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The Stepford Wives

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Editorial Reviews

An all-star cast remakes the 1975 socio-political horror flick, The Stepford Wives. After being fired as president of a television network, Joanna (Nicole Kidman, Moulin Rouge) has a nervous breakdown, prompting her husband Walter (Matthew Broderick, Election) to take her to a simple Connecticut town called Stepford to recuperate. But Stepford is a little strange: The schlubby husbands congregate at a closed-doors men's club, while the wives--all in bright summer frocks and air-brushed smiles--exercise to keep their hourglass figures and cook endless pastries. Joanna, along with new arrivals Bobbie (Bette Midler, Beaches) and Roger (the very funny Roger Bart), soon discover that the mastermind of Stepford (Christopher Walken, Communion) has used cybernetics to "perfect" womankind. The Stepford Wives has some satirical zingers (from sneaky screenwriter Paul Rudnick, Addams Family Values), but the basic idea has lost a lot of gas since 1975. Also featuring Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction). --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

"Oh, I feel like Nancy Drew in the mystery of the mid-life crisis"

Reviewed by Byron Kolln, 2009-08-30

Frank Oz's eagerly awaited comedy/thriller remake of THE STEPFORD WIVES turned out to be a great big fizzer when it was released in the summer of 2004. Whilst it does pale in comparison to the earlier 1975 Bryan Forbes film (based on the controversial Ira Levin novel), I believe that the remake of STEPFORD WIVES still has the ability to stir debate and argument about the delicate balance of power in married relationships.

When hard-driven TV executive Joanna Eberhart (Nicole Kidman in a most unattractive brunette dutch-boy haircut) is fired from her job following the deadly aftermath of one of her television projects, husband Walter (Matthew Broderick) arranges for the family to relocate to the small Connecticut gated community of Stepford.

There, Joanna's very principals are undermined as she finds herself in a world of perfect picket fences, Barbie doll-beautiful women and their very ordinary husbands. When Joanna and Walter finally discover the horrific secret behind Stepford's glossy facade, will it be too late? THE STEPFORD WIVES, even in this watered-down comedy version, still asks the potent question of how successful is a wife 'allowed' to be until she begins threatening her husband's masculinity.

Bette Midler and Roger Bart add the bulk of the comedy with their supporting roles as two more cynical Stepford residents trying to rail against the system; and as always Glenn Close is a scene-stealing marvel as Stepford's resident grande dame (a kooky performance I love to refer to as "June Cleaver on smack")! Nicole Kidman never does comedy especially well but has a charming presence, and Matthew Broderick is always great playing the nerdy nebbish. Recommended.

A Great Remake for the 21st Century...

Reviewed by Manuel Pubillones, 2009-05-25

I consider unfair that the Stepford Wives 2004 remake by Director Frank Oz, received such poor comments and bad reviews... Perhaps, it's that reviewers did not understood that it was an adaptation of the original 1970s movie to the social, fiscal and political situation that the nation was (and is) undergoing. The superb cast included recognized artists as Nicole Kidman, Glenn Close, Bette Midler and Christopher Walken.

The plot was updated to the 21st Century. Joanna, the most recognized TV celebrity of NY suffers an emotional crisis after one of their hosts portrayed on her Reality TV show shoots his wife, her six lovers and tries to kill Joanna on stage. After a series of electroshocks, she regains memory now living in the perfect town of Stepford.

Even though Joanna finds the wives from Stepford somewhat unique, it is not until she meets Bobbie (Bette Milder) and Roger (Roger Bart) that the three decide on finding out the mystery of why these women are so perfect. Worth mentioning that Bobbie and Roger had also suffered of depression and moved to Stepford thinking it was the ideal and happy town. For the rest of the plot, rent the movie but watch it with an open mind and relate it to issues and situations that current social dogmas require people to undergo adaptation with.

It's all a comedy and a critique of stagnation and current conventionalist trends that some people and communities decide to adopt in order to survive specific situations. After watching this movie, it was so easy for me to relate it to many processes and issues that were happening five years ago...

Once I saw this 2004 adaptation, did watch the 1970 original movie for the first time. By all means, the remake is much better than the original. If you can understand that it has been three decades of evolution for society, you will enjoy the movie as much as I did. Remember, the original movie was a thriller but the 2004 remake is a comedy of critique to our society.

