Not as ‘Bewitching’ as the Original

I’ll admit, I’ve only seen a few episodes of the original Bewitched on Nick at Night, and while it’s a cute show, it didn’t really strike me as a huge classic hit.

Fast forward to summer 2005, where the plan is to remake the TV show into a star-studded movie. Starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell, the movie does a good job at entertaining people looking for a fun, feel-good flick. However, I don’t see this film being a classic, or up for Oscars anytime soon.

Kidman plays sugar-sweet Isadora Bigelow, a real witch who’s sick of the witch life, and just wants a job and a chance to experience the same thing as real people. She decides to trade in her get-anything-at-any-time magic lifestyle (save for a few impromptu spells here and there) for one that seems ‘normal’ and that she has to really work at.

Opposite Kidman is funny man Will Ferrell as Jack Wyatt–a washed up actor looking to rebound in the entertainment business in a remake of Bewitched. Ferrell isn’t as funny in this film as he has been in previous movies such as Elf and Dodgeball, but he still manages to hold his own and keep the movie entertaining.

Jason Schwartzman has a less than memorable role as Jack’s agent–at the beginning of the film, I mistook him for Chris Kattan–and doesn’t really contribute a whole lot to the film.

Jack sees Isadora twitch her nose, and decides she’s the woman he wants to portray his TV wife, Samantha. After some explaining, and convincing Isadora he truly needs her, Jack successfully lures her into the Hollywood world.

But everything is not as it seems. Isadora takes the job because she’s looking to find love (with Jack), but he just wants her to take part in the show to further his own career. After some spells go awry and Isadora realizes it’s not right to fix all problems simply by using magic, she gives Jack a talking-to about his piggish ways, and he comes around with a newfound respect–and crush–for her.

I do have to give props to the casting directors working on this film–while many critics say Kidman fell through on the updated portral of Samantha, she did have her moments where you could almost see Elizabeth Montgomery coming through.

Shirley MacLaine looks eerily like Agnes Moorehead’s Endora, and Carole Shelley does an excellent portrayal of the original Aunt Clara, Marion Lorne. The only casting I would have changed was to have the role of Darrin played by Jim Carey…but we all know how out of hand that could be.

Overall, decent movie if you’re looking for a night of mindless entertainment and a cheap love story. If you’re seeking an Oscar-worthy movie, this is not the film for you.