Bewitched

Plot synopsis:
After a couple of movies flopped badly, a film star, Jack, agrees to a TV role as Darrin in a revival of Bewitched. His intent is to make Darrin the major part. He wants an unknown to play Elizabeth Montgomery's role (Samantha) so she won't try to upstage him. A real witch trying to act human becomes romantically interested in Jack and is cast as Samantha because she can do the nose twitch. But the audience prefers her to him. She becomes disillusioned when she realizes what an egotistical jerk he really is. After quarrels in which she uses her powers, Jack finally realizes he's been a jerk and reforms.--------------------------------Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman), who has been a real witch her whole life, moves to San Fernando Valley to try to be a normal person. Isabel wants to feel the hardships that mortal people experience everyday by not using her powers. Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) is a movie star whose career has gone down since his last picture lost millions. His agent gets him a job on a remake of the Bewitched television show as Darrin Stephens. Jack wants an unknown actress to play the part of Samantha. The casting call goes out and the search is on. Jack sees Isabel twitch her nose at a book store and follows her. Jack thinks she is the perfect choice to play Samantha. What they don't know is that Isabel is a witch. While filming the show, Isabel uses her witchcraft to get events to go her way. Isabel has a little help from her father (Michael Caine). Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)Will Ferrell is Jack Wyatt an actor with minimal talent whose career has been declining steadily. Desperately seeking something that will boost his sagging career and his self esteem, Jack agrees to star in a re-make of the TV show Bewitched on the condition that he gets a complete unknown for the female lead to play opposite him. This will ensure that the audience will only be left with Jack to see with lots of screen time. Jack and the producers audition a long roster of wannabes, and in a period of frustration, he sees Isabel (Nicole Kidman) at a caf and begs her to become an actress and work in his TV show. He is confused when she initially rebuffs his advances, mistaking his attention as declaration of love. Since she is a witch and has been brought up in a world of spells and goblins, without TV, she is unaware of Elizabeth Montgomerys role of Samantha Stevens and the legacy of the TV show Bewitched. Isabel is trying to be a regular mortal person, and ultimately trying to catch a normal husband form the mortal side of reality. During the course of events she finds she must use her magical powers to help things along. But in the end she discovers that she must decide finally between a life spent on earth with mortal man or return home, where she will be a witch forever more.

Tags: romantic, comedy, cute

Review:
There were so many ways this movie could have went instead of disappointing the true die hard Bewitched fans.Weak plot, undefined characters, I truly felt as if someone said, "OK, we're bored with this, let's piece it together and call it a day." It would been nice if Isabel could have been seen as someone who was smarter and not so vulnerable and innocent.I would put this in the same category of any 12 year old "I wanna be a pricess" movie.
The movie isn't technically a "remake" of "Bewitched," since the witch played by Nicole Kidman isn't the Samantha Stevens of the series but rather a single woman named Isabel Bigelow who gets to PLAY Samantha Stephens on TV.
One afternoon while at a bookstore, she is spotted by one Jack Wyatt, a pompous, self-centered movie actor whose career and personal life have both been in the tank of late and who is hoping to at least jumpstart the former by taking on the role of Darrin Stevens in a new version of the old series.
One glimpse of Isabel's nose-twitching ability convinces him that this non-actress would be perfect for the part, so we wind up, in true Pirandellian fashion, with a fictional TV witch being played by an honest-to-God real life witch.The overriding problem with this film is that it completely undercuts the very elements that made Samantha such a likable and compelling figure for millions of spellbound American viewers.
The same goes for Will Ferrell in the role of the pseudo-Darrin whose over-the-top turn here is the movie equivalent of fingernails being dragged across a chalkboard for a grueling one hour and forty minutes (the combined running time of almost four episodes in the original series).
Michael Caine as Isabel's warlock father and Shirley MacLaine as a real life witch who happens to be playing Endora are both old pros enough to turn in decent performances, but even they will undoubtedly want to expunge this turkey from their otherwise illustrious resumes as soon as possible.In the TV "Bewitched," there was a certain subtle tension built into the premise that carried through from episode to episode.
