Rating: 
Summary: 70s Thriller Classic That Skewers its Era
Review: The Stepford Wives is a great, slick piece of entertainment. Beautifully shot, carefully directed and well cast, this makes for some first-rate entertainment. Is it about feminisim? Chauvanism? The quest for perfection? Any and all really. Goldman did a great job scripting Levin's novel. It is mysterious, creepy, sometimes languid and it still manages a great number of tongue-in-cheek moments. Ultimately, it's not WHAT is happening to these women (how many clues and winks can they give you) rather it's about whether our heroine will succumb to the same fate. The final shot is the ultimate gasp and chuckle moment. Ross, O'Neal and Masterson are fine. Paula Prentiss is the perfect wiseass who keeps it in check just enough so that she herself does not become a joke. The film holds up well and the DVD looks great. A must see.
Rating: 
Summary: I'll simply die if I don't get this recipe!
Review: THE STEPFORD WIVES was a unique film. It set out to make a horror film where clean spotless sunlit kitchens were just as scary as rainy spooky old mansions at midnight. Made in the mid 1970s during a wave of feminism and controversy over the ERA Ammendment - it never got the acclaim it deserved for it's building creepiness and Sci Fi twists. The remake is what it is, but here's where most people first glimpsed Stepford - a very real suburb where homemaking is a science. Katharine Ross(in an EXCELLENT turn)plays Joanna Eberhard who moves from NYC to Stepford with her husband and two daughters. She's a photographer and homemaker who's dabbled in the women's movement but never really taken up the cause. She begins to realize the women of Stepford are all obsessed with housework, and worse ... subservient and servile to their husbands. She joins up with another woman who finds this all strange, Bobbie -- played oustandingly by Paula Prentiss. Together they find out a string of clues that maybe not all is well in Stepford, and the seemingly benign suburban bliss may be MANUFACTURED by the creepy Men's Society that every husband is a part of. Bryan Forbes took over this project after speculations Brian De Palma should film it. He made a very effective treatment of the novel, but added his own touches. His wife Nannette Newman influenced the costumes by demanding rather than proposed Playboy bunny outfits the wives should look Victorian with hats and gloves and long dresses - creepy and sexy. Tina Louise (Ginger on Gilligan's Island) also makes a great cameo as Charmaine - one of Joanna and Bobbie's radical friends who transforms to a Stepford Wife by startingly ripping up her tennis court for a pool her husband wants. You get the film in widescreen, and the transfer is passable for a movie of this age. Colors are 1970s soft and there is grain, but it looks fine. You get a 12 minute featurette with all the principle players, and they explain how the movie was made and what it was like. Some people say the pacing was slow, but this was the 1970s! I think its suppposed to develop slowly like the novel, and you get to know the characters. The last ten minutes are completely shocking, and no test audiences made them whimp out (cough cough - the remake's ending was reshot). This was a politically relevant well-crafted film with great acting! Superb in every way! Check out the source novel by Ira Levin as well.
Rating:
Summary: an effective thriller; a good social commentary
Review: This movie has usually been reviewed as an effective thriller--which it is. And slow-moving--which it is, too, but in terms of this Pre-Rambo era, this was normal. Many features of the time were slow moving--The Conversation, The Parallax View, Soylent Green, and most notably, Picnic at Hanging Rock, were all excellent movies that took quite a while to get moving. You're supposed to absorb everything that's going on.
The Stepford Wives, however, is underrated as a social commentary of the times. It's probably the only good movie that deals with Feminism, which was a cultural war very much on our minds at the time.
Many of the references will probably bewilder those younger than 35. For example, the scene with Joanna and Bobby on the steps. Talk is made of "the Women's Lib thing in New York" "a Maidenform [bra] bonfire", a "consciousness-raising group". Concerning the "bonfire", burning bras was a big thing in the early 70s--it symbolized freedom from feminine restraints.
Watch the scene of the men's party at Joanna's house--the camera dwells on Joanna's feminine curves, very obviously both bra-less and pantiless. This is a visual allusion to the "bra-burning" trend. At the end of the movie, there's a scene with "Joanna", bra-less, and much better endowed than before. There's a scene with pantyhose--a vital scene--too revealing to give away here. Pantyhose, widely worn in the 70s, was that most feminine, that quasi-sexist garment that can be said to strangle Joanna's sensibilities, her independent ambitions. Our sensitivities have been numbed by a generation of mindless, Rambo-type movies. This is why many of the reviewers have looked at this movie with too literal an eye.
Some of the feminists allusions are too obvious to go into here. Suffice it to say they're numerous. As an example, one of the wives used to be the head of a women's group. Joanne and Bobby hear of this, and want to know more.
