The Stepford Wives (2004)

The secret to a Stepford wife lies behind the doors of the Men's Association.

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 | small town | 

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Taglines:

Make one.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Walter enters the lab where Stepford Wives are transformed. He's referred to as "Member 1956". This is the same number he punches in the front-door code to allow Joanna to leave.

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Goofs

When Joanna enters the house looking for her children, her blouse is unbuttoned, then is buttoned again in a subsequent shot.

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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

In the credits, Corning is credited with "cutlured stone" rather than "cultured stone".

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Connections

Referenced in Todd's Pop Song Reviews: "Dear Future Husband" by Meghan Trainor (2015)

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Soundtracks

A Fifth of Beethoven
Written and Performed by Walter Murphy
Courtesy of Thomas J. Valentino Inc.

User Reviews

As Bad As It Gets

This movie is a perfect example of what is wrong with the state of movies today. The original was a gem, with excellent acting by Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, and Patrick O'Neal. It was part horror story, part feminist cautionary tale. Most of all, it was BELIEVABLE! You got the feeling these were real people, and that all this could really be happening--and with a minimum of "special effects". The dialogue was pretty intelligent, the plot twists weren't given away in the first 15 minutes, and the ending was a real shocker. You cared about the female characters in the movie--you cared about Joanna's plight, and rooted for her to escape her planned fate.

The current version could only--and was probably meant to--appeal to the lowest common denominator of movie-goer. In this film, the women are just as bad as the men--you don't give a damn what happens to them; that's how annoying the characters are. The laughs are cheap and lowbrow, vital plot elements of Ira Levin's novel are missing, and the acting is just plain bad.

You know what? I'm getting annoyed just writing about this dreck. If you have any taste, any sense, any feeling for good films, any aversion to wasting good money on bad movies--stay far away from this one!! See the original, and appreciate the stunning subtlety of a thinking person's movie, well-made and well-acted.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 June 2004 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Les femmes de Stepford

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:

$103,370,127

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1