Works only in spurts, like a robot with a faulty power supply.
The Stepford Wives (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:160
Fresh:42
Rotten:118
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: In exchanging the chilling satire of the original into mindless camp, this remake has itself become Stepford-ized.
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Based on a book by Ira Levin which satirizes the roles of 1950s housewives, this is a remake of the 1975 film adaptation. Director Frank Oz presents a dramatic reworking of the horror classic,... Based on a book by Ira Levin which satirizes the roles of 1950s housewives, this is a remake of the 1975 film adaptation. Director Frank Oz presents a dramatic reworking of the horror classic, putting a totally over-the-top slant on the story that gives it true comedic value. In the early 21st century, a fast-paced Manhattan couple, Joanna (Nicole Kidman) and Walter (Matthew Broderick), both work for a major television network. While she is a leader and breadwinner in producing reality shows, he is a mere middle-management type. So when Joanna has a nervous breakdown, and Walter takes command, he's happy to find that for once in his life she's not stealing his fire. This sentiment is only asserted by the boys club that welcomes him when they move to the "perfect" town of Stepford, Connecticut. There, the women have been transformed by their husbands into a totally submissive, near-robotic state in which they are blissfully happy doing housework and looking pretty, and are totally compliant to their men. With Claire (Glenn Close) and Mike (Christopher Walken) leading this web of weirdness, Joanna and her only normal friend, Bobbie (Bette Midler), race to solve the mystery before they too become Stepford Wives. [More]
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Glenn Close
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Glenn Close, Christopher Walken, Jon Lovitz, Faith Hill, Roger Bart, David Marshall Grant, Lorri Bagley
Director: Frank Oz
Director: Frank Oz
Screenwriter: Paul Rudnick
Producer: Scott Rudin, Donald De Line, Edgar J. Scherick, Gabriel Grunfeld
Composer: David Arnold
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Reviews for The Stepford Wives
It fails to fully engage the viewer in either the comedy or the darkness of the idea behind the comedy.
So, would I like to trade in my wife for the latest Stepford model? No thank you. But I'd gladly take a shot at refurbishing Frank Oz into a competent filmmaker again.
Premise of the original was far-fetched enough without writer Paul Rudnick and director Frank Oz turning everything into an over-the-top cartoon.
Redundant and gutless -- as phony, prefab and programmed as its robotic housewives. It actually subverts the feminist message of the novel and first film...
...a jumbled product that doesn't really know what it wants to be or say.
Zeitgeist cinema for all the wrong reasons: a vapid, superficial film for a vapid, superficial era. The studio-sanctioned 'Scooby-Doo' ending is simply unforgivable.
a long-winded, eighty minute setup for one elaborate, climatic Martha Stewart joke
A misbegotten Stepford Wives Club, which even the charter members will reject.
The Stepford Wives (is) . . . bright and entertaining, but seems that, with the assembled cast and the talent behind the camera, much potential was wasted.
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