Hechizada

I had a chance to see this movie at an advanced screening.

I'm sorry to say that there were people who walked out. Admittedly, the first half is kind of dull. The cute and funny parts are few and far between.

The plot is dragged down horribly by some really bad secondary characters. Uncle Arthur, Iris/Endora and Isabelle's father are all reaaaally dull and contrived. The movie comes to a grinding halt when they appear.

The script writing is quite clever, and Nicole Kidman (happy birthday today!) is great, as always. Will Ferrell just plain cracks me up. I would have liked to see the plot give him more goofy parts, because that's when he really shines.

All in all, not really a surprising movie. Wait and rent it!

I quite enjoyed Bewitched. I was familiar with the TV show of the 60s and believe Elizabeth Montgomery made the role her own. However Nicole Kidman wasn't too bad and even mastered the iconic nose twitch for the role. The story was quite interesting, believable to an extent and entertaining. Will Ferrell also did a great job as her co- star. As far as remakes go this was pretty well done and had some decent performances.

I do not feel it deserves such a low rating as I too was a fan of the classic TV show and can appreciate this film. I won't be surprised if people listened to 'critics' and made up their minds not to like it. However every person who fancies him or herself as a reasonable film critic should consider the canon law. Thou must not judge a film on its reviews but on its merit and worth.

It had so much potential... but they really blew it. They had so many great actors but a bad script. I had wanted to see this movie for so long because I had loved the TV show. And while I was sitting there I was waiting for moment where I thought it would get better but it never came. It seemed to go downhill with every passing moment. The movie dragged and dragged on. Shirley McLaine and Michael Caine's story was never resolved and the appearance of Uncle Arthur was forced and ridiculous. Aunt Clara was also another character that just wasn't written well at all. The special effects were done well but there wasn't enough of them...and considering this was about a witch, I expected more. If you loved the TV show, then you will be disappointed. If you never watched the TV show, you will be clueless and completely bored. The only good thing... Nicole Kidman was cute. And her clothes were nice. But cute and nice weren't enough.

Nicole Kidman makes the whole wretched thing almost palatable. The, supposedly, inventiveness of this farce within a farce is hammered on with such lack of subtlety that, sometimes, you want to shout at the screen "Hey you! We're not brain dead! We got it! Move on! Will Ferrell is still a great TV comedian. How is it possible that nobody has told him that on the big screen less is more. Strangely, Nicole Kidman, the witch, is totally rooted in reality, we believe her. Will Ferrell, the mortal, is a loud caricature from beginning to end and we just can't get the attraction. There are some little perks however, Carole Shelley as Aunt Clara took me, thankfully, out of the movie and I spent at least 15 minutes asking myself where I've seen this actress before - The Odd Couple, one of the Pigeon sisters! Goodness! I was uncomfortable with Shirley MacLaine's cameo because I love her and I could only focus on the strange tightness in her face. I am a Kidmanite through and through that's why I go to see everything she does because I know that, even if she's involved in something quite beneath her, she manages to sparkle, to shine to surprise. Thank God for you Nicole.

It's hard to imagine "Bewitched" having an overall score of 4.8 on IMDB. This would indicate that it's a pretty bad film...which is hard to imagine since the film stars Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell...and was written and directed by Nora Ephron. Yet, somehow the film was not a hit and is thought of as one of the worst movie any of these folks ever made...if not THE worst. I was curious about this...so I decided to torture myself and see.

Instead of just making a remake of the TV show, Ephron decided to do something unusual. The film is about an obnoxious and self-centered actor, Jack (Ferrell) and his attempt to make a new version of the old TV show "Bewitched". And, in the process, he accidentally comes in contact with a REAL witch, Isabel (Kidman), and hires her to co-star in this reboot. Unfortunately, she soon realizes that Jack is a jerk who wants her to essentially be a nothing on the show...with him, alone, being the star. She's furious and decides to hex him...or quit the show. What's next? See the film...or not.



So why did so many folks dislike this movie? Well, I think it's for a variety of reasons. First, and perhaps the biggest problem, is that it really is NOT a remake. Folks who adored the TV show were no doubt disappointed to see this. Second, and it's more of a minor quibble, but some characters are supposed to be from the show and others, such as Aunt Clara, are supposed to be real witches. This is pretty confusing and made little sense. Third, Will Ferrell's character was supposed to be unlikable...or at least an obnoxious actor. But they simply made him TOO unlikable...a real jerk. His being this awful also is a problem as it's hard to keep your interest in the story when you hate one of the main characters. Sure, he becomes nice later...but by then it's too late AND the transformation made little sense. Fourth, the film really could have been very funny. Oddly, however, there's barely a laugh in the film...and with these situations it's hard to imagine it not being funny. Fifth, with all this talent (not just Kidman, Ferrell and Ephron but Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine and Jason Schwartzman are in the movie), you expect so much better. Overall, it isn't terrible but it isn't very good either...and disappointing.

By the way, was there much about this film I liked? Well, I loved hearing Steve Lawrence singing "Bewitched", as if you didn't know better, you'd swear it was Sinatra himself singing the tune....that was pretty incredible.