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Which begs the question, why “The Stepford Wives”?
A remake of a 1975 thriller about a forlornly married couple
that start their life afresh in a suburb full of unremittingly-serving
wives, this unthinking dim cousin of Death Becomes Her
(1992) is about as original as potato chips and as unappetizing
as week-old flake from an grubby hob.
Okay, so Kidman’s alright in it, and for the most part
looks quite stunning, but the flick does nothing for her standing
as one of today’s most remarkable actresses. After her
amazing turn in The Hours, this is a come-down and
then some.
Directed by Frank Oz (he himself has done much better, more
original work, see Bowfinger or Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
for proof), the film excises the suspense element of the original
film and replaces it with what is supposed to be a comic template.
It follows a young Manhattan couple (Kidman and Matthew Broderick)
who move to an upper-class suburb in Connecticut for a fresh
beginning. Once there, they discover that the men of the suburb
have replaced their wives with robot clones, clones who will
obey their husbands' every wish.
If you want stale special effects that look about as comfy
in the movie as size 10 shoes on a baby, don’t miss this,
if you’re far from a laughing-mood, again, don’t
miss it, and if you want to see an A-grade cast – which
also includes the likes of Christopher Walken, Glenn Close,
Bette Midler and Jon Lovitz – look about as jaded as
an actor could possibly be in a major studio pic, again, don’t
miss it.
“The Stepford Wives” does have its moments, don’t
get me wrong, it’s just that there’s not many of
them, and whilst it is graciously different, I’m sure
I won’t be alone in wishing that if they felt the need
to remake the 70’s film, they should’ve just stuck
to the genuinely suspenseful template of the original instead
of trying to outdo it.
DVD Extras
Much like the movie, “The Stepford Wives” DVD is
well worth skipping. Oz’s commentary is as boring as
watching paint dry (he doesn’t seem to remember filming
a number of scenes, let alone remember the actors names on-screen),
the featurettes as mediocre as the film’s template, the
gag reel only endurable and a bunch of deleted scenes that
were deleted, um, for good reason.
In short: nothing to see here folks, keep moving…
Conclusion: Movie 45% Extras 20%
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