Bewitched (2005)

Thinking he can overshadow an unknown actress in the part, an egocentric actor unknowingly gets a witch cast in an upcoming television remake of the classic sitcom Bewitched (1964).

Director:

Nora Ephron

Writers:

Nora Ephron, Delia Ephron

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine

2 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicole Kidman	...	Isabel Bigelow / Samantha
Will Ferrell	...	Jack Wyatt / Darrin
Shirley MacLaine	...	Iris Smythson / Endora
Michael Caine	...	Nigel Bigelow
Jason Schwartzman	...	Ritchie
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Maria Kelly
Heather Burns	...	Nina
Jim Turner	...	Larry
Stephen Colbert	...	Stu Robison
David Alan Grier	...	Jim Fields
Michael Badalucco	...	Joey Props
Carole Shelley	...	Aunt Clara
Steve Carell	...	Uncle Arthur
Katie Finneran	...	Sheila Wyatt
James Lipton	...	James Lipton

Storyline

Out in California's San Fernando Valley, Isabel is trying to reinvent herself. A naïve, good-natured witch, she is determined to disavow her supernatural powers and lead a normal life. At the same time, across town, Jack Wyatt, a tall, charming actor is trying to get his career back on track. He sets his sights on an updated version of the beloved situation comedy Bewitched (1964), re-conceived as a starring vehicle for him in the role of the mere-mortal Darrin. Fate steps in when Jack accidentally runs into Isabel. He is immediately attracted to her and her nose, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the nose of Elizabeth Montgomery, who played Samantha on Bewitched (1964). He becomes convinced she could play Samantha in his new series. Isabel is also taken with Jack, seeing him as the quintessential mortal man with whom she can settle down and lead the normal life she so desires. It turns out they're both right, but in ways neither of them ever imagined.

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Plot Keywords:

watching tv | 2000s | neo screwball comedy | witch | actor | 

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Taglines:

Be warned. Be ready.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some language, including sex and drug references, and partial nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia Tristar [France] Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

24 June 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hechizada

Filming Locations:

510 S Lucerne Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$85,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,131,130, 26 June 2005, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$62,252,415, 21 August 2005

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$131,426,169, 6 January 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Red Wagon Entertainment, Bewitched

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Goof, not a point of trivia. In the scene on-set after Jack and Isabel's dance number, Isabel takes a cup of coffee and sits in her canvas chair, putting the cup on the arm of the chair next to her. The cup is obviously falling over when the shot cuts to Jack. When the shot quickly comes back to Isabel, the cup is still perched on the chair arm.

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Goofs

When Nina, Maria, Aunt Clara and Isabel are having breakfast, they are all sitting around the table and there is a French press coffee pot on the table. When the French press is in close view either the camera or boom mic are clearly visible on the lid of the French press.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Isabel Bigelow: [Outside a house at which Isabel has just landed and made available for rent, furnished, with an open house today] It's perfect!
Realtor: Oh, great!
Isabel Bigelow: I'll take it.

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Connections

Features Inside the Actors Studio (1994)

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Soundtracks

And She Was
(1985)
Written by David Byrne
Performed by Talking Heads
Courtesy of Sire Records
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing and Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd

User Reviews

Stick With The Reruns...

BEWITCHED (1 outta 5 stars) What a terrible, misbegotten abortion of a movie this turned out to be! Why couldn't they just be content to make a straight-forward adaptation of the old TV series? Samantha's a witch, Darren's a mortal... they fall in love and then conflicts ensue. Why did they have to devise this complicated and nonsensical storyline about a lousy movie actor (Will Ferrell) who plans on saving his floundering career by starring in a TV remake of "Bewitched"? And he just happens to cast a real witch (Nicole Kidman) in the female lead? And this real witch just happens to have some real relatives who are the same characters from the original TV series? The story gets pretty desperate at times... with "dream" sequences, the appearance of characters who may or may not be mere figments of someone's imagination and the ability of "Samantha" to turn back time indefinitely to erase any of her spells that may have gone awry. (Too bad they couldn't just rewind this whole movie and start over again.) Kidman has an appealing screen presence and probably could have done a good job in an actual "Bewitched" story. Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine are wasted on a goofy subplot that never really comes to any kind of satisfying conclusion. Will Farrell has a few funny moments but basically he plays an unlikable twit and there is no reason in the world for Kidman's character to fall in love with him. Awful, awful stuff... maybe if we all wriggle our noses we can make this movie disappear...?