Le streghe di Eastwick

Jack Nicholson gives his funniest and one of the finest performances as Mr. Darryl van Horn, the mysterious and wicked man who arrives to the quiet and sleepy little town of Eastwick after three women, the Blonde Souki (Pfeifer), the Redhead Jean (Sarandon), and the Brunette Alex (Cher), best friends and witches dreamed him up as a man who can bring some changes and excitement in their lonely lives.

Several great actors have played the Prince of Darkness during their careers but Nicholson was born to play a "friendly" devil that can seduce any woman with no exception by becoming exactly what she wants him to be. The scenes where Nicholson seduces Alex (Daryl Van Horne: Well, if that's how you feel about it, then that's how you feel about it. Is THAT how you feel about it?), Jean, and Souki are among the sexiest I've ever seen.

The movie has too many vomiting scenes for my liking, and the visuals are sometimes too screaming but Nicholson is delightful. I never thought that playing cello could lead to such flaming results – and I used to play it. 7/10

When I first saw that Cher was staring in this I was curious about it, granted I was only a teenager, but a movie about withes, with three leading ladies and a leading man, I was interested. Sometimes when too many movie stars are in one movie it doesn't work or it comes off too forced, but this one didn't. I love Cher's natural line delivery and it worked well for the character. Michelle Pfeiffer is anything but a shrinking violet, but she did that character well and even came of motherly and compassionate as her character was supposed to. Susan Sarandon did a 180 and went from prude to vixen and convincingly so. Jack Nicolson was magnificent, nothing more needs to be said.

The writing was interesting, the story was interesting, the setting was interesting and every time I have watched this movie since I have been captivated from beginning to end. Three friends are hanging out, a stranger comes into town and seduces them and unlocks some sort of magic in the air. A woman picks up on it, goes crazy and tries to warn everyone, all while breaking bones and puking cherry pits (an iconic scene occurs in the church and I've worked diligently over the year to memorize and recite the whole thing...I find it difficult not to recite when I'm in church with pews.) The friends try and get rid of him but it proves difficult.

See this movie, you may think it's stupid, and maybe it is, but it's a fun kind of stupid you'll want to watch again and again.

George Miller (Mad Max) creatively sets the stage for a story of three witches and one Lucifer, who are in regular human form, in a small, uptight New England town. Of course, for a tale like this one can try to suspend disbelief, and it has to be when dealing with the supernatural. Thankfully, Miller has great casting tastes- Cher, Sarandon, and Pfieffer are wonderful in their roles, each with an acute, potent sexuality that was at their peaks in the late 80's. And then there's Mr shark grin himself, Jack Nicholson, who gives another superb layer to the performance of the dark prince. There are other actors who have portrayed the man downstairs- Al Pacino in Devil's Advocate was the devil as lawyer, Billy Crystal was himself in the Woody/Dante sequence in Deconstructing Harry, even Elizabeth Hurley in Bedazzled.

But rarely have they had this much outright fun and charm with the role, enough to almost make me, a man in his 20s, charmed too. Maybe it's the eyebrows. Nicholson gives one of his best over-the-top performances as the "horny-little devil" Darryl, who comes into town during a storm and cooks up more than that for his avid female guests. Of course, he doesn't have control for long, when the girls find they have powers of their own. When the movie gets overly fantastic (which is a number of times) it gets a little hard to take, yet the acting is above par, and the special effects are a delight.

This is a genre blending film I found at Fry's Horror section for only $2.49 retail. It can be described as a supernatural Battle of the Sexes with horrific, comedic, and dramatic elements with a bizarre love story/ orgy at the center of it. The 3 "witches" (Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer) make a request for the perfect man who is delivered to them in the form of Daryl Van Horne (Jack Nicholson) aka the Devil. According to Daryl, when a man is encountered by a strong woman, his manhood goes limp. The woman is called a "witch" and set on fire. This is used to make women scared of men and scared of themselves. Daryl's attention allows the 3 women to embrace their sexuality, fertility, passion, and ambition. Eventually, they realize they no longer need men for anything, including Daryl. This culminates in the ultimate showdown with man vs. women. The SFX quality was good enough to win the BAFTA Award in 1987. The music by John Williams earned him an Oscar and Grammy nomination. Nicholson gives an incredibly over the top performance that was good enough to win both the NY & LA Critics Choice Awards. There is a lot of back story to this as well. Bill Murray was originally set to play Darryl and Cher and Sarandon switched roles once they walked onto the set. The studio execs hassled the director so much that Miller halted production. When they threatened to replace him with another director, Nicholson said he would walk away from the production. This ended the feuding. Favorite Quote: Almost all the dialogue. Cher asks Nicholson's character if he is married. To which he responds, " I don't believe in it. Good for the man, bad for the woman. She dies, she suffocates. Then the Husband complains that he is f*cking a dead woman and he is the one that killed her. Where is your Husband?" Cher replies, "Dead." DVD Extras: Full Cast & Crew Bios, a set design feature entitled " Conjuring Eastwick", a "Bewitching Look Back" at the history, Awards, Commentary, Interviews, and a Trailer (which indicates there are deleted scenes missing from the DVD. There should also be the numerous alternate endings they had shot). Bottom Line: Bewitching tale (pun intended) with something for everyone. Rating: 8.5/10

In the traditional and conservative Eastwick, the sculptress Alexandra Medford (Cher), the shy musician and teacher Jane Spofford (Susan Sarandon) and the journalist Sukie Ridgemont (Michelle Pfeiffer) are best friends. Alexandra is a widow; Jane is divorced since she can not have a child; and Sukie is divorced because she frequently gets pregnant and has five children. They are sexually repressed and one night, they describe the characteristics of their ideal man while drinking. There is a storm on the town and the mysterious Daryl Van Horne (Jack Nicholson) appears in town and buy a notorious mansion. NJobody can recall his name, but he seduces the three friends. Meanwhile the pious Felicia Alden (Veronica Cartwright), who is married with Sukie's boss Clyde Alden (Richard Jenkins), has a weird accident and feels that Daryl is the devil. When Felicia dies, Alexandra, Jane and Sukie realize that there is something strange about Daryl. But what can they do?

"The Witches of Eastwick" is a sexy and original film with a strange combination of horror and comedy. Jack Nicholson is comfortable performing another totally incorrect character. The sinful witches are represented by three gorgeous actresses. The special effects are great and responsible for funny scenes. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "As Bruxas de Eastwick" ("The Witches of Eastwick")