The Stevenses had to find ways to keep the outside world from finding the truth out about Samantha's real identity, not always an easy task what with Endora or Aunt Clara or Uncle Arthur popping in unannounced at all hours of the day or night casting a spell on some poor, unsuspecting mortal or wreaking havoc on the young couple's marital harmony and domestic bliss.
One would certainly never know it by watching this film.The one positive thing to be said about this movie is that it doesn't come saddled with one of those insipid, mind-numbing laugh tracks that are regularly slapped onto TV sitcoms - but then again even a laugh track wouldn't find much to chortle over here..
Why did they have to devise this complicated and nonsensical storyline about a lousy movie actor (Will Ferrell) who plans on saving his floundering career by starring in a TV remake of "Bewitched"?
(Too bad they couldn't just rewind this whole movie and start over again.) Kidman has an appealing screen presence and probably could have done a good job in an actual "Bewitched" story.
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.
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.
The movie comes to a grinding halt when they appear.The script writing is quite clever, and Nicole Kidman (happy birthday today!) is great, as always.
Isabel Bigelow is a witch who is trying to stop relying on her magical powers and start a new and more ordinary life.A chance meeting with Hollywood actor Jack Wyatt leads to her being offered the lead role of Samantha in a remake of the TV series Bewitched.
Nicole Kidman is fresh faced and innocent as Isabel and Will Ferrell makes an adequate Jack.Michael Caine also makes a great star turn as Isabel's randy warlock dad.This is a sweet love story which doesn't rely too heavily on special effects as many such remakes have a tendency to do.
Aunt Clara doesn't appear in the show-within-the-movie (as much as we see), but other characters remember her from the old series - and are amazed that Isabel is playing Samantha and actually has an Aunt Clara!
It's like a love-letter to the original Bewitched TV series, which is why Aunt Clara and Uncle Arthur are there, and why there are some in-jokes that you won't get if you haven't watched much of the series.
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?
"Bewitched"'s scenes include shots of Nicole Kidman watching Elizabeth Montgomery in the old TV series.
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..
I think Nicole Kidman is a fine actor, and I have enjoyed her work, in her chosen profession, many times, in the past, but this film was really a terrible movie.
At least Chevy Chase could fall down and get a laugh when he needed to.There was no chemistry between any of the characters like there was in some of Efrons' previous work like Mixed Nuts.I was a fan of the TV series and as a TV comedy I was not expecting too much from it and therefore I was not disappointed.Finally, where was the magic?
They had look-alike actors playing the parts of Uncle Arthur (Steve Carell) & Aunt Clara (Carole Shelley) as well, but not on the TV set in the movie, they were shown as being related to the real life side of Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman), like they really were her true relatives.
I guess they thought that having a big star like Kidman or Ferrell would cause the audience to ignore the terrible writing but it definitely didn't do anything of the sort.Seriously, if you have any respect for yourself, do not go see "Bewitched.".
This is easily the worst movie of the year.So the movie is about TV producers who are re-starting the Bewitched TV series and cast a has been movie actor Jack Wyatt, played by Will Ferrell (Kicking & Screaming) and an unknown woman Isabelle Bigelow, played by Nicole Kidman (The Interpreter,) to play Samantha.
She is radiant in the film, looking like a porcelain doll come to life.As for the rest of the cast, Will Ferrell was good in his role, although I have never been a fan of his humor and the character was nothing new for him.
The only thing that saves this movie from drowning is the casting of Shirley MacLaine as Endora,and Micheal Caine as the father of Kidman's character.
Actor Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) is not happy about getting a job playing Darren on a remake of the '60s show "Bewitched" until he meets Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman), his beautiful co-star who will be playing the role of his witch wife, Samantha.
I was expecting a 2-hour version of a TV-like episode, with a cute, updated story line, and some laughs, but this was just not cute, and not funny, and even the talented Will Ferrell couldn't save it.
