Bewitched was a fun movie. Nothing serious, but enjoyable, and respectful to the classic TV show. Nicole Kidman (who does resemble Elizabeth Montgomery quite a bit) does a great job as Isabel/Samantha, and Will Ferrell was fun to watch, as well. Michael Caine and Shirlie Maclaine(they couldn't have cast a better Endora) filled out the cast nicely.

There's a comment about Jack Wyatt's (Ferrell) last movie tanking at the box office that everyone here will probably get a little smile about. The 140 million dollar budget was mentioned. It was a nice twist on the TV show. It's not going to go down as one of the greatest movies ever, but it's enjoyable. It's not really big laughs like Monster-in Law was, but it has it's moments. This was the second movie headlined by Nicole Kidman that I've seen this year.

B

I was worried about Will Ferrel being bad but he was pretty cool... C+

Well, it looks like the shitty remake trend continues. It's not that the movie is the worse thing ever, it just isn't very good. It's boring. And unfunny. Nicole Kidman is miscasted, Will Ferrell is somewhat enjoyable but his material doesn't work. The award for "What Were They Thinking" goes to Steve Carrell. Uncle Arthur stops an already dying film cold. MacLain, Caine, Steven Colbert (was there a job posting at the Daily Show?), David Alan Grier, the entire cast fails to connect. Massive misfire for the team of Nora and Delia Ephron.

D

Surprisingly not many reviews as I thought alot of people were going to see this.

***********************************************

so we have the fighting words of

:Jump: Maverikk jumping on the Bewitched bandwagon :Jump:

vs.

:bur: Loyal not feeling the movie to be kind :bur:

:box: so :box:

Mav starts off with Bewitched was a fun movie. Nothing serious, but enjoyable. and ends with a grade of B

and

Loyal counters with Well, it looks like the shitty remake trend continues. It's not that the movie is the worse thing ever, it just isn't very good. It's boring. And unfunny. and ends with a grade of D.

*********************************************

:sw: So who slashed who :sw:

:mod: And the winner by a knockout is :mod:

:woo: ???????????????? :woo:

That's pretty clever Goldie. =D>

:flex: Thanks :flex:

rink:

Goldie's post just earned Zingaling's non-existing "Post of the Month." =D>

6 votes in the poll, yet only 3 reviews.

Who gave it an A, the other B, and F?

Probably either a C- or D+

Just a very tired, labored, usually unfunny movie with no surprises.

WF was too buffoonish, whinny and annoying.

Nicole was at least cute to look about.

Neither are surprising :wink:

Bewitched was an average, occasionally pleasant movie, but I was expecting more. A lot of the comedy bits in the film come across as strained, and Nora & Delia Ephron's script is so shallowly written that the actors are forced to utter witless dialogue half the time. Although they have no chemistry, which makes the final half hour of the film hard to swallow, Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell are both reasonably effective. Kidman is a bit miscast but makes the most of her performance; it helps that she looks cute as a button. The amazingly hilarious Ferrell seems muted by his role here, as if Nora Ephron was afraid to let him be funnier. The supporting cast doesn't help matters. Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine are utterly wasted in their roles, Jason Schwartzman gives his typical one-note performance, and Kristin Chenoweth has the distinction of having the most irritating supporting performance in a film this year. Either way, Kidman and Ferrell are affable enough that their talent and appeal shine through even when the script is letting them down. Although Bewitched isn't a bad film, it's a very forgettable one. C+/C

Is it better than The Stepford Wives?

They're probably of about equal quality, but I probably enjoyed The Stepford Wives more.

Meh...that doesn't sound great to me...

Your C+/C is generous Libs. I agree with your entire review. Kristin Chenoweth! She drove me nuts. And Schwartzman, completely waste.

I think the film had been reworked too many times, I remember at one point they had even considered changing actors during the movie, a nod to the switched Darrens. I'm guessing Penny Marshall was supposed to direct at some point, being she received a Producer's credit here.

The funny gag with Will flubbing his lines is a remake itself of Bruce Almighty's scene. Pathetic.

I thought it was a decent movie. I especially liked some of Iris's antics, particularly those involving Michael Caine. Will Ferrell normally irritates me, but, he was okay in this movie.

Out of the three movies that I've seen this weekend, I would say that I liked this one the best.


Grade: B

Were the other two films kiddie porn?

Loyal,

If I didn 't know any better, I would think you didn't like the film.

People shouldn't sugar coat their grades and give a film like Bewitched a pass.

For the diabetics, no sugar here.

Not bad. Low expectations helped, I guess. Kidman was cute, and Ferrell was funny, though not his usual hilarious self. B-

Samantha Stephens
c.1965




"Samantha Stephens"
c.2005

If there's a lesson to be learned from the success of Nick at Nite and TV Land, it is simply this:

Old sitcoms never die. They become comfort food.

Or something like that

There are (probably) only about ten truly great sitcoms in the entire 50 (some odd) year history of television. (Depends where or when you start counting... but let's say c.1950.) If critical acclaim, high ratings and Emmy Awards are any indication, Bewitched is certainly one of them. Elizabeth Montgomery was the the daughter of a respected film and stage actor. To the producers of the new ABC sitcom, she was also a gift from heaven - in more ways than one. No other actress could've made this "tricky" premise work. (Must be some unwritten law prohibiting beautiful women from being funny.) And, with bewitching irony, the movie version gives it proof.

What did Delia and Nora Ephron and (former sitcom queen) Penny Marshall miss? They were looking at Bewitched from a WOMAN'S point-of-view, when they should've asked a guy. Just this once, it would've been the right thing to do.

When you watch the still-funny reruns now (and this is one show that will NEVER be off the air), you soon realize that it's more than just Elizabeth Montgomery's beauty that compels you to watch her; it's her incredible charisma and sense of humour. This is her magic. It's not so much that a typical guy is thinking about the sex, as much as he's thinking about the FUN. As great-looking as Nicole Kidman is, she just doesn't LOOK like a whole lotta fun (although I'm sure she is in real life, as she'd HAVE to have a sense of humour to be married to a nutcase like Tom Cruise).

In this script, there's no sense of fun - and certainly no conflict worth noting. What you do have here are damn good actors impersonating one of the best ensemble casts in TV history. It's all very clever, but it doesn't work - not even briefly. (Maybe it needed a laff-track.) For example, Steve Carell does a near-perfect "Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur," but, let's face it: an impression is all it really is. What they really needed to do here was to actually incorporate Uncle Arthur and Endora and Aunt Clara and Gladys Kravitz, and yes, even Larry Tate INTO the action... if they could actually conjur up some action in the first place.

I don't understand why the critics hated this film so much. I saw it yesterday and was not disappointed in the slightest. BEWITCHED was one of my most anticipated films of the year and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a hilarious, romantic and sweet film with great comedic performances. Nicole Kidman is adorable and charismatic and Will Ferrell is very funny. Overall, don't listen to the negative buzz and go see this underrated comedy gem.

8/10 (A-)

Ferrell's improv (OH AND BY THE WAY WE'RE ON CRACK!!!!!) saves the film from being a total disaster. Otherwise, it's not funny, it's shockingly boring, and is way overlong. The whole film reeks of re-writes and re-shoots. Kidman is cute and decent, but her and Ferrell have zero chemistry, which makes the "romantic" angle non existant. That's bad considering half the movie is banking on that. Could have used a good trimming (20 minutes or so), a funnier script, and just...I dunno...a spark of creativity? Steve Carroll is slumming it, too.

D or 4/10