Wicked Stepmother (1989)

A mother/daughter pair of witches descend on a yuppie family's home and cause havoc, one at a time since they share one body & the other must live in a cat the rest of the time. Now it's up... See full summary »

Director:

Larry Cohen

Writer:

Larry Cohen

Stars:

Bette Davis, Barbara Carrera, Colleen Camp

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bette Davis	...	Miranda Pierpoint
Barbara Carrera	...	Priscilla
Colleen Camp	...	Jenny Fisher
Lionel Stander	...	Sam
David Rasche	...	Steve Fisher
Shawn Donahue	...	Mike
Tom Bosley	...	Lt. MacIntosh
Richard Moll	...	Nathan Pringle
Evelyn Keyes	...	Witch Instructor
James Dixon	...	Detective Flynn
Seymour Cassel	...	Feldshine, Magick Shop Owner
Susie Garrett	...	Mandy
Laurene Landon	...	Vanilla
Bob Goen	...	Game Show Host
Robert Frank Telfer	...	Game Show Producer

Storyline

A mother/daughter pair of witches descend on a yuppie family's home and cause havoc, one at a time since they share one body & the other must live in a cat the rest of the time. Now it's up to the family's mother, a private detective and a suspended police officer to try and stop the witches.

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Plot Keywords:

cat | chain smoking | stepmother | witch | magic | 

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Taglines:

Beware of these "Bette Davis eyes"!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 February 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Madrasta

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Larco Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Jenny talks to Steve about how much she misses her mother, we see two pictures of Jenny's deceased mother in her room. Both pictures are of Joan Crawford, Bette Davis ' on-and-off screen rival.

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Goofs

After having Nathan pick the lock to let Jenny back inside. Jenny shuts the door and the door handle falls off, when "Priscilla" arrives a few minutes later the handle is back on the door.

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Quotes

Miranda Pierpoint: Call me mama!

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Connections

Spoofs The Wizard of Oz (1939)

User Reviews

Keep your hand out of the money, Vanilla

Jenny is the last of the real Stepford house-wives. She's no millionaire, but she certainly doesn't have to work for herself. So one day, the stress of sitting at home and riding her bike and going to therapy has forced her to take a vacation. When she arrives home with successful husband, she discovers that her worst nightmare has come true... her widowed father has married a witch. She's no Freddy, but she's a real pain in the knife who sets herself to re-arranging the house to spite her new step-daughter. Then things really get wicked when her hot-to-trot daughter drops in for a visit... and to take Jenny's man away from her. So, Jenny sees no other alternative but to fight fire with fire.

One of the cheesiest and corniest of Larry Cohen's horror-comedies, this is sheer silly entertainment at it's best. Colleen Camp has the most trouble getting her lines to come out with feeling, but she sounds very stiff. She's a horrible actress. Bette Davis is surprisingly outrageous for a few minutes as Priscilla, the wicked step-mother, giving us the middle finger and saying the word "sex" more times than she probably has in every one of her previous films combined. The best part, this is a wicked movie in my opinion, is the scene where Sam plays Winners & Losers with Vanilla- the Vanna White inspired showgirl who hates poverty. Richard Moll is a riot as the private investigator! See Wicked Stepmother, and trust me, you've never seen anything like it.

**1/2 out of ****