The Stepford Wives

reviewed by Charles Markee

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            Add Betty Crocker, Martha Stewart, Norman Rockwell, male chauvinism, female wiles, stand-up comedy and science fiction - stir, cook over a fast flame and serve for many good laughs and a trip to nostalgia land. 

            I never saw the original film released in 1975 that was billed as a sci-fi thriller and starred Katherine Ross.  But I suspect that this updated version is a lot funnier.  The venue is Connecticut, actually adjacent to Glenn Close's hometown.  The storyline is fantasy, but, believe it or not, many scenes are set in real homes.  You'll understand when you see them - outrageously and unnecessarily immense.

            The story setup involves a successful TV show producer, Joanna Eberhart, who creates a marriage testing - conflict show.  She is at the top, or at least, she thinks she is until a disaster occurs.  In the aftermath, her husband, Walter, moves her and their family out of town to a gated community called, Stepford. 

            Bobbie Markoowitz, a Stepford wife and a gay couple, Roger and Jerry, deliver the humor, mostly terrific one-liners.  The plot line is a fascinating version of the battle of the sexes.  The story is patently absurd, but it's great light entertainment.  And there is a nagging philosophical question in the undercurrent beneath the gamboling couples; how do men and women see each other?  What are their expectations, desires, needs and fantasies?  What part of this storyline representation is unspoken truth?  I'm not implying that this film answers any of these questions, but it does dangle them for us to consider.

            Nicole Kidman plays Joanna and Matthew Broderick plays her husband Walter.  Kidman is the protagonist in this farce and she plays the role with her typical professionalism.  Broderick is good, but he still looks and acts like the kid playing games in War Games (1983) although it's twenty years later.  Bette Midler plays Bobbie opposite Jon Lovitz as her husband, Dave.  I thought that she was absolutely great in this role and almost stole the show (and I'm not a Midler fan).  Chris Walken and Glenn Close play Mike and Claire Wellington, the senior couple that runs the Stepford Community.

            The first film and this one are both based on the novel of the same name written by Ira Levin who also wrote Rosemary's Baby.

            The ultra perfect homes and scenery in this film reminded me of the film adaptation of Frank L. Baum's story about the Land of Oz.  What a coincidence that the director of this film was Frank Oz.

            Reviewed December 23, 2004

            MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sexual content, thematic material and language.