Stepford Wives

So my partner Steve and I decided, despite the reviews, to go see the Stepford Wives. I am glad that we did. It was funny as hell!

The updated version of the 70's motion picture (at least I think it was done in the 70's) really went out of its way to make its own mark.

Of course, the reason I wanted to see it was because it had Bette!!! (God I love Bette)
You can have your Judy Garland, Liza, and Barbara (for all of the friends of Dorothy out there) but I prefer the more avant garde.....Bette....and the more sublime....Olivia...(that's Olivia Newton-John for those of you who might be scratching your head wondering what the hell I'm talking about.) And another thing....don't be dissin' the ONJ. She is a beautiful human being and my first (and possibly my only crush) on the female persuasion-so that says a lot.

I digress. More on the ONJ later.

Back to the movie.

They have updated the premise. Included a gay couple (a Stepford "wife" for the gay man),in fact-the actor that plays the gay, limp-wristed lover (who gets Stepfordized) was in a wonderful film (that my friend JH introduced me to) called "Best in Show"....Sorry folks can't remember his name but you can't forget his character.

So, you have Bette (God, I love Bette), Nicole Kidman (you know-once married to Tom Cruise)....(btw, has he come out yet??) Matthew Broderick (boy he was cute back in the day), Glenn Close (she's awesome), Christopher Walken (ok, I don't care what you say..This dude SCARES me), Jon Lovitz, and a special appearance by Faith Hill (isn't her husband in real life just delicious??)....

Directed by Frank Oz. Enough said.

I have to say that there were some scenes that were awful. The editing was terrible (I mean, for ME to notice that's saying something), and some far-fetched ideas that don't work when you see them through (such as the scene where Dave Markowe turns his wife into an ATM and money pops out of her mouth...) I guess I could believe it if they followed that path through the entire movie (which they didn't)....The method in which they "changed" the women of Stepford, into robots, I guess, doesn't hold through the entire movie....It was like they scrapped the idea half way through the movie and changed gears, but decided not to go back and rewrite what was already filmed.

So I guess what I am saying is that there was a lot that was NOTICEABLY wrong. But I LIKED it a lot. It was extremely funny (unlike the original) and at times macabre. All in all...Good fun....

And did I say- Bette was great! She's such a unique woman....And her transformation was stunning.......

So- go see it!

I give it 3 baseballs out of 4 (for sheer fun-forgetting all else).

JPB