’’The Stepford wives’’ by Frank Oz with Nicole Kidman as Joanna Eberhard, Matthew Broderick as her husband Walter Kresby, Bette Midler as Bobbie Markowitz, Glenn Close as Claire Wellington and Christopher Walken as Mike Wellington starts with Joanna?s show on TV, which is rather aggressive and ends with a completely humiliated husband whose wife has left him for some guys like Tarzan. He comes and tries to shoot Joanna, who is then fired and has a nervous breakdown. So the family decide to move somewhere nice and quiet and end up in Stepford.
In Stepford all the wives are perfect (perfectly dressed in the style of the 70?s, smiling all the time), all the houses are perfectly clean and all the men are perfectly happy. They gather together in a guarded men?s house (a wonderful manor), the wives stay at home and clean their kitchens. Soon Joanna and Bobbie find this all rather irritating and try to find out what is going on. I don?t want to spoil the fun for anyone, so nothing more about the story.
The movie is a satire of the American middle class way of life. Unfortunately, it doesn?t make much of a good idea. In fact, nothing is really discussed, everything stays superficial, the ending is lame.
Superficially it is about gender war, the husbands strike back when their wives are cleverer and more successful, but there is no real substance added. Chance missed. Pity.