Bewitched (2005)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Nora Ephron

Writers (WGA):

Nora Ephron (written by) &
Delia Ephron (written by) ...

Release Date:

24 June 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

Be warned. Be ready.

Plot:

Thinking he can overshadow an unknown actress in the part, an egocentric actor unknowingly gets a witch cast in an upcoming television remake of the classic show "Bewitched".

Plot Keywords:

Witch | Actor | Actress | Hex | Love

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Isabel Bigelow / Samantha
Will Ferrell	...	Jack Wyatt / Darrin
Shirley MacLaine	...	Iris Smythson / Endora
Michael Caine	...	Nigel Bigelow
Jason Schwartzman	...	Ritchie
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Maria Kelly
Heather Burns	...	Nina
Jim Turner	...	Larry
Stephen Colbert	...	Stu Robison
David Alan Grier	...	Jim Fields
Michael Badalucco	...	Joey Props
Carole Shelley	...	Aunt Clara
Steve Carell	...	Uncle Arthur
Katie Finneran	...	Sheila Wyatt
James Lipton	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some language, including sex and drug references, and partial nudity.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:S | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Norway:A | Taiwan:GP | Argentina:Atp | Germany:o.Al. (f) | Brazil:Livre | Sweden:Btl | Belgium:KT | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Portugal:M/6 | Malaysia:U | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:12 | Peru:PT | New Zealand:PG | UK:PG | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Ireland:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40125) | Iceland:L | Hong Kong:IIA | Philippines:G

Filming Locations:

Book Soup - 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

When Uncle Arthur (in the form of his actual character from the show, materialized briefly in the real world) wants to drive Jack somewhere, Jack brings up an episode where Uncle Arthur was a bad driver. Uncle Arthur replies that it really wasn't him, that he's a good driver. Uncle Arthur was originally played by Paul Lynde, and before Uncle Arthur was a character on the show, Paul Lynde guest starred as a driving instructor with anxiety problems. Therefore, it wasn't Uncle Arthur he referred to but another character played by Paul Lynde.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Isabel is sitting after Jack tells her to call her with his shoe you can see her tea bag hanging out of her cup but when they switch back to her it is gone and then back again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Isabel Bigelow: [Outside a house at which Isabel has just landed and made available for rent, furnished, with an open house today] It's perfect!
Realtor: Oh, great!
Isabel Bigelow: I'll take it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in All Our Variant Futures (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Wedding March

Deader Than a George Romero Movie

I'd read the bad reviews for this movie, but I've been seeing the boy's adventure, big budget movies, from "Kingdom of Heaven" to "War of the Worlds," and thought it would be nice to take in a romantic comedy.

Mistake. Even if you are a hardcore romantic comedy fan, stay away from "Bewitched." It's deader than a George Romero movie. It just sits there, lifelessly, on screen, reeking of rotten egg.

There are so many talented people here -- Will Ferrel, Nora Ephron, Shirley Maclaine -- how could this movie be so bad? Someone could write a dissertation answering just that question.

It's not romantic. It's not funny. It's not even coherent.

Nicole Kidman lacks warmth. She tries to convey warmth here by imitating Marilyn Monroe so blatantly you want to reach onto the screen and tell her to stop.

Will Ferrel has made me laugh many times. Here? I was feeling sorry for him.

Maclaine, Caine, Steve Colbert ... all wasted.

See, movies need, oh, say, characters, dialog, and plot. "Bewitched"'s scenes include shots of Nicole Kidman watching Elizabeth Montgomery in the old TV series. Character, dialog, and narrative are not served by such scenes. All these scenes did was remind the audience of how good Elizabeth Montgomery was at playing the role that Kidman was failing at, and how much better the old TV show was than this movie.