Review of The Stepford Wives (2004) by Adam F — 11 Mar 2013

Even if you haven't seen the original "Stepford Wives" or you were unaware that this is a remake, you will still find yourself thinking that something's amiss with this 2004 version. The big problem is that the movie tries to make the story set in modern times but only goes half-way. The satire at the beginning of the movie for example, with the reality TV shows and game shows are good, showing scenarios that are actual probable (and in some cases very similar to actual shows that aired on television at some point) and when you see Nicole Kidman's character "Joanna" forced to move to a completely different different location where her life with the family will be a lot more peaceful it looks promising. To make a movie where you want to slowly build up suspense and have the audience ask questions about how "perfect" this "perfect neighbourhood" is however, you need some subtlety and "The Stepford Wives" has none.

"Joanna" is depicted as an intelligent, successful and often forceful woman who pretty much always gets what she wants and although she does notice that there's something amiss, there's never any real feel of urgency or fear that whatever has happened to everyone else is going to happen to her. One of the reasons for this is the casting. Nicole Kidman is already such an attractive woman (and one who aside from her forceful attitude seems to have few flaws) that there seems little reason to trade her in for a "better" wife. Had the lead been an attractive but plain looking woman, you could see why her husband would be interested in some of the other resident's wives and that would make you wonder how much time "Joanna" has before she is changed as well. There is also a weird disconnect between the movie's idea of a "perfect wife" and the audience because the wives in the movie feel look like the 70's version of an ideal spouse, not the 2000's.

The ending is also a major letdown and goes for a conventional conclusion. The movie feels like it needs to be darker and have a strong message about women standing up for themselves lest they become "Stepford Wives" themselves but instead we get a comical, kind of silly ending. There are a couple of interesting additions, like the gay spouse who is also in danger of becoming a "Stepford Husband" and some comical scenes that are fun but the whole movie feels dumbed down and there is at least one scene that doesn't make any sense once you have seen the conclusion of the film (the ATM scene in case you missed it). The movie feels like a misguided effort by someone who heard the premise and thought it was really good but missed why it was good and what made it really stand out. (Dvd, March 4, 2013).