Disappointingly this movie redo about the TV remake of 60s sitcom Bewitched is yet another "botched comedy concoction" for writer/director Nora Ephron. The coupling of Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman was less than magical and the bean counters at Sony saw their hopes for profit vanish in a puff of bad publicity.
Witch Way?
Inevitably Ferrell goes off the page in a couple of deleted scenes (there are six in all), pitching a scenario where Samantha (Kidman) gets turned into a beach towel in an episode called, "Aloha, Bitch!" It might be funny if only Ferrell looked like he actually cared. In a short, transitional scene, Michael Caine makes a brief appearance chatting up Shirely MacLaine, but again the material is lacklustre.
Ephron's commentary echoes the shallow motives for making this film. The way she tells it, studio suit Amy Pascal called her one night to say that she was meeting Kidman for breakfast the following morning and urgently needed a plot to satisfy the star's whim for a remake of Bewitched. Even so, Ephron tries to make a point about the various socio-political subtexts that have been inferred from the story, ie female empowerment, mixed marriages and even a parable about "falling off the wagon" for members of Alcoholics Anonymous!
Less grating, are her insights into working with Ferrell who used real-life stories about spoilt, Hollywood A-listers to find the character of Jack. For example, Ephron mentions one star who had a clause written into his contract citing that he should be presented with a gift worth $2,500 on a weekly basis - and that it had to be a surprise! Sadly she doesn't reveal his identity.
On Yer Broom!
In a batch of bite-sized featurettes focussing on the lead players, Ferrell credits Kidman with being "quite funny", while Jason Schwartzman (Ritchie) tags Ferrell as a "conductor for randomness". Aside from these astute observations, Star Shots is just a forum for mutual appreciation. Similarly, the featurette Why I Loved Bewitched sees cast and crew tip their hat to Montgomery et al.
A throwaway trivia track and an excruciatingly dull trivia game complete the extras. Instead of brimming with magic, this DVD serves to remind you of your own mortality.
EXTRA FEATURES
