The Stepford Wives
Review by Clint Morris
 If
Nicole Kidman chose her roles a little more circumspectly,
she mightn't need to do five or six movies a year.
Just a couple of good roles might do more for her than the
handful of so-so parts in so-so movies that she seems to be
committing too lately.
And after all, it's durability and stature you want isn't
it Nic? Surely you don't need the money?
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 unappetising
as week-old flake from a grubby hob.
Okay, so Kidman's okay 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, 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, and these clones will
obey their husband's 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 – looking 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.
1.5 out of 5
The Stepford Wives
Australian release: Thursday July 15th
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Glenn Close, Christopher
Walken, Bette Midler, Roger Bart, Faith Hill, KaDee Strickland.
Director: Frank Oz.
Website: Click
here.
Brought to you by MovieHole
|
