Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5710 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-11-29
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 89 minutes

Synopsis
Based on a book by Ira Levin which satirizes the roles of 1950s housewives, this is a remake of the 1975 film adaptation. Director Frank Oz presents a dramatic reworking of the horror classic, putting a totally over-the-top slant on the story that gives it true comedic value. In the early 21st century, a fast-paced Manhattan couple, Joanna (Nicole Kidman) and Walter (Matthew Broderick), both work for a major television network. While she is a leader and breadwinner in producing reality shows, he is a mere middle-management type. So when Joanna has a nervous breakdown, and Walter takes command, he's happy to find that for once in his life she's not stealing his fire. This sentiment is only asserted by the boys club that welcomes him when they move to the perfect town of Stepford, Connecticut. There, the women have been transformed by their husbands into a totally submissive, near-robotic state in which they are blissfully happy doing housework and looking pretty, and are totally compliant to their men. With Claire (Glenn Close) and Mike (Christopher Walken) leading this web of weirdness, Joanna and her only normal friend, Bobbie (Bette Midler), race to solve the mystery before they too become Stepford Wives.

DVD Description
An all-star cast remakes the 1975 socio-political horror flick, The Stepford Wives. After being fired as president of a television network, Joanna (Nicole Kidman) has a nervous breakdown, prompting her husband Walter (Matthew Broderick) to take her to a simple Connecticut town called Stepford to recuperate. But Stepford is a little strange: The husbands congregate at a closed-doors men's club, while the wives--all in bright summer frocks and air-brushed smiles--exercise to keep their hourglass figures and cook endless pastries. Joanna, along with new arrivals Bobbie (Bette Midler) and Roger (the very funny Roger Bart), soon discover that the mastermind of Stepford (Christopher Walken) has used cybernetics to "perfect" womankind. The Stepford Wives has some satirical zingers (from sneaky screenwriter Paul Rudnick), but the basic idea has lost a lot of gas since 1975. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Don't waste your money if you liked the book!
Having read the book and loved it I was dying to see how it would look on screen, and with such a great cast I thought I wouldn't be disappointed. How wrong I was. This film was wasted on the likes of Kidman and Walken. And Broderick was so wooden I wondered if he was a robot throughout. As other reviewers state, the plot was full of holes, but there were some laughs, although not enough in my opinion to save the film. A big disappointment. Amazon won't allow you to choose no stars, so its 1 out of 5 for that reason only.

The other people are wrong this dvd is FAB!!!!!
When i looked at the other peoples reviews i was shocked!! This dvd was great it was funny and lively and NEVER got boring. It didn't go on too long. It was totally original nothing like ive ever seen before. It kept the audience in suspence during the whole film. You just wanted to find out what happened. Nicole Kidman is a great actress in all her other films and she is fantastic in this too. This comedy-thriller is worth your pocket money as im sure you will enjoy it.

Lots of fun. Nothing more, nothing less. (3.5 STARS)
Why is this film getting so much negativity? For instance, most critics complain about the fact that this isn't as dark or as good as the original. Since when was it trying to be like the original? This film is decidely comedic (with dashes of sci-fi thrown in) and it's all the better for it. Nicole Kidman shines as the bewildered Joanna as does Bette Midler as the hilarious Bobbie. However, the sci-fi parts of the film do not mix very well with the film's main theme. It could have worked but this movie is far too silly to really be a black comedy. Christopher Walken is surprisingly dull as Bill whilst the Stepford Husbands come off looking sad and pathetic (whether this is how they were supposed to be portrayed i don't know). Despite these flaws, The Stepford Wives is a (almost)full fledged laugh-riot that you won't regret giving 90 minutes of your time to. Highlights include Viggo and the Book Club.