Will is OK, he gets to ad lib every so often (always comedic gold), but Nicole Kidman's performance is almost painful, she should maybe think about not signing on for the first movie she hears about as soon as she finishes one, maybe take a summer off (God knows she has a enough money to buy a moderately sized country).Hopefully Mr. Ferrell doesn't disappoint in Wedding Crashers.
With movies tickets at $10, I suggest people watch Nick at Nite reruns of the original series and save their money for something worthy of seeing on a BIG screen.
Appearances by Uncle Arthur, Gladys Kravitz, and Aunt Clara suffice any fans of the classic-show, while the fantastic writing and direction by the Ephrons suffices those who crave creativity at the cinema, which is to say the film has its own look, voice, and absolute CHARM.Nicole Kidman plays Isabelle Bigelow, a witch, hoping to shed herself of "instant-gratification" and simply be: in a world as beautiful as real life.
Meanwhile, Will Ferrell as Jack Wyatt, a washed-up movie star, attempts to remake the TV show Bewitched for modern times, with the clear goal of finding an unknown actress for Samantha.
Their undeniable chemistry makes the film most definitely fun to watch.With a magnanimous slew of supporting players, including Michael Caine as Isabelle's father, the legendary Shirley MacLaine as the remake's Endora, Jason Schwartzman as Jack Wyatt's ultra-power, sleaze-bag agent, and a very funny Kristin Chenoweth as Isabelle's neighbor, every second of Bewitched is filled with wonderful comedic energy.And all of this is to thank Nora Ephron, who skillfully crafts a comedy of great-expectations with creativity, style, experience, and fearlessness.
She at the same time pays homage to the original series, creates a new film, and tacks on some heartwarming messages.Thanks to the fabulous pairing and individual pairings of Kidman and Ferrell, a great supporting cast, and fantastic execution can turn a great "foundation" into a great movie, and it doesn't have to be a remake, either..
Instead of making this movie a straight remake of the original show's storyline, they made the story about a mediocre actor (Will Ferrell) who decides to make a remake of the show "Bewitched" and, just by coincidence, a real witch (Nicole Kidman) happens to be cast as his co-star.
As for the secondary characters, most of them, including some big names like Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine, were just so poorly written into the story that most of the time they seem to have no clear purpose except to come in now and again just to break the monotony or advance the shaky plot.The story, itself, is laughable because the whole plot of the movie seems to hinge upon an ever-growing series of unbelievable coincidences that had to happen apparently for there to even be any action in the movie at all.
This is where some of the poor writing plays a big part because, while fans of the old show may be familiar with all the characters and everything, people who have never seen the show will probably feel a bit lost kind of like they're watching a sequel to a movie they've never seen before or more-so like they're the only ones who are left out of one big inside joke.
Nicole Kidman was delightful, and she and Will Ferrell have very good on-screen chemistry, but the story was weak, and the roles were written even weaker.
He ultimately made a very charming Darren, and I did enjoy him in the part, but there seemed to be a good bit of distracting personality conflicts there too, as if the writers couldn't decide what picture to paint of this guy.Some characters just shouldn't have been touched - if you can't create something entirely unique to draw the audience in, then please, please, don't put some otherwise talented actor up as shark bait in a role they can't possibly reach up to - I'm referring to Uncle Arthur, and poor Steve Carell's attempt to imitate the incomparable Paul Lynde.
I just thought it was the work of bad marketing which we have seen so many times before and looking at the cast consisting of Will Ferrell, Nicole Kidman, Michael Caine, Stephen Colbert, Jason Schwartzman, and Steve Carell, I figured it had to be half way decent.
Well continue reading to find out.In the movie "Bewitched," Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) is a big time actor who has made some bad film choices and is now a down on his luck actor.
But then Jack finds out that Isabel is really a witch like the character Samantha, she plays on the TV series.
