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 Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | 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:

Kristin Chenoweth's part was written specifically for her, because Nicole Kidman very much enjoyed her performance as Glinda in the Broadway musical "Wicked."

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 "Gilmore Girls: Fight Face (#6.2)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

The Name Game

Nicole Kidman More Than Holds Her Own With Will Ferrell.

Although it was not quite what I expected, Bewitched was not as bad as I have been led to believe, either. I am guessing that Will Ferrell is spreading himself a little too thin, as this movie was not as funny as his movies usually are. I did enjoy a couple of genuine, hearty laughs from this film, but again, not as many as expected. With those expectations in mind, this movie might seem to fall a little flat, but looking at the movie as a whole, it was still a delightful, little comedy that I enjoyed. Sure, it was not Bewitched, the sitcom, but it simply used the television series as somewhat of a guide line to go by. The story is a bit confusing when trying to compare to the show but is fine otherwise.

Jack Wyatt (Ferrell) is a down and out, nearly washed-up actor that has many bombs to his credit. He hatches a plan to remake the TV series "Bewitched", with himself in the starring role as Darren. The main difference between the remade TV show and the original is that Darren would be the focus and not Samantha, so for this reason, Jack decides he wants an unknown actress for the role, one he can virtually walk all over without knowing any better.

Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman, who is perfect for the role) is a naive witch who has just decided that she no longer wants to live her life getting everything she wants at the snap of her fingers and chooses to live more "normal", against the wishes of her father, Nigel Bigelow (Michael Caine).

Eventually, after many auditions, Jack runs into Isabel and is convinced she is perfect for the role. She is hesitant at first but decides to do the show. Everything is going fine until Isabel overhears Jack talking with the producers about how well the plan was going and this is where the fun begins. The scorned witch unleashes hell on poor Jack in many embarrassing situations.

We are even treated to cameos by Aunt Clara (Carole Shelley) and Uncle Arthur (Steve Carell). I am not sure how Uncle Arthur fit into the story other than to get Carell to do some hilarious stuff but Aunt Clara is actually Isabel's Aunt Clara, meant to be a coincidence. The resemblance between Carole Shelley and the original Aunt Clara, Marion Lorne, was absolutely uncanny. I was convinced she was the original, right down to her voice.

Overall, if you do not shoot your expectations too high, this is a nice little comedy featuring Ferrell, with Nicole Kidman more than holding her own with him. Isabel was a lovable and cute character. Bewitched did have a few surprises and was worthy of watching. 7/10