AT THE MOVIES WITH KASEY BUTCHER
Does perfection equal happiness? Imagine a world in which everything was pleasant all the time, but there was no real emotion or feeling behind the happiness. Thus is the world of the Stepford wives. In the movie of the same name, Joanna Eberhard (Nicole Kidman) suffers a nervous breakdown after she is fired from her job as a top television network executive. She and her husband, Walter (Matthew Broderick), decide that in order to save Joanna’s sanity and their teetering marriage, they should move to the small Connecticut town of Stepford. Once in Stepford, they are welcomed by Claire and Mike Wellington (Glenn Close and Christopher Walken), the leaders of Stepford society and the rest of the town. Joanna doesn’t seem to fit into Stepford very well and befriends Bobbie Markowitz (Bette Midler) and Roger Bannister (Roger Bart), two other misfits. Joanna doesn’t really start to worry about the always-perfect Stepford Wives until Bobbie and Roger magically transform into a perfect housewife and a prize politician overnight. Then she starts to suspect that there is something amiss in Stepford. She discovers that all the Stepford wives were once lawyers, CEOs, judges, and other top-ranking position-holders in their fields. Somehow these brilliant women have been turned into vapid imitations of the “perfect woman.”
As a comedy, this movie is really very funny. The jokes are quick and clever and flow right along with the story line. This movie, however, also has a hint of horror in it. It includes the dark attics and secret villains that many scary movies thrive on. It’s hard to say which this film is supposed to be— a comedy, a horror flick, or a frighteningly funny movie. This uncertainty left me with the feeling that the movie was missing something and it probably is. During original screen tests, the audience did not react well to the long version of the movie. The directors cut a great deal to make the final product and it seems to me that they may have cut too much.
Despite the flaws in the movie’s editing, some great performances managed to make the cut. Bette Midler and Roger Bart are hilarious. They really bring in both the frightening and comedic aspects in an enjoyable way. Their characters are easily my favorite in the movie. Glenn Close and Christopher Walken also helped to hold the film together. Their portrayals of the ringleaders of the Stepford community are both very funny and very sad.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with The Stepford Wives. I had been waiting for it to premier for months and I feel let down. I think it could have been a much better movie than it is. The Stepford Wives is a good movie for a good laugh, but don’t expect a fantastic film as well.
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