BTW, Fate had it that Roger Bart would be acting again with Matthew Broderick a year later in the film version of Mel Brooke's musical The Producers where he plays the role of Carmen Ghia. After all, this remake is worth watching.

Great sense of humor

Reviewed by Stanley J. Lashley Jr., 2009-05-07

Not quite what I expected...from beginning to end. Funny touches and humor that relates to the old tale of perfect wives and dominating men.

The American Way of Love?

Reviewed by Deborah Earle, 2009-04-28

In this 2004 remake of the 70s sci-fi classic, director Frank Oz gives us an updated view of Ira Levin's novel in the form of a lovely cinematographic dark comedy in lieu of a static documentary.
Opening with much of the same footage of 50s housewives featured in "Mona Lisa Smile" the previous year, our story begins as Joanna Eberhart( Nicole Kidman) loses her job as a television network executive after an embittered participant in a controversial but high-rated reality program (Mike White) shoots at her onstage during an awards ceremony, and it is discovered that he previously shot other participants of the show as well.
As she recovers from a resulting nervous breakdown and electroshock therapy in the hospital, her husband, Walter Kresby(Matthew Broderick), decides to move their family to Stepford, Connecticut, where real estate broker Claire Wellington (a deceptively pleasant Glenn Close) helps them secure a beautiful, ultra-modern home, complete with a little robotic dog whose origins will be deciphered in due time.
The couple and their children( Dylan Hartigan, Fallon Brooking) settle into their new life, but Joanna soon finds the behavior of the women to be unsettling: They appear constantly smiling, with childlike docility and vacant expressions in their eyes.Whe she befriends Bobbie Markowitz(Bette Midler), the two lament their inability to have serious intellectual discussions with the women.
An element definitely not featured in the original story is the gay relationship of Jerry Harmon( David Marshall Grant), and his giddy partner, Roger Bannister(Roger Bart), the latter of whom befriends Bobbie and Joanna.
As a member of the Stepford Men's Association, Walter is exposed to the secret behind the beauty-pageant-contestant-like demeanor of the wives of the community--a point that reaches the height of bizzareness when association member, Ted Van Sant(Robert Stanton) calls his wife, Charmaine (Lorrie Bagely) and uses her as a human ATM.
Joanna makes some effort to fit in with the townspeople, but she and Bobbie soon see the once-reliable Roger undergo the same mysterious transformation as the women.
When Joanna discovers the high-powered careers the women formerly had, she rushes to tell Bobbie, but is too late: The change has taken hold of her as well, and we see how constant submission to males impairs her ability to be an efficient mother to her three sons.
Joanna confronts the men at their club, and Clair's husband, Mike (Christopher Walken) finally explains the secret of the Stepford Wives' behavior, and for the sake of being with her children, it appears that Joanna will accept this transformation as well.
However, at the annual ball, courtesy of Walter, the women literally wake up to themselves, and the resolution of the matter is darkly uproarious, and happily requires no sequel, unlike the original film.
Merdeith Viera, Billy Bush, and Larry King have cameos as game show and talk show hosts. John Lovitz plays Bobbie's husband, Dave, and Faith Hill is memorable as Stepford wife, Sarah Sunderson.
While panned by many critics, I found this remake to be sunny, relatively upbeat, and hilarious, with a warning about how absolute power corrupts absolutely, and with the situation justly resolved.

Hard to Figue Out

Reviewed by Leslie Carmean, 2009-03-19

It's hard to figure out how I feel about this movie. One one hand, it can be downright maddening, especially when it comes to the question of whether the wives are robots or whether they have microchips implanted in their brains. Who knows? I don't think the writers or the director had that one figured out. There is so much here that doesn't make sense, such as...are we to believe that the husbands are left alone to either kill their wives or to perform brain surgery, enabling Walter and Joanna to perpetrate their little farce at the end? Hmmm...
That said, there are some very funny moments. I love how Glenn Close's character is so over-the-top. I have never seen her in a role like this, and she is definitely the bright spot in this film. Bette Midler also has some funny moments, and I loved just looking at the amazing homes of the characters. Any one of them would qualify as my dream home. I do like to watch it just to see Ms. Close and Ms. Midler, or to look at the beautiful sets, but I admit that I end up forwarding over most of the movie to see the parts that I actually like.
I have the original Stepford Wives movie with Katharine Ross, and this version definitely does not compare. The original has some creepy moments, which are definitely lacking here. Given the choice, go with the original!