The Stepford Wives (2004)

Director:

Frank Oz

Writers (WGA):

Ira Levin (book)
Paul Rudnick (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 June 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

Make one.

Plot:

What does it take to become a Stepford wife, a woman perfect beyond belief? Ask the Stepford husbands, who've created this high-tech terrifying little town, in a very modern comedy-thriller.

Plot Keywords:

Community | Writer | Connecticut | Robot | Remake

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Joanna Eberhart
Matthew Broderick	...	Walter Kresby
Bette Midler	...	Bobbie Markowitz
Glenn Close	...	Claire Wellington
Christopher Walken	...	Mike Wellington
Roger Bart	...	Roger Bannister
David Marshall Grant	...	Jerry Harmon
Jon Lovitz	...	Dave Markowitz
Dylan Hartigan	...	Pete Kresby
Fallon Brooking	...	Kimberly Kresby
Faith Hill	...	Sarah Sunderson
Matt Malloy	...	Herb Sunderson
Kate Shindle	...	Beth Peters
Tom Riis Farrell	...	Stan Peters
Lorri Bagley	...	Charmaine Van Sant

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:18PL | Portugal:M/12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40783) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-7 | Germany:12 | Ireland:15PG (original rating) | Ireland:15 (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG (edited for re-rating) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Bedminster, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The location used for the rotunda of the Men's Club was the same one used in the original film.

Goofs:

Continuity: During/after the "If...one of your neighbors got sick, what would you do?" line, Roger sits back and crosses his arms twice.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Helen Devlin: Ladies and gentlemen, I would now like to introduce a legend in our industry. She's the most successful president in the history of our network and for the past five years has kept us at the very top of the ratings.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in The Breastford Wives (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

It Might as Well Be Spring

laughed hard, as did a very full theater!

Despite "iffy" reviews, a friend and I could not wait to see this remake. We went Friday afternoon and the theater was full. During the movie, there was lots of loud laughter throughout the theater. The audience clearly enjoyed this movie, as did we.

In fact, this movie is a hoot. From start to finish it is a side-splitting, over the top, tongue-in-cheek revision of the original film. Although (as has been noted in other comments) the ending is a "little" disconnected from the earlier explanations of the Stepfordization process, it was not until I had gotten home that I even realized this.

It is precisely because the remake is so over done, the circumstances so outrageous, that the present-day setting provides such a perfect comedic set-up for this introduction to the town of Stepford. In the beginning, Kidman's T.V. executive persona is seen presenting a Fall line-up of reality T.V. shows that mimics Survivor and its progeny, but also introduces the battle of the sexes that is taken to the extreme in the town of Stepford. By the time of her sudden departure from the network and her family's move to the suburbs, I was already in fits of laughter (as were those around me) and looking forward to the introduction of Bette Midler and Glenn Close's characters. I was not disappointed.

Bette Midler's droll commentary on her too-perfect neighbors, and the friendship between Bette Midler's Bobbi, Nicole Kidman's Joanna, and their Gay neighbor, provides the context for some of the absolutely funniest movie moments I have seen this year. As with many absolutely hysterical movies, if one examines the plot too closely deep holes can be discovered. The beauty of this film is that while in the theatre, you are kept laughing too hard to give much thought to anything other than catching your breath before the next joke is upon you.