Listen closely to the dialogue. Much of the time, it's revealing. Bobby refuses to "squeeze the goddamn Charmin" or "become one of those 'pot-scrubbers'". The gossip talks about "the first black couple to move in town--is it a good thing"? Later on, in the supermarket scene, the new black couple is arguing. Listen closely--the wife's unhappy, and wants to leave Stepford, and we viewers can see the cycle starting all over again.
The only criticism I can land on this movie is that the editing is flabby in spots. Establishing shots, in particular, seem too drawn-out, even for the era. But overall, I highly recommend this movie, both as a thriller and as a social commentary of the times.
Rating: 
Summary: "You're the best, you're the champ, you're the master...!"
Review: Well, not quite. The sad thing about Ira Levin's brilliant little satirical Gothic about the backlash against Second Wave Feminism is that it's never quite received a film adaptation that does it justice. The 2004 comic version is a travesty, but even this 1975 original is not quite as good as you'd like: the pacing is very slow, especially at the beginning; the crucial part of Walter is underwritten; and while Katharine Ross is much better (especially in the last ten minutes, when she's superb) than she was given credit for at the time it's not quite the knockout performance the part of Joanna deserves. On the other hand, there are many things that make this film worth seeing, particularly the great dialogue and the fine supporting performances by Tina Louise, Nanette Newman, and (especially) Paula Prentiss as the heroine's best friend Bobbie. Indeed, there are several parts of the film that are literally unforgettable: Newman's much-quoted "breakdown" at the pool party ("I'll just die if I don't get this recipe!"); Joanna's consciousness raising session, with the Wives breathlessly promoting the joys of cleaning products; and, most of all, the great last scene, with the Wives placidly sweeping through the supermarket in their ruffled prairie dresses and sunhats as they patiently push their shopping carts...
Rating:
Summary: You'll Just Die If You Don't See This Movie
Review: Whether or not you've actually seen it, you'll probably have heard of "The Stepford Wives". Based on Ira Levin's novel, it was produced in the 1970s and has endured in the public consciousness ever since. Indeed the terms "Stepford" and "Stepford Wife" are now part of our vernacular. If you're in any doubt what these expressions mean, just imagine a woman who is the perfect male fantasy...a wife who cooks, cleans and keeps her husband's home to perfection whilst remaining an object of beauty, with well-preserved looks, sexy outfits and just the right-sized cleavage. A female who is there to service her man's every need - domestic, emotional, sexual - whilst never questioning her role as devoted housewife.The film tells the tale of New York housewife and photographer Joanna Eberhart, who moves with her lawyer husband Walter (sexy name - not!) and their two kids to the seemingly idyllic rural town of Stepford. Very soon Joanna becomes disenchanted with her surroundings, missing the liveliness of New York. Her feelings of isolation are compounded by the fact that the other women in the town appear content to stay at home for their husbands as loyal house fraus, with no outside interests whatsoever. Also, all new male arrivals in Stepford are invited to join "The Men's Association", an organisation from which the town's women are strictly excluded. Whatever goes on there remains a mystery; the women aren't told.Fortunately Joanna meets the effervescent and rebellious Bobby Marco, another recent arrival in Stepford who shares her concerns about the strange behaviour of the women in the community. Together they decide to set up a consciousness-raising group and rally to get the local women involved...almost to no avail! At the first meeting of the wives, the other women prefer to agonise over the cleanliness of their kitchens and talk about the wonders of "Easy-On" starch spray and baking. One other recruit is found though; a feisty redhead called Charmaine who feels restricted by her husband Ed's demands. However after a weekend away with him, Charmaine returns strangely altered, allowing her hubby to bulldoze her much-loved tennis court and confessing that she all she wanted to do was "please Ed...and boy am I gonna please him". Weird. Mystified, Joanna and Bobby seek an answer to the zombie-like behaviour of the local women, wondering if "something in the water" might be responsible. They enlist one of Joanna's ex boyfriends, who is a scientist, to help, but this fails to pay dividends. Joanna soon comes to the frightening realisation that the town's wives undergo a change in personality after they have been resident in Stepford for roughly three months... and her time is almost up... I won't give any more away but this is a thought-provoking and intriguing movie!! Although low on action, the film builds its sense of momentum through a growing feeling of paranoia: are the women in the town somehow being "substituted" for drone-like replacements? Or are all of Joanna's anxieties inside her own head? If you're looking for a fast-moving film you might be disappointed, but the cleverness of the movie lies in its subtlety and the way in which the events take place in a seemingly normal domestic setting. Another reason for this movie's success lies in the acting. Katherine Ross (also of "The Graduate") puts in an intelligent, sympathetic performance as a woman who feels increasingly hemmed in by the claustrophobia of Stepford, and you really root for her as she feels she might be next on the list for "conversion". Paula Prentiss is great as Bobby, a funny, bubbly and tomboyish character determined not to become "one of those pan-scrubbers" and the rapport between her and Joanna is believable and touching. Given her determination to escape Stepford, Bobby's last few scenes are all the more poignant; I won't say any more but they make for some of the film's best moments! The supporting cast do a good job: amongst these are Peter Masterson as Walter, becoming gradually less supportive of his wife's feelings and fears and more and more influenced by the demands of the "Men's Association"; and Nanette Newman as Carol Van Sant, one of the wives who starts behaving very oddly at a barbecue, continually proclaiming "I'll just die if I don't get that recipe" (!!) Newman's role as a wife is all the more ironic considering all those "Fairy Liquid" adverts she once did (remember?!) The movie has also attained a kitsch/camp quality over time, mostly due to the fact that it was made in the 1970s! This doesn't spoil the subtler elements to the film, rather makes it all the more entertaining! A large part of the camp appeal is down to the wives themselves - their appearance, behaviour and dialogue. According to this movie, men would like nothing better than to see their wives dressed in frilly blouses (still showing off their assets), flowery dresses and big floppy hats - hilarious. The wives all say things like "I really shouldn't say it, but I just love my brownies" (that's cakes in case you were wondering) and constantly praise their husbands' performances in the bedroom department: "You're the King....you're the Master"!! No comment! To summarise this is a very enjoyable movie, which, as I have already mentioned, shows the dangers of male fantasies coming true and the perils that women must face having to exist in a patriarchal society. Go buy it...but don't get any ideas about changing your girlfriend...okay?!
