**
Broadly satirical, and hence largely unfunny, take on Ira Levin's much wittier novel about a career woman (Nicole Kidman) who finds herself in the small Connecticut town of Stepford, where the men are always happy and their wives are all buxom, beautiful, and completely housebroken. A $90 million joke for high-powered New Yorkers and Hollywood types, as Oz and writer Paul Rudnick go out of their way to undercut any universality in the message with their unpleasant, self-indulgent characters -- no, not the men, but the "normal" women (plus, not surprisingly, a flamboyantly effiminate gay man). Shallow and vaguely insulting, with a plot that just gets dumber as it goes along. Also starring Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Glenn Close, and Christopher Walken. Levin's book was previously (and more successfully) adapted in 1975.
Addendum (8/22/16)
Listed #8 in Variety's 2016 list of the 10 Worst Movie Remakes of All Time.
Broadly satirical, and hence largely unfunny, take on Ira Levin's much wittier novel about a career woman (Nicole Kidman) who finds herself in the small Connecticut town of Stepford, where the men are always happy and their wives are all buxom, beautiful, and completely housebroken. A $90 million joke for high-powered New Yorkers and Hollywood types, as Oz and writer Paul Rudnick go out of their way to undercut any universality in the message with their unpleasant, self-indulgent characters -- no, not the men, but the "normal" women (plus, not surprisingly, a flamboyantly effiminate gay man). Shallow and vaguely insulting, with a plot that just gets dumber as it goes along. Also starring Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Glenn Close, and Christopher Walken. Levin's book was previously (and more successfully) adapted in 1975.
Addendum (8/22/16)
Listed #8 in Variety's 2016 list of the 10 Worst Movie Remakes of All Time.
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