Director Nora Ephron, with the help of Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman, succeeds in creating a romantic comedy based on the television series, "Bewitched."
Ephron directed "You've Got Mail" and "Sleepless in Seattle," giving her experience in directing this kind of film. Will Ferrell brings his share of comedy to it, while Kidman perfectly offsets him. This new "Bewitched" brings the old television series back to life with an updated look to appeal to a new generation of viewers.
This time, Jack Wyatt (Ferrell) is trying his hand at a TV sitcom after failing miserably in his film career. As a former movie star, with the key word being "former," Wyatt believes that the whole show should revolve around him. In this instance, Wyatt demands the producers of the show cast a no-name actress to play the part of Samantha.
Isabel Bigelow (Kidman) has many of the same characteristics as Samantha, including a wiggling nose and blonde hair. She's also a witch.
Isabel, like Samantha, just wants to live a normal life away from her supernatural upbringing and decides to move away and start a normal life. Things are going well until Jack Wyatt runs into her and notices that she has a strange resemblance to Samantha.
Jack and Isabel seem like the perfect on-screen couple, but the one-sided relationship is doomed to fail. Jack is trying to use the series to get his career back on track. He gets all the good lines and Isabel finds she is only there to make him look good. Things start to backfire.
Isabel begins to make her own part since she doesn't really have one. She begins to steal Jack's limelight. In one scene, Jack (or Darren in the series) is trying to get a dog to come to him. Isabel uses her magic to get the dog to come to her instead and with the help of some witty lines, steals the scene from Jack. The show's ratings indicate viewers like Samantha more than Darren, making its producers realize that Samantha needs bigger parts.
Although the series slowly becomes a big hit remake, Jack still has no idea that he is actually living the same "Bewitched" life from the show in which he appears. When things seem like they are going so great for Jack and Isabel, Isabel decides Jack should know she is a witch. This doesn't go over with Jack as well as Isabel had hoped. Her magic isn't good enough.
The TV version of "Bewitched" aired before I was even born, but I still remember seeing reruns on Nick at Night, the block of nighttime programming for adults on Nickelodeon. I always enjoyed the series, and was anxious to see where the big screen would take it. Ferrell brought all the comedy one would expect from a "Saturday Night Live" star. Even Nicole Kidman added to the film. There was both romance and comedy in this romantic comedy, which makes it a great date movie. It's fun for the family as well.
"Bewitched" gets four out of five pitchforks.
Reach the reporter at brian.kirshman@asu.edu.
