When I was a child, I remember seeing reruns of the television show Bewitched. I liked the show. I still see the reruns every so often and enjoy them. I can’t remember exactly when I first heard about a movie version being made, but I wanted to see it as soon as I knew about it. Finding out that Nicole Kidman was going to be in the movie just made me want to see it more. The movie version of Bewitched ended up being different from what I expected at first, but I did like it.
Jack Wyatt’s career was in trouble. His last movie was a huge flop and he was in search of a new project. He was convinced to do a new version of the television show Bewitched, though at the urging of his agent, Jack wanted an unknown cast as Samantha. Casting wasn’t going well until one day Jack spotted Isabel in a bookstore. He thought she was perfect because she could twitch her nose and he set out to convince her to be the new Samantha. He had no idea that Isabel was actually a real witch.
Isabel had just moved to the area, hoping to start a normal life for herself. She said she was going to stop using witchcraft, but she kept falling back on it to get certain things accomplished. Her father, Nigel, didn’t think her idea of living like a normal woman would work. Nigel was a warlock and popped up when she least expected him. He also decided to start a relationship with Iris Smythson, the woman cast to play Endora. Isabel made friends with Maria, one of her new neighbors, and Nina, a woman that worked on the set. Jack insisted that the show be reworked to focus more on Darren though he kept Isabel in the dark but she managed to find out. She was very hurt and had to decide what she was going to do about the situation.
When I first heard about this movie, I assumed that it would be a new version of the televison show like the other movies that have been based on television shows have been. Bewitched was different. I did think it was a unique idea to make the movie be about an actor trying to restart his career by doing a new version of the television show. I am glad that magic and witchcraft still played an important part in the movie. A few clips from the television show were shown along with a picture of Elizabeth Montgomery, the original Samantha. Some people will probably be disappointed that this movie is different from the tv show. Other people would have been disappointed in the movie if was more like the television show. Anytime a popular television show is turned into a movie there are people that are disappointed. I was a bit disappointed when I first heard what the plot was going to be, but I still wanted to see the movie. I did enjoy the movie overall, though some things could have been done better. The pacing seemed a little off and it was slow in some spots. Certain things were predictable, but I expected that. The ending could have been a bit better, but it didn’t make me hate the movie.
Since Isabel was a witch and she was playing one in a television show, magic was important to the movie. Nigel was a warlock though he didn’t do as much magic. He just popped in and out of places. The filming of some scenes for the show were shared including how some of the magical effects were created for it. There weren’t as many magical things in the movie as I had thought there might be. That did disappoint me a little. I did enjoy the magical things that were in the movie. I just would have liked it if there had been more of those things. It could be very helpful to have magic powers and be able to snap my finger or twitch my nose or something to get the house clean. I would really love to be able to do something like that when the litter boxes need changing. Isabel did know spells and used some at different times. She wasn’t shown having any kind of book of spells like witches in some other movies or books have had. She did have a broomstick that was a little different. I’m pretty sure that effects were used for the magic elements. They were well done.
Bewitched was a romantic comedy. Isabel and Jack were playing characters in the show that fell in love. There was also some attraction between them off the set. They spent some time together when they weren’t working and did develop feelings for each other. They were cute together. Nigel was interested in Iris so he managed to meet her at the studio one day. They shared a few scenes together and seemed to be developing a relationship, but that wasn’t fully explored. I would have liked it if that relationship had been developed some more. There were no love scenes in the movie, though the characters did share a few kisses. The romance part of the movie was fun. There was no nudity, though one character was shown almost naked in one scene. It wasn’t Nicole Kidman. Even with the partial nudity, there really wasn’t anything offensive in the movie. It would probably be all right for older children to see, but younger children might be bored with the plot.
Several things that happened made me laugh during Bewitched. Like the series, some of the funny things were caused by magic. Isabel kept saying that she was giving up witchcraft to live like a normal woman, but she kept using it anyway. Some of the spells had some unexpected results that were humorous. Jack’s antics were also funny. He had a few fits that I thought were very funny. He said and did other things that I thought were funny as well. It did seem like most of the funny parts were shown in the trailer, but there were some other things that happened were funny as well. Some of what was done to get some laughs was silly, but that didn’t bother me.
I have seen and enjoyed most of Nicole Kidman’s movies. She has played many different types of characters, and has been believable as all of them. Isabel was very different from all the parts Kidman has played before. Most of her parts have been more serious, like in The Interpreter orCold Mountain . There was some humor in Moulin Rouge andThe Stepford Wives, but I think Isabel is the most comedic part she has played. I really liked her in the part. Isabel was a kind, somewhat naive woman that was just trying to start a different life for herself. Kidman looked like she had fun with the part, especially in some of her scenes with Will Ferrell. I liked him as Jack. He was funny and believable in the part without going over board or becoming annoying. The character he played in Kicking & Screaming did annoy me in some scenes. I didn’t feel that way about Jack. He was self absorbed and only concerned with fixing his career until he got to know Isabel better. Ferrell and Kidman were delightful as Isabel and Jack.
I thought it was a stroke of genius to cast Shirley MacLaine as Endora. She was absolutely perfect for the part. Unfortunately she wasn’t given much to do. It would have been much better if she’d had more to do. Iris wasn’t very developed, though she did have a secret of her own. Nigel wasn’t around enough either, though he did get a little more to do than Iris did. He was concerned about his daughter. Michael Caine was very good in the part. He didn’t have many scenes in Batman Begins either. He and Heather Burns were both in Miss Congeniality. Burns had a small part as Nina, who I think was a production assistant. Burns also had small parts in Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous and Two Weeks Notice. I didn’t recognize her at first because her hair was different. Kristin Chenoweth played Isabel’s neighbor Maria in a few scenes. Steve Carell played Uncle Arthur in a few scenes that were a bit strange.
CAST
Heather Burns - Nina
Michael Caine - Nigel Bigelow
Steve Carell - Uncle Arthur
Kristin Chenoweth - Maria
Will Ferrell - Jack Wyatt/Darren Stevens
Nicole Kidman - Isabel Bigelow/Samantha Stevens
Shirley MacLaine - Iris/Endora
I enjoyed Bewitched. It was a fun, entertaining movie. I thought it was a unique version of a former popular televison show. Anyone hoping for the movie to be just like the show will be disappointed. Some things could have been done better, but I did enjoy the movie. People that like Nicole Kidman or Will Ferrell may also like the movie. I went to see this hoping for a fun movie and that is what it was. If people have their expectations too high they will be disappointed.
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