Mulheres Perfeitas (2004)

The secret to a Stepford wife lies behind the doors of the Men's Association of how women become different and immobilized robots.

Director:

Frank Oz

Writers:

Ira Levin (book), Paul Rudnick (screenplay)

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler, Matthew Broderick

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Joanna Eberhart, a wildly successful president of a TV Network, after a series of shocking events, suffers a nervous breakdown and is moved by her milquetoast of a husband, Walter, from Manhattan to the chic, upper-class, and very modern planned community of Stepford, Connecticut. Once there, she makes good friends with the acerbic Bobbie Markowitz, a Jewish writer who's also a recovering alcoholic. Together they find out, much to their growing stupor and-then horror, that all the housewives in town are strangely blissful and, somehow... doomed. What is going on behind the closed doors of the Stepford Men's Association and the Stepford Day Spa? Why is everything perfect here? Will it be too late for Joanna and Bobbie when they finally find out?

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Plot Keywords:

suburb | battle of the sexes | husband wife relationship | housewife | android | 

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Taglines:

Are you a Stepford wife? Are you a Stepford husband? Couple, ask yourselves: Would you move to Stepford?

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

M/12

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount Pictures UIP [Brazil]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 August 2004 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Mulheres Perfeitas

Filming Locations:

Greenwich, Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,406,781, 13 June 2004

Gross USA:

$59,484,742

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$101,297,248

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, Scott Rudin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was originally going to keep the book's ending, but it was changed when test audiences didn't like it.

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Goofs

At the picnic, background actors change hairdos from shot to shot. They look different outside than when they are square dancing.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are presented in a cursive script font rather than regular block letters. The letters alternate "flashing" on and off, mimicing machine lights.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Worst Comedy Movie Remakes (2016)

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Soundtracks

The Picadore March
(1889)
Music by John Philip Sousa
Performed by The Parade Brass & Symphony Orchestra
Courtesy of LaserLight Digital
by arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

New adaptation from Ira Levin's best seller with a beauty Nicole Kidman

Charming Joanna (Nicole Kidman) is a successful and creative journalist of a TV channel , then she suffers a breakdown for a programme . She along with her hubby (Matthew Broderick) and children are moved from Manhattan towards the quaint little town of Stepford (Conneticut) , a very modern and upper class location . She didn't like the neighborhood with attractive and perfect but unintelligent housewives . She is concerned that many wives spend their lives in domestic slavery . Joanna early befriends a pair good friends (Bette Midler and John Lovitz). Meanwhile , her husband joins the mysterious Stepford Men's club (run by a powerful Christopher Walken and married another too perfect wife , Glenn Close) which takes place in an old Manor house . Joanna soon discovers there lies a dark truth about the strange and servitude behavior in the all female residents and the sinister secrets hidden in the Stepford town .

The film is an amiable comedy with sci-fi , thriller elements and a little bit of drama . Heavily re-edited and re-written following test screenings , with new scenes shot and others deleted . The attempts to cater to audience tastes backfired as the new edits and scenes created continuity errors and major story problems . The casting is frankly well . Thus , a beautiful Kidman and good comedian actors : Broderick, Midler , Lovitz . Jolly and lively music by David Arnold . Special mention to colorful and glimmer cinematography by Rob Hahm . This new rendition is preferably a comedy , while the old version by Brian Forbes with Katherine Ross and Paula Prentiss was a chiller and considered to be very superior and being almost a classic film and followed three inferior sequels : ¨Revenge Stepford wives ¨, ¨Stepford children¨, ¨Stepford husbands¨ . The film was regularly directed by Frank Oz . The picture will appeal to the gorgeous Nicole Kidman fans. Rating : Average but amusing .