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plot synopsis: Career-damaged jackass Hollywood star Jack Wyatt (Ferrell), cast as Darren in a TV remake of Bewitched, finds an unknown to play Samantha in order to boost his own profile. Little does he know that his ingenue Isabel (Kidman) is--boi-oi-oing!--an actual witch! You can pretty much guess the rest.
voldemort (bad mojo): Our main attraction to this film was a cast list that includes the Daily Show Steves (Carell and Colbert) as well as our beloved Amy Sedaris. Much to our disappointment, Colbert is given nothing to do in a straight-man supporting role; all Carell gets to do is 5 minutes of Paul Lynde impersonation; and Sedaris is literally onscreen for about 8 seconds at the very end. Such a waste! Also, just because your movie is set in a world where magic exists and anything is possible doesn't mean that you can move your plot forward with things like "suddenly a fictional character comes to life for no real reason." And when time is magically rewinding, it's not necessary to show a "<< REW" symbol in the corner of the screen.
stevie nicks (white witchery): Kidman and Ferrell have good chemistry onscreen, and their characters' romantic attraction is actually pretty believable. Kidman does a good job of matching Ferrell's trademark doofiness. There's a scene where the two are frolicking on the studio soundstage which is an homage (or at least very similar) to a scene from Singin' in the Rain, which is one of my favorite movies, so that won points with me as well. And although the plot is a mess, there are some elements which are handled well: for instance, the scene where Isabel wins over the show's producers with her "improv" is well done and makes it believable that they would actually agree to let her be on the show. The female supporting cast is excellent, including Carole Shelley, spot-on as Aunt Clara, and Shirley MacLaine, who is perfect as the actress portraying Endora (although you can see her "plot twist" coming from the multiplex parking lot). And there's a very nice cat in the movie (who doesn't talk or do anything else un-catlike, thank god).
Despite being an "update," Bewitched really seems more like a throwback to the classic screwball comedies. With the plot stupidities I didn't feel so much like the filmmakers were insulting my intelligence as they were just being kind of lazy. If you're looking for some fluff on a lazy afternoon where there's nothing better to do, you could do worse than this. (mike.06.05)
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