It's hard to imagine "Bewitched" having an overall score of 4.8 on IMDB. This would indicate that it's a pretty bad film...which is hard to imagine since the film stars Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell...and was written and directed by Nora Ephron. Yet, somehow the film was not a hit and is thought of as one of the worst movie any of these folks ever made...if not THE worst. I was curious about this...so I decided to torture myself and see.
Instead of just making a remake of the TV show, Ephron decided to do something unusual. The film is about an obnoxious and self-centered actor, Jack (Ferrell) and his attempt to make a new version of the old TV show "Bewitched". And, in the process, he accidentally comes in contact with a REAL witch, Isabel (Kidman), and hires her to co-star in this reboot. Unfortunately, she soon realizes that Jack is a jerk who wants her to essentially be a nothing on the show...with him, alone, being the star. She's furious and decides to hex him...or quit the show. What's next? See the film...or not.
So why did so many folks dislike this movie? Well, I think it's for a variety of reasons. First, and perhaps the biggest problem, is that it really is NOT a remake. Folks who adored the TV show were no doubt disappointed to see this. Second, and it's more of a minor quibble, but some characters are supposed to be from the show and others, such as Aunt Clara, are supposed to be real witches. This is pretty confusing and made little sense. Third, Will Ferrell's character was supposed to be unlikable...or at least an obnoxious actor. But they simply made him TOO unlikable...a real jerk. His being this awful also is a problem as it's hard to keep your interest in the story when you hate one of the main characters. Sure, he becomes nice later...but by then it's too late AND the transformation made little sense. Fourth, the film really could have been very funny. Oddly, however, there's barely a laugh in the film...and with these situations it's hard to imagine it not being funny. Fifth, with all this talent (not just Kidman, Ferrell and Ephron but Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine and Jason Schwartzman are in the movie), you expect so much better. Overall, it isn't terrible but it isn't very good either...and disappointing.
By the way, was there much about this film I liked? Well, I loved hearing Steve Lawrence singing "Bewitched", as if you didn't know better, you'd swear it was Sinatra himself singing the tune....that was pretty incredible.
