Monday, August 15, 2005

Bewitched - 58%

Now this score is hard to give ... I LOVE Elizabeth Montgomery. I LOVE the original "Bewitched" TV series. I LOVE SAMANTHA! And I was so looking forward to this at the cinemas. I followed it all the way from when the rumors surfaced almost 2 years ago till the time the trailer started appearing last year - I was a fan. But if there's any movie I would call it 1)a rental, or 2) purely for the fans only - this would be it. I think so many people believed in the idea that Bewitched will be a hit, including those that were involved in the production, that they totally overlooked the fact that this script was a little too underwhelming. In a way, it tries too hard.

The movie went to great lengths to appeal to the nostalgic, but there