Director Frank Oz and writer Paul Rudnick describe their version of The Stepford Wives, as a real modern American Comedy. Nicole Kidman heads an all star cast, playing Joanna Everhart, an ambitious television executive. When she's fired from her job, her world comes crashing down. Her husband Walter, played by Matthew Broderick, decides on a fresh start in the suburban paradise known as Stepford. Here, all the women conform to the male ideal of wife and mother. And the Stepford Men's association, run by Christopher Walken hides a frightening secret. Joanna teams up with Bette Midler and Roger Bart to investigate.
What sets out to be a subversive and comic look at rampant consumerism and the quest for perfection, very quickly turns into a shallow interpretation of Ira Levin's original story. Screenwriter Rudnick believes women have made enormous strides in the last thirty years, hence his contemporary spin. But have we really come that far?
I much prefer the original adaptation, starring Catherine Ross, that was more of a psychological thriller than satire.
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