"Kicking and Screaming" was passable but was something I have seen 10 times before and now the incredibly awful "Bewitched." Please start reading your scripts again Mr. Ferrell you can be funny; you just need to actually be in a movie that has a funny or witty script There is no excuse what so ever for how badly this film sucked!
I am no Bewitched fan, so I was not going to this movie full of interest, but I think Nicole Kidman can act (great especially in Eyes Wide Shurt and The Others) and, in fact, she is the best thing in this piece of $%&*.
This film is not worth a dime and I haven't even seen it and never want to either, and what a dumb script, loyal fans will be disgusted with it, I personally cannot see anyone else as Samantha as I love Elizabeth Montgomery and feel this movie is just a cheap and cheesy way of ripping of Elizabeth Montgomery's trademark, her cute twitch, it should not have been allowed, what is Hollywood thinking?
How could Nicole Kidman ever decide to play such a terrible script?This is the WORST movie I have ever seen.
I have never seen a bad movie with either Nicole Kidman, Michael Caine or Shirley MacLaine in it and generally anything Penny Marshall is associated with is at least good.
Movies like Bewitched make me a little sad: Such a waste of talent, on all levels -- from the cast to the crew -- not to mention a waste of time and money.
The story is that Nicole Kidman, a real witch, gets hired to play Samantha in a TV remake and falls for the has-been movie actor (Will Ferrell) who is starring as Darrin.
Nicole Kidman is a talented and lovely actress, but Will Ferrell has less charm and acting ability than either of the two Darrens from the original show.
His character in the movie is supposed to be an egotistical ham actor, but all he succeeds in doing is demonstrating that he is, in fact, just an egotistical ham actor -- even when he's supposed to be displaying his "sensitive side".There were lots of things they could have done with the idea of a modern-day remake of "Bewitch" that unwittingly casts a real witch in the role of Samantha -- but what they actually did with it was just noodle around for two hours without ever realizing the potential the concept possessed..
The only good thing I can say about this film is that they did a great job making Shirley Maclaine look like Endora.
(and keep his clothes on) I loved him in Elf...but his last few movies...Wow. I am a huge fan of Nicole Kidman, Michael Caine & Shirley MacLaine, but even they could not save this piece of black cat vomit.
I'm a true blue "Bewitched" Fan as it is--and I was leery--especially because the Critic's are slamming the movie(and Nicole Kidman-and Will Ferrell)--but it was great!!
You can't take an old time favorite like Bewitched, try making it into a movie and completely mess it up!
The directors and producers and everyone else behind the makings of this movie should have sat down and watched every single Bewitched show and carefully try and remake it to be something like that.
I didn't have very high hopes for this film to begin with, but I like Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman, so I figured why not??!!
(And from what we see of the new version, I'd be surprised if it lasted more than a month before getting cancelled.) She then goes and breaks her own rules by playing mix-and-match with the show's characters (some, like Aunt Clara, are fictional; others turn out to be real - enter Gladys Kravitz in the movie's illogical coda), and also handles her own plot in a shockingly shoddy fashion - in particular the subplot with our heroine's father and her co-star as Endora (Shirley MacLaine), who herself turns out to be a witch, which is just left hanging."Bewitched" wants to have it both ways, as a send-up of the TV nostalgia business and as a movie version of the show, but all it succeeds in doing is infuriating viewers and wasting some fine Sony Pictures Imageworks effects and a lot of talent (though Will Ferrell does get one of the only two truly funny scenes as the egotistical has-been cast as Darrin, when he engages in some magically-assisted hamming over a dog; Steve Carell gets the other one as Uncle Arthur).
The only thing that felt more forced that the romance was Ferrel trying to make you laugh and instead making you wonder "what time is it?"2 stars because at least Nicole didn't act like a tool..
You can see Nicole Kidman working as hard as she can to breathe some life into the film -- alas, to no avail.I usually can find something good to say about most movies, in this case I really can't.
Will Ferrell is NOT Darrin Stephens; he is Jack Wyatt.I loved the way Nicole Kidman played Isabel!