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Directed by: Nora Ephron Starring: Will Ferrell, Nicole Kidman, Michael Cane, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell The problem with most movie adaptations of old sitcoms is that they try to take the plot of a sitcom and stretch it to around 90 minutes. In the end, we're pretty much left with the question, "Why? Why was this piece of poo poo ever made? Did these guys really think they can just slap the name of a classic show onto the movie and it'll sell like hotcakes?" For the most part, "these guys" seem to be right for awhile; the movies usually tend to stall in the Top 15 for about a couple weeks, and then drop off completely. Hell, it's been about two weeks since that "Honeymooners" movie came out, and already it's made it to my local $2.00 movie theater in the mall. You know, the kind of place where movies that have been in theaters for months go to die before they get re-incarnated in the form of DVD. But such is not the case for Bewitched. When I first heard about it, I thought it was going to be crap, like all the other movie adaptations of old sitcoms. Then, I learned about the plot, and I must say that plot had some potential. Isabel Bigalow (Kidman) is a witch, going to Earth and trying to live a normal life and give up her witchy ways, which her father Nigel (Caine) disapproves of. Meanwhile, washed-up movie star Jack Wyatt (Ferrell) is cast as the leading role for the "new and improved" version of "Bewitched." He's looking for someone to play the part of Samantha, someone who can pull off that thing with her mouth she's known for perfectly. While browsing in the bookstore, he finds that person, and it turns out to be Isabel. He tries to get her to audition for the show, but she refuses. Then, he says he is "desperate." Keep in mind Isabel is a witch who just landed on planet Earth, so her idea of "the perfect guy for her" is a guy who is desperate. She agrees to audition and amazes the crew. She gets the part, and from there it's a roller-coaster ride for her. She finds out she has no speaking parts because Jack wanted it to be all about "him." Her father disapproves of her role (she was not allowed to watch the original "Bewitched" as it mocks the witch culture) until he gets a hard-on for Iris, the actress who plays Endora (Shirley McLaine.) As the movie goes on, Isabel and Jack start to fall for each other, and she fears that he might not accept her after she admits to being a real witch (as opposed to playing one on TV.) I must give credit to whoever came up with that concept, as it gave the movie some potential to not suck. As my girlfriend and I were leaving the cinema after the movie was over, we both decided that it indeed didn't suck. It didn't kick rear end either, but at least it wasn't as bad as I initially thought. Will Ferrell had some funny moments, like when he had to say the line "Where is my dog?" and Kidman's character kept putting spells on him to make him "over-act" that line. Steve Carell was hilarious as Uncle Alfred (which, I should point out, was Jack Wyatt's favorite character on the original show.) Stephen Colbert was pretty good as Stu Robinson (one of the crew members) too. Of course, Colbert is pretty good at just about anything he does. I should also give credit to Nicole Kidman. She had to do a role that was pretty far from her usual role, and there were moments where she pulled it off well (like when she called Ferrell's character a "male reproductive organ." Cheap, I know, but I laughed at it anyway.) But then, there were times where she came off as a little too "ditzy." I found myself thinking "Marilyn Monroe" when she came on screen. I also didn't like the part where Ferrell's character got a hex put on him to think everything was about Isabel. There were some chuckle-inducing moments, but his whole act was pretty drat creepy. If anyone tried to act like that about me, I'd set him or her on fire. And while the plot did keep my interest at the start, it took a dive around the last part of the movie. Frankly, I thought Uncle Alfred was the only thing that was good about the last part of the movie, which seemed a little too forced. The ending where Isabel goes "home," Jack and Albert chase her, and she ends up on the set is kind of retarded. I found myself saying "Wait...what? Huh?" All in all, this is a pretty good movie for when you're looking for something to do. It seems like one of those movies that could only be fun when seen once. I don't think I'm going to see it again to find out, though. It's better than most adaptations of old sitcoms, but not something that could be considered a "classic" in the long run. RATING: 3 PROS: Interesting concept, Will Ferrell's performance was pretty good, as was Steve Carell's. CONS: Some jokes were forced, and the concept tends to get old pretty quickly. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374536/
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Jun 27, 2005 20:41
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 12:37 |
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My girlfriend dragged me to this. It was too long for what it was. When the movie rewound, after the hex scenes were over I groaned, because I knew that the movie literally WASTED 30-40 minutes of my time. They could have made this a nice tight 85 minutes. 120 minutes was entirely too long. Other than that, it was ok. Ferrell and Kidman didn't have much chemistry, but the supporting cast, and overall acting saved it from being a total bomb. "Make me 20 cappuccinos and then bring me the best one!" 2.5/5
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Jul 3, 2005 06:55
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It's like whoever wrote this movie had three ideas and didn't know what to do, so they just threw them all against the wall and used whatever stuck. At first we get the idea that it's going to be about Isabe (Nicole Kidman) wanting to become a normal person and live a normal life without magic, which ends up not really playing a big part at all as she neglects that through the entire movie. On top of that, she acts like she's Encino Man waking up from a deep sleep in a time where hooking up a VCR is rocket science. We then get to Act Two which is Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) trying to jump start his career again by taking the "lead role" of Darrin in a remake of the 1960's Sitcom "Bewitched." So yes, we are watching a movie about called Bewitched about them remaking Bewitched, all while showing clips of the original Bewitched. This ends up making the movie about Hollywood moreso than of the actual story that was Bewitched... mere-mortal Darrin deals with wife and her mother, who are both witches, and hilarity ensues. Act Three then turns into a really bad love story, which makes little to no sense, and as soon as the potential for extreme hilarity appears the movie ends. They could have taken the whole "Bewitched" element out of it and had the same effect. In the end it turns out being an extremely bad misuse of the concept. Take away the TV Show Remake concept, and put Will Ferrell in the role of Darrin, and have him reacting over the top to Samantha and her mother and all the other crazyness that comes apart of being married to a witch, and you could have had a winner here. The moments in the movie where the go in that direction are the better parts, and there are just so few of them. Instead we just get this forced story which gets the occasional chuckle out of me every now and then. Not even Steve Carell in his brief role could save this movie. Atleast it was watchable to me... "I Don't Have Any Candy!!!" 2.5/5
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Jul 9, 2005 17:25
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