The Stepford Wives
Joanna (Nicole Kidman) has, in some respects, lost it. Her controversial reality shows has gotten her fired from her job as a network executive and has left her depressed. Husband Walter (Matthew Broderick) feels the only way to let her recover is a change of scenery. So the family moves to Connecticut to the town of Stepford. It seems like a fantasy-land with its cavernous mansions and numerous amenities, but something seems odd: the wives. They are the perfect companions to the generally nerdy male population. Once she changes to people right before her very eyes, Joanna is suspicious of all around her including Walter and the leaders of the community, Claire (Glenn Close) and Mike (Christopher Walken), and sets out to discover the truth.

This odd movie directed by Frank Oz sets down one path but winds up on another. It starts out as a comedy, which was fine. I laughed out loud a few times. Making fun of reality shows may be a tired subject, but it was humorous. So were the actions of the wives of Stepford along with Joanna's reactions. But as Joanna discovers more and more about what's really going on, the movie loses its light touch and descends upon a murky path that is a heavy contrast in tone and difficult to believe. It would have been better to continue the light-heartedness and lengthen the scenes of Joanna adjusting to knowing the truth in the end, especially considering the film is only 90 minutes long and with the lack of moral implications. Alas, a movie with good intentions has gone sour. Performances by all the top stars were otherwise top-notch. 2.5 stars