The Stepford Wives
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Movie Reviews of The Stepford Wives
Movie Review: 70s Thriller Classic That Skewers its Era
Summary: 4 Stars
The Stepford Wives is a great, slick piece of entertainment. Beautifully shot, carefully directed and well cast, this makes for some first-rate entertainment. Is it about feminisim? Chauvanism? The quest for perfection? Any and all really. Goldman did a great job scripting Levin's novel. It is mysterious, creepy, sometimes languid and it still manages a great number of tongue-in-cheek moments. Ultimately, it's not WHAT is happening to these women (how many clues and winks can they give you) rather it's about whether our heroine will succumb to the same fate. The final shot is the ultimate gasp and chuckle moment. Ross, O'Neal and Masterson are fine. Paula Prentiss is the perfect wiseass who keeps it in check just enough so that she herself does not become a joke. The film holds up well and the DVD looks great. A must see.Movie Review: Good, but not to the last drop.
Summary: 4 Stars
I expected this to be an empowering movie for women. I found out about it & watched it after a session in college history on the 70s women's rights movement, but the ending was an annoying letdown. Luckily, there's Revenge of the Stepford Wives & the much latter Stepford Wives remake (rittled with plotholes) to make up for that.I'd have given it just 3 stars, but since most movies I've seen from the 70s are uber crappy, this one was far less cheesy.
I reccomend buying all 3, getting the girls togeather for an all-nighter with some snacks, giving you something to talk about ovr the phone for the next few weeks.
Movie Review: Much Darker than the Remake
Summary: 3 Stars
I had never seen or read any version of the Stepford Wives until the remake a few years ago. At that time, I saw the movie and was somewhat entertained. It was a male chauvinist fantasy gone wrong with plenty of elements of comedy. It was not a great movie but it was fun while it lasted. Now I have seen the original and they have almost nothing in common except the premise of men replacing their wives with alternates who would do their every bidding. As a recently married man, I can see the attraction but it is only a wistful view.
The story is deceptively simple. A couple from NYC move to the suburb of Stepford Village. The wife, played by Kathryn Harris, is not thrilled with the move but agrees to it for the sake of the children. When the family gets there, they find an apparently nice place, to all appearances. The houses are nice, the kids have plenty to do in a safe place and the women are...strange.
All of the women keep their appearance wonderfully. Each is a good cook and each positively LIVES for housework. It is not something that would appeal to a professional woman and the heroine finds it a lonely place until she finds a kindred spirit who has also recently arrived. They try to put together a women's support group which quickly degenerates into a group which discusses the best ways to deal with a tough stain or make cookies. Also worrying is the way that all of the newly arrived men seem to be fascinated with the local men's club.
As time goes on, the women get scared. The local women act more and more like male fantasy robots. When Harris's newfound best friend suddenly changes and also turns into a male fantasy, Harris gets frightened. She has good reason.
This production has none of the comedic elements of the remake. It has none of the light moments either. It does, however, have a gripping fascination all its own. It is dark and frightening look at the beast that lurks in the hearts of some men.
Movie Review: It was better than I thought the original would be...
Summary: 3 Stars
I saw the re-make with Faith Hill, Nicole Kidman before seeing this version. But my thoughts were this: the original kept to one plot that Stepford was going to turn all of the wives into robots. I found myself beleiving the store in the original, the new one feels like they couldn't make up their minds, and it was too 'girl power' weirdness.
It was nice to see Joanna and Bobbie really become friends. I felt in the new version the they weren't as good of friends so when she become's 'Stepford' it didn't matter. When I watched the original it was really horrible when Bobbie changed.
Overall, I think that if you watch them both you will get a great movie alone.. I am really not sure which was better. Both had their faults. (Although - my husband will tell you the original is better because it was the 70's and the girls were wearing SHORT SHORT shorts...)
Movie Review: A great, but very slow-moving picture.
Summary: 3 Stars
After seeing the new version of The Stepford Wives (which, incidentally, I loved) I had to seek out the original, which I haven't seen since I was a kid. I was very impressed by most of the performances, most notably Paula Prentiss, who was absolutely magnetic. Although the story was absorbing, and the direction was good, the movie, not unlike Rosemary's Baby, seemed to go nowhere fast. Foot after foot of tape passed through my VCR, but the story unfolded so slowly, it was hard to remain interested........all in all, a must-see because of it's pop-culture influence.