Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 40 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 72 Ratings

  • Starring: Bette Midler, Matthew Broderick, Nicole Kidman
  • Summary: Stepford has a secret. All of the wives are far too perfect, and all of the husbands are way too happy. The Stepford Wives is a sophisticated and comic re-imagining of the 1975 suspense classic. Welcome to Stepford -- the American way of love. (Paramount Pictures)
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 40
  2. Negative: 14 out of 40
  1. 80
    Contrary to recent rumors that it was a dud, the new Stepford Wives, with its chocolate-box visual style, archly heavy-handed foreshadowing and its scene-for-scene parody of the original's fright strategies (Walken's waxy menace is once again played for laughs), is a gas.
  2. Reviewed by: Kim Newman
    60
    It’s funny, wonderfully performed by all, visually inventive.
  3. Because the entire audience knows what's going on, the filmmakers hope to distract viewers from storytelling weaknesses with an urgent sense of style.
  4. 38
    If the film is to work on any level, even a comedic one, it's necessary for the viewers to sympathize with Joanna and Walter. However, the script and scattershot performances keep them at arm's length. Nicole Kidman is in full scenery-chewing mode, and Matthew Broderick hasn't been this invisible since Ferris Bueller had to go back to school.

See all 40 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 36
  2. Negative: 13 out of 36
  1. joes.
    10
    My favorite movie.
  2. Very interesting. One of the weirdest movies I have ever seen and yet it is witty, surprising, and entertaining.
  3. The story is bullsh*t, it's sexist as hell, and bland and shallow characters take a back seat to mediocre special effects that you're more likely to see on a YouTube video that was made on Adobe Flash! This movie sucks! Expand
  4. This was such a bad comedy! The cast is actually quite impressive, but they do not do much with their shallow characters - and how could they?? Horrible screenplay, and just a bad film overall... Nicole Kidman is decent in the film, and the overall cast is good. Bette Midler is pretty good and pretty much the most entertaining character in this "comedy." As Kidman said at a press statement once "It's a comedy. We hope." Unfortunately, that hope did not materialise into reality, since there is almost nothing funny about The Stepford Wives. It is not even bad enough to be funny - that's how bad it is! The 2 is truly only out of my respect for the misguided actors and for rather good production design - the costumes and art direction were both very well done. Overall, though, a film that had a lot of potential has been sucked dry of all its originality, charm and, most importantly, its humour. 2/10 Collapse

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