| Posted by: moviemuffin at July 7, 2004, 1:28 am | | Topic: Reviews: The Stepford Wives Forum: JoBlo | | Stepford Wives Review İreel-reviews.net Rated PG 13 Running time 93 minutes Directed by Frank Oz based on the Ira Levin book and 1975 movie Starring: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Jon Lovitz, Glenn Close, Christopher Walken, Roger Bart, Faith Hill I have not read the Ira Levin book, and I barely remember the first Stepford Wives made in 1975, so I didn't have any expectations this time around. I was curious about the basic premise and the decision to go "funnier." The cast is certainly packed with star power. My final consensus is tepid, but positive. I did laugh, did enjoy the lighter scenes, and overall I think it was a good-- though not great-- movie. The premise, that a small town in Connecticut could isolate itself from the world and alter its women to become man's ideal slave-mate, is certainly an interesting one. The movie skips along and sparkles whenever Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler, and Roger Bart are on screen together. The humor is light, works, and lifts the progress o... | | Read Entire Entry |
| Posted by: Glaze at June 30, 2004, 1:44 pm | | Topic: Reviews: The Stepford Wives Forum: JoBlo | | I saw The Stepford Wives on Friday and I thought it was an amazingly hilarious movie. There was all this speculation that it was going to be more of a dark comedy than anything and yes, there were parts of dark comedy in it. Nicole Kidman, Bette Milder and Roger Bart, when on screen together, light up! I haven't seen cast membes that play off each other so well in years. Matthew Broderick, Glenn Close, Christopher Walken and Jon Lovitz round out the more prominent cast in an absolutely flawless manner, but I would have preferred John Cusack instead of Matthew Broderick. Faih Hill has a much more minor role and I personally thought she wasn't needed. I really liked the idea that thee writers and director (God bless you Frank Oz) played up the unintentional camp from the first movie, watched now, it's go an air of silliness and camp to it and that seems to be the main goal behind the hilarious remake. I don't think they were trying to copy or imitate the original, the movie knows this and makes no apologies fo... | | Read Entire Entry |
| Posted by: Heavenley at June 29, 2004, 9:24 pm | | Topic: Reviews: The Stepford Wives Forum: JoBlo | | I'll start by saying that I love the original Stepford Wives film which was a sort of a thriller, which is why I was pretty much disappointed with this current remake. I knew going in that it had some dark comedy in it, but most of the film WAS dark comedy. I think the film would have been so much more effective and interesting if they had made it a horror/thriller type. Nicole Kidman was fine, but I just don't like her in any comedy roles. Loved Bette Midler, she's just great, and Mathew Broderick's performance was mediocre. I'm not a fan of dark comedies, so I definitely wasn't impressed. It's an ok summer movie. 6.5/10 | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Briare Rabbit at June 23, 2004, 11:09 pm | | Topic: Reviews: The Stepford Wives Forum: JoBlo | | The Stepford Wives 2004 8/10 Directed by Frank Oz Starring: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Christopher Walken, Bette Midler Plot Crunch: After Joanna (Kidman) is fired from her job, her and her family pack up and move to the quiet town of Stepford. A town where there is no work, all play and the women are all freaky dumbwaiters to the cocky, loser males. Joanna notices the queer goings on in Stepford, but is she the only one? Critique: Lets face it, the critics (young and old) lambasted the Stepford Wives, and I think Im the only one to give it as a high a mark as I have. I don't know, but I thought the Stepford Wives perfectly blended comedy, drama, horror, sci-fi and action together. It was the main gripe of most critics that it didn't handle any of these things very well, on the contrary, as I stated I thought that it handled them all very well. Another thing the film was able to juggle exceptionally well was the all star ensemble cast of everyone from recent star Kidman, to stage veteran Glenn Close, ... | | Read Entire Entry |
| Posted by: gspawn at June 22, 2004, 11:29 am | | Topic: Reviews: The Stepford Wives Forum: JoBlo | | The Stepford Wives- 7/10 I disagree with most everyone here, and I've got some darn good reasons why. The Good: -CHRISTOPHER WALKEN RULES. The man is a genius, and just getting to see him on-screen doing his thing was worth the price of admission. -Solid acting- Other than Walken, everyone else was solid, quirky, everything required. Lovitz was hilarious, and the Faith Hill cameo was kept to just that- a cameo. -Quick pace- A lot of people are going to be confused about genre here just because of Frank Oz's superfast pace. Everything is thrown at you and the story keeps going. All in all, it pushes the more dramatic moments by and brings you back into the lighter and more comedical moments before you have time to get weighed down. I liked that. The Bad: -Feminism in this movie is largely displayed through the old guy-bashing stereotype where women can never get ahead unless they stomp all over men in every possible way (especially through degredation). Although the story sort of called for this, it really we... | | Read Entire Entry |
| Posted by: anakinsrise at June 20, 2004, 10:12 pm | | Topic: Reviews: The Stepford Wives Forum: JoBlo | | IN SHORT:I want a divorce !! THE GOOD: I enjoyed the jokes about reality television,throughout the movie.And some of the banter between the characters was funny especially Bette Midler,and Roger Bart,and especially after Bette's character "changes"The film tried to capture that haunting feel of the original in a few scenes especially with th husbands,and their knowing looks and nods to themselves. THE BAD: Im sorry i didnt buy Nicole Kidman as the ballsy t.v exec.I feel she was overacting in the opening scenes.There are plot holes the size of the Grand Canyon through out the film.I thought there would be more to the film but its very anti climatic,and i even began to fall asleep during Glenn Close's speech.At times i felt as if i was watching a boring sketch on Saturday Night Live.The talents of Broderick,and Walken are wasted.I guess the producers felt the famous names would make this a blockbuster. IN THE END:Scale of 1-10 a 5, wait for the dvd or cable. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: FerrellFan911 at June 14, 2004, 12:58 am | | Topic: Reviews: The Stepford Wives Forum: JoBlo | | *1/2 Still scratching my head as to whether call this film a thriller, comedy, drama, etc., I decided it was best not to think about the Stepford Wives' feminist politics and just be entertained. And still, it wasn't that good. It is my understanding that the original film was a thriller that drew on a strong premise of feminism back in 1975. It was a success then, because that was an original idea that had real suspense and mystery. Nowadays, audiences can figure out the film secrets early and wonder how the filmmakers can think they're that dumb. This film's story has nowhere to go. It is quirky, occasionally funny, but standard. It dares to be nothing more than a new twist on an already established premise. Leaning on funny one-liners from a few characters and the sexiness of the Stepford wives, this film still feels as orderly and bizarre as the town of Stepford itself. After Joanna Eberhart (Nicole Kidman) is fired from her television show executive position, she and her husband, Walter (Matthew Broderi... | | Read Entire Entry |
| Posted by: JoBlo at June 14, 2004, 12:22 am | | Topic: Reviews: The Stepford Wives Forum: JoBlo | | JoBlo's 4/10 review of THE STEPFORD WIVES can be found here: http://www.joblo.com/stepfordwives.htm And what did you think of the movie? Add your comments below. GUIDELINES: CONSTRUCTIVE REVIEWS ONLY! 1) If you haven't seen the movie, don't post here, because it will be deleted. 2) If you add two-bit comments like "it rocked" or "it sucked the big one" or just a grade, it will be deleted. 3) If you insult anyone from the board in your post, it will be deleted and you will receive a warning from the board. A second warning and you will be banned altogether. You can disagree with others all you want but no putdowns are necessary to make your points. | | Static Link |
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