Bewitched

Dream Works Pictures presents

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine

Directed by: Nora Ephron

Rating: ***1/2

Plot: Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell)  is an over the top movie actor whose last big picture bombed hard, hell it didn't sell one DVD, that's bad. So he movies on to television to remake the hit television show Bewitched, hints the title. On his hunt for the perfect Samantha he finds Isabel (Nicole Kidman) who can wiggle her nose and is perfect for the role. Maybe too perfect, later Wyatt finds out she is actually a witch. Can a stuck up actor fall in love with a witch without being turned into some sort of hideous animal? Well duh, this movie is kind of lame but somehow its actually pretty funny. Nicole Kidman wagging her nose and Will Ferrell being somewhat funny ensues.

Acting: Nicole Kidman is simply the actress of our time. She is just a brilliant actress, if you don't believe me go rent the film Birth and find out for yourself. Here she breaks out of her mold of serious roles and plays a cute lovable witch who only by accident stars in a show about a witch. Her comedic timing and constant cuteness is what makes this movie enjoyable. What is apparent is she had fun working on this film, because of that every time she is on screen we feel her joy and it pumps you up, no matter how stupid the plot feels you still find yourself laughing and admiring Isabel. Will Ferrell was such an odd choice for this movie. When I heard he was playing Darrin my head almost blew off because Ferrell is not that character. Here he is half of the time funny. His jokes are constant and sometimes hit but most of the time bomb. That is problem with Will Ferrell movies, sometimes you get a 100% laugh riot but most of time it's about 50% or less. Old School he was perfect, but Anchorman was pointless and Kicking and Screaming felt weird in places. The one major problem with this movie is the love story between the two leads, it simply doesn't work, I don't buy it. Ferrell never lets up with his over the top crap and I just don't see the attraction. The supporting cast is amazing though, Michael Caine mails in his performance as Isabel's dad and still manages to be funny. Steve Carell has one scene where he plays Uncle Arthur which had me laughing my lungs out of my mouth, well maybe not that graphic. Kidman and these characters plus one or two good timed scenes with Ferrell almost made this movie a great comedy, almost is the key word.

Directing/Writing: When I first heard of this movie I thought they were making the show into a movie which I thought was insane and really stupid. This film is not insane but still a little stupid, as you leave the theater you might find yourself asking why you ever watched the movie, you won't find an answer, because this movie really has no point. There are many fun scenes where Isabel uses her magic to do cool stuff but its nothing we haven't seen on shows like Charmed and what not. The comedy like I said before is sometimes there, one or two good jokes and then some slow moments. Also the last half of the movie moves much slower than the first. It's as if they had only the first half of the script to work from and then made it up the rest of the way. Still there were some fun moments and I was never bored or pissed off I just was not laughing all the time. That and not buying the love story hindered me from really liking this movie. Kidman almost saves it the director knew how to use her and when because she is very charming through out the film. In the end though there was not point and laughs were just not there to fully push this movie into the great comedy section.

Overall: A good time if you want to waste almost two hours, or a date movie where you want to focus more on your date than the movie. I feel the real problem here is the fans of the original show will see this movie and roll their eyes or just simply leave the theater, because this movie almost has nothing to do with the original except some fun inside jokes. So basically Ferrell is sometimes funny and Kidman is cute but nothing to jump on your broom sticks and fly off to the theaters for.