My review will go on the hope that people reading this know what the movie is about, and also know what the ORIGINAL movie was about.
So my main problem with the remake of “The Stepford Wives” wasn’t that they tried to make it a comedy instead of a thriller like the awesome original was. No, my problem came about halfway through when The Men were showing Matthew Broderick’s character just what the re-programmed women could do. One man showed his wife being used as an ATM, dispensing $20 in singles with her mouth.
And yet at the end of the movie, when the wife is “restored” to her former self – uh, so what happens to the bank she has installed in her body? Another reference to the wives being true robots is in a scene where a husband recommends that Broderick get the cigarette lighter installed. But when the computers go offline and the wives return to their normal selves – they aren’t robots.
The director (and writer) made a grave error in this regard. Either they are robots, or they are women with computer chips in their heads. They can’t be both. That alone made me dislike the movie. If Frank Oz (the director) had gone with either one of those options I would have liked the movie much better.
My recommendation? Rent the original starring Katherine Ross and (my favorite) Paula Prentiss.
As for the remake, 1.5 clean kitchens out of five.