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 | neo screwball comedy | flying broomstick | 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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Before Nicole Kidman was cast as Samantha, Jennifer Aniston, Christina Applegate, Patricia Arquette, Drew Barrymore, Kim Basinger, Kate Beckinsale, Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Connelly, Kristin Davis, Cameron Diaz, Heather Graham, Melanie Griffith, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Teri Hatcher, Helen Hunt, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, Lisa Kudrow, Alyssa Milano, Julianne Moore, Brittany Murphy, Tatum O'Neal, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Molly Ringwald, Meg Ryan, Winona Ryder, Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, Alicia Silverstone, Hilary Swank, Charlize Theron, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Reese Witherspoon, and Renée Zellweger were also considered.

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Goofs

When Isabel is sitting after Jack tells her to call her with his shoe, her tea bag is hanging out of her cup, but in the next shot of her it is gone and then back again.

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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

Referenced in Supernatural: Shut Up, Dr. Phil (2011)

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Soundtracks

Dancing on the Perimeter
Written by Max Bernstein, Jeremy Bonsall and Jeffrey Keenan
Performed by The Actual

User Reviews

Quite disappointing

Please give me a break. The idea was quite original but somewhere the whole thing went south. I truly feel bad for Nicole Kidman and Will Farrell. There were so many ways this movie could have went instead of disappointing the true die hard Bewitched fans.

Weak plot, undefined characters, I truly felt as if someone said, "OK, we're bored with this, let's piece it together and call it a day." It would been nice if Isabel could have been seen as someone who was smarter and not so vulnerable and innocent.

I would put this in the same category of any 12 year old "I wanna be a pricess" movie. You wait three decades to find out what happened to Darrin and Samantha and you get a remake that's not really a remake. Some of the characters are from the original, some are transformed to the movie, some are just unknown. What happened? I'm insulted that Nora Ephron thought any true fan would be pleased with this movie.

Didn't someone think about running this by the true fans before rushing it out to a theater? There were times I was embarrassed to be in the audience. A total waste of $16.

A few funny moments but not worth the pain of sitting through the entire movie -- and I'm an easy laugh.

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia Tristar [France] Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

24 June 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bewitched

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

Gross USA:

$63,313,159

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$131,426,169

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