Bewitched Review
by news.west.earthlink.net (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)June 21st, 2005
BEWITCHED
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2005 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
Hit-and-miss director Nora Ephron tries her hand at a remake of the 1964 TV show "Bewitched." The results aren't as pleasing as YOU'VE GOT MAIL and SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, but neither are they as bad as MIXED NUTS and MICHAEL. This movie version of "Bewitched" just never comes together as a story, leaving the audience wanting to yell, "Rewrite!" But, thanks to an absolutely charming performance by Nicole Kidman, as witch Isabel Bigelow, the film has plenty of cute moments, even if they never add up to much of anything.
The same compliments can't be paid to Kidman's costar, Will Ferrell, who continues to be plagued by a tendency to overact unless the director is able to restrain him properly. There is never any genuine chemistry between Ferrell's Jack Wyatt and Kidman's Isabel, leaving the last part of the story, in which their love blossoms, to be quite unconvincing.
The script sets up the story by having it be about a television remake of the old television series, with Jack playing Darrin Stephens and Isabel playing Samantha Stephens. The ongoing joke is that Isabel is actually a witch playing a witch, which no one realizes. This gag runs out of steam, leaving the silly little spells to be the best parts of the picture. In fact they are so much more successful and enjoyable than the squabbling between Wyatt and Bigelow that a review of the movie could be boiled down to: needs more spells.
BEWITCHED runs a little long at 1:45. It is rated PG-13 for "some language, including sex and drug references, and partial nudity" and would be acceptable for kids around 10 and up.
My son Jeffrey, age 16, gave it ** 1/2, saying that it was sweet and funny but lacked a plot. His friend Yasmin, almost 16, gave it ***, saying that it was funny and had two storylines, only one of which finished.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, June 24, 2005. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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