The Stepford Wives (2004)

Directed by Frank Oz. Starring Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Glenn Close, Christopher Walken, Bette Midler, Roger Bart, Jon Lovitz, David Marshall Grant, Matt Malloy, Faith Hill. [PG-13]

Kidman, reeling from being fired from her television producer job, moves with husband Broderick to the Connecticut suburban community of Stepford, where they find that their neighbors act a bit strangely, especially the beautiful, subservient, and coldly cheerful housewives. Remake of the 1975 horror-satire serves no purpose besides being an almost a campy send-up of itself, but Paul Rudnick’s screenplay is not only severely confused—explanations about what these wives are go in different directions—but also embarrassingly witless, with one inane zinger after another, often delivered in such throwaway fashion that it’s clear that the director and actors know they stink, too. Weirdly seems to rely on viewers’ awareness of the Stepford secret beforehand, yet still withholds the obvious answer like it’s merely leaving breadcrumb clues; do the filmmakers not understand that “Stepford wife” had by then become a part of the lexicon? Tries to tease gender roles, but ends up being insulting to men, insulting to women, even insulting to homosexuals. The early scenes with reheated satirical leftovers of reality TV also land with a colossal thud. The cast, especially Kidman and Broderick, looks appropriately bored.

20/100