Rating:
Summary: The original visit to the quaint little town of Stepford
Review: With the remake of "The Stepford Wives" coming out on DVD next week I decided to watch the 1975 original again. This is one of the most understated horror films of all time, more akin to an episode of "The Twilight Zone" than the bloodbaths that usually defined the genre at that time. Of course, with William Goldman adapting Ira Levin's novel, you knew that this one was going to be more cerebral.
Stepford is a quaint little Connecticut town where the Eberharts have moved to in order to escape from New York City, whose urban horrors are reduced to the sight of a man carrying an inflatable rubber doll down the street. The decision to move the family was done by the husband, Walter (Peter Masterson), who apparently makes all of the decisions for the Eberharts, much to the distress of his wife, Joanna (Katharine Ross). She finds the idyllic life of Stepford to be too different and actually admits she misses the noise of the big city. While her husband makes plans to join the local men's club, Joanna finds herself turning back to her love of photography as a way of keeping sane. Then she finds a kindred spirit in neighbor Bobbie Markowe (Paula Prentiss), and they go off in search of other like-minded ladies for some increasingly necessary female bonding.
Everything that is wrong with Stepford is personified by Carol Van Sant (Nanette Newman), the perfect model of a Stepford wife, who lives next door. There is something odd about Carol, for whom cleanliness is before everything else. All of the other wives seem to be like Carol, with the exception of Charmaine Wimperis (Tina Louise), who seems all ready to complete the triad of sanity with Joanna and Bobbie. But then, overnight, Charmaine becomes just like Carol and the others. Bobbie thinks it has to be the water. Of course, she never suspects the truth until it is way too late.
Of course everybody knows the twist. "The Stepford Wives" became a paradigm for the flip side of the feminist movement of the Sixties. While many women were interested in having their consciousness raised, some men were wishing they could drag their spouses back to the Stone Age. Of course, Levin found a solution by going in the opposite direction.
My reading of this film has always been slightly idiosyncratic. My sympathies are with Joanna, not because she is a gifted artist with a camera who deserves to become self-actualized and do more with her life than take care of the house and kids seven days a week, but because she is Katharine Ross. After "The Graduate" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," Ross was the actress from the Sixties that I thought of as being the most beautiful. Consequently, when Walter is unsatisfied with his wife I find it unbelievable because the man is married to Katharine Ross. She is bright, she is articulate, she has a cute smile to go along with great eyes, and there is no reason to enhance her bust line. Walter is a toad who has married far above what he deserves.
"The Stepford Wives" is an exercise in misdirection, and not simply because most of the clues hint at something simpler than advanced robotics. The story spends most of its time trying to figure WHAT is going on, with directly addressing the question of WHY. Goldman's satire is often too subtle. A pivotal scene is when Joanna, Carol and Charmaine get together with a couple of the other wives to unburden themselves. The three women each admit deep dark secrets, unbarring their souls. The other women get rhapsodic over cleaning agents. Clearly there is a wide gulf here, but the idea that gender equality would result in a male backlash that would do more than simply yearn for the good ol' days never becomes explicit. There is a lot more going on here than rehashing "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" for a new generation.
The movie also requires Joanna not to put two and two together in enough time to flee Stepford, although she does have two children who can be used against her at the key moment. Still, "The Stepford Wives" cannot be accused of being heavy handed, which is usually the fatal flaw in such thrillers and the final scene is as elegant a conclusion to a horror movie as you are going to find in the genre. I still pity the Stepford husbands, who think that perfect housewives make the world a far, far better place.
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