had heard some really good things about it. So I was chuffed to bits when I finally realised our next DVD rental was 'The Stepfoord Wives'. But lets just say it wasn't exactly what I was expecting! *** Film Info *** Genre: Comedy/Thriller Runtime: Ninety Minutes Stars: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Glenn Close, Bette Midler, Christopher Walken Certificate: 12A *The Plot* How far would you go to please your man? Stepford Wives tells the story of men who want 'perfect' wives. Wives that won't answer back, ...  Read the complete review

Nicole Kidman can play black humour better than nearly anyone around. She has the presence for the dramatic side of a part but also has the deftness and comedic talent to sell the humour without going over the top. Gus Van Sant's To Die For' is a perfect example of this kind of performance and this earlier film would have been only mildly diverting without Kidman's extraordinary performance as Suzanne, the wannabe TV star. The question has to be: why does she not choose or get offered more roles of this ilk? Stepford Wives has its roots in 1970's gender politics: alongside the rise of feminist desires for women to have careers beyond the home, ...  Read the complete review

Please note, this review reveals the ending of the movie. As well as reacting to the growth of new feminism in the mid-seventies, The Stepford Wives became a coined phrase for any figure of female domestic perfection. The book by Ira Levin was initially regarded as a satirical work, poking fun at the fact that men were becoming less and less able to control their wives' actions and ambition. In brief, the plot concerns an upwardly mobile couple with two young children, who move from the bustling sprawl of New York City to the polished suburbia of Stepford. Upon arrival, the couple notice that their near neighbours the van Sants are somehow different ...  Read the complete review