Bewitched

Are a few good laughs worth wasting 100 minutes of time? For me, the answer is a resounding "No!" There are far more promising avenues to explore in the quest for laughter than the dead-end represented by Will Farrell's latest endeavor, Bewitched. Putting aside the juvenile humor (which is admittedly, albeit unevenly, funny), all that's left is a woefully underwritten motion picture. The last 30 minutes is so godawful that it almost sent me screaming from the theater.

When you consider that this film stars one of the most successful comedic actors of the past decade as well as a very cool premise revolving around a beloved old TV show, this could have been a much funnier movie. Instead, we're left with a handful of chuckles and not enough gas to cover the film's short runtime. We also get a butchering of that beloved old TV show. This thing tries to be too cute for it's own good. It's a film about a film about an old TV show called Bewitched. GACK. Just call it awful and be done with it.

The basic story is that Jack Wyatt, a washed-up movie actor, needs a new angle and decides it is television. Everyone settles on re-activating "Bewitched." Now he needs a Samantha and by accident picks the real thing (a witch).

You could guess the rest.

Everyone tried too hard. It was not uniquely anything except nothing.

Will Ferrell is not good at anything; in this case, he does his best at being annoying. Nicole Kidman is too cute at being cutesy. Only Michael Caine holds it together. That is what there is to hold together.

You do not even feel like kibitzing and will be glad when it is over.

It had so much potential... but they really blew it. They had so many great actors but a bad script. I had wanted to see this movie for so long because I had loved the TV show. And while I was sitting there I was waiting for moment where I thought it would get better but it never came. It seemed to go downhill with every passing moment. The movie dragged and dragged on. Shirley McLaine and Michael Caine's story was never resolved and the appearance of Uncle Arthur was forced and ridiculous. Aunt Clara was also another character that just wasn't written well at all. The special effects were done well but there wasn't enough of them...and considering this was about a witch, I expected more. If you loved the TV show, then you will be disappointed. If you never watched the TV show, you will be clueless and completely bored. The only good thing... Nicole Kidman was cute. And her clothes were nice. But cute and nice weren't enough.

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

Conceited fading film star Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) has agreed to star as Darren in a redo of the old TV series "Bewitched". He wants an unknown to play Samantha--his wife who is also a witch. Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kideman) is an actual witch who wants to live a mortal life against the wishes of her father (Michael Caine). Ferrell sees her and wants to cast her in the series. There's the joke--a REAL witch trying to portray a fake witch on TV. Unfortunately that joke is repeated over and over and OVER in the film. It's a one joke film.

The film does have a lot of things going for it--Kidman is a delight as Isabel; Caine is lots of fun as her father; Shirley MacLaine has a short funny role playing Iris Smythson who plays Endora; the film looks great; the special effects are flawless and there are some great old appropriate songs scattered throughout. Unfortnataly the bad things outnumber the good.

For one thing Will Ferrell--I personally can't stand the guy. I've never found him funny. This movie doesn't change my opinion but he's not as bad as usual. Isabel also comes across as an idiot. She seems completely in awe of EVERYTHING in the world. She acts like she just came from another planet. Kidman's light performance saves her character from becoming completely unbearable. Also I could have lived without the constant product placement for Bed, Bath & Beyond. But the main problem is that the movie just isn't that funny. I smiled a few times but that was it. It's VERY likable--but nothing else.

**SPOILER ALERT** The movie is almost saved by Steve Carell doing a quick (and VERY funny) bit imitating Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur. Still that comes in 90 minutes into the movie--too late to save it. **END SPOILER**

An OK but not very fun movie. It's easy to see why this bombed. I give it a 6.