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Directed by Frank Oz |
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| Bette Midler |
Roger Bart |
| Nicole Kidman |
Faith Hill |
| Matthew Broderick |
Glenn Close |
| Christopher Walken |
Jon Lovitz |
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| Townspeople
seem more than a little bizarre to a corporate executive. |
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| One-word View: Unfortunate |
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| Again, I need to speak with my mother about the movies she allowed me to see as a kid. I clearly remember watching The Stepford Wives (1975), which was kind of spooky and in no way funny. My initial reaction to a remake was disbelief then I decided to give it a shot in the hopes that it would be a true dark comedy. No such luck. This needed the sick minds of the Coen Brothers not softie Frank Oz - Little Shop of Horrors, What About Bob?, In and Out, Indian in the Cupboard, Bowfinger, The Score. It was so bad and I, unfortunately, dragged my friend Gayle along with me. Though she denies it, I think she fell asleep.
Walter (Matthew) and Joanna (Nicole) pack up the kids, leave New York City, and move to the small Connecticut town of Stepford for a fresh start. Joanna is immediately aghast at the plastic, perfect, perky wives who are all married to the biggest dorks on earth. Every woman has the ideal body, always wears make-up, has sex with her husband in the middle of the day, and never, ever stops smiling. The only rays of light are brash, obstinate Bobbie (Bette) and colorful, flaming Roger (Roger) who also notice that something is just not right. Unfortunately, it's not long before Joanna finds herself alone in the "normal" column as her two partners in crime get handled and become part of the Stepford clan. The townsfolk are led by Mike Wellington (Christopher) with his flawless wife, Claire (Glenn) right by his side. There is one plot twist, but it comes much too late to save this pitiful movie.
The great cast was wasted. It just plain sucked. Perhaps, the writers/director should have taken the original horror route or like I suggested, convinced the Coens to tackle it. I don't know; some things are probably just best left alone. And that's what you should do - just leave this one alone.
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