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Bewitched (2005)
The idea of rebooting the classic sitcom Bewitched was inspired, unfortunately, the final product just didn't work, the primary culprit being an overly complex screenplay that completely disrespects the original series and probably had Elizabeth Montgomery turning over in her grave.
This 2005 comedy stars Will Ferrell as Jack Wyatt, an obnoxious and self-absorbed actor whose career has stalled thanks to a bad movie and a bad marriage, who has just been cast as Darrin Stephens in a reboot of Bewitched. He meets a pretty girl named Isabel Bigelow, played by Nicole Kidman, falls for her instantly and decides that she would be the perfect Samantha. What Jack doesn't know is that Isabel REALLY is a witch who has recently decided that she wants to live life as a mortal, but is having a hard time of it.
When I first heard they were doing this movie, I just assumed Jim Carrey would be playing Darrin because of the uncanny resemblance between Carrey and Dick York. I was shocked to hear Will Ferrell had been cast, but when I heard what they were doing with the story, I figured it was acceptable but it's also the main problem with this movie. I don't understand why a competent writer like Nora Ephron would choose to over-complicate this story by having the actors playing actors playing Samantha and Darrin. This whole thing of throwing up an additional 4th wall to the story just didn't work for me, made all the more glaring by the scenes of Isabel and Jack watching clips from the original show.
The other big problem here is the performances and lack of chemistry with the stars. I will admit that Nicole Kidman would have been my first choice for the role of Samantha but she hasn't annoyed me this much onscreen since the remake of The Stepford Wives. Her inspiration for this Isabel character seems to be Georgette from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. And Ferrell's Jack Wyatt just makes you want to shove a bottle of sedatives down his throat. The non-stop frenzy of this character is exhausting. On my list of worst onscreen chemistry, Kidman and Ferrell were #1 and this re-watch confirmed that choice.
Michael Caine is wasted as Isabel's warlock father, who spends the movie giving her lots of bad advice as is Shirley MacLaine as Iris, the actress playing Endora who has a secret of her own. Steve Carell brightens up the final 10 minutes of this movie as Uncle Arthur, but this movie is just wrong on all kinds of levels, what a shame.
The idea of rebooting the classic sitcom Bewitched was inspired, unfortunately, the final product just didn't work, the primary culprit being an overly complex screenplay that completely disrespects the original series and probably had Elizabeth Montgomery turning over in her grave.
This 2005 comedy stars Will Ferrell as Jack Wyatt, an obnoxious and self-absorbed actor whose career has stalled thanks to a bad movie and a bad marriage, who has just been cast as Darrin Stephens in a reboot of Bewitched. He meets a pretty girl named Isabel Bigelow, played by Nicole Kidman, falls for her instantly and decides that she would be the perfect Samantha. What Jack doesn't know is that Isabel REALLY is a witch who has recently decided that she wants to live life as a mortal, but is having a hard time of it.
When I first heard they were doing this movie, I just assumed Jim Carrey would be playing Darrin because of the uncanny resemblance between Carrey and Dick York. I was shocked to hear Will Ferrell had been cast, but when I heard what they were doing with the story, I figured it was acceptable but it's also the main problem with this movie. I don't understand why a competent writer like Nora Ephron would choose to over-complicate this story by having the actors playing actors playing Samantha and Darrin. This whole thing of throwing up an additional 4th wall to the story just didn't work for me, made all the more glaring by the scenes of Isabel and Jack watching clips from the original show.
The other big problem here is the performances and lack of chemistry with the stars. I will admit that Nicole Kidman would have been my first choice for the role of Samantha but she hasn't annoyed me this much onscreen since the remake of The Stepford Wives. Her inspiration for this Isabel character seems to be Georgette from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. And Ferrell's Jack Wyatt just makes you want to shove a bottle of sedatives down his throat. The non-stop frenzy of this character is exhausting. On my list of worst onscreen chemistry, Kidman and Ferrell were #1 and this re-watch confirmed that choice.
Michael Caine is wasted as Isabel's warlock father, who spends the movie giving her lots of bad advice as is Shirley MacLaine as Iris, the actress playing Endora who has a secret of her own. Steve Carell brightens up the final 10 minutes of this movie as Uncle Arthur, but this movie is just wrong on all kinds of levels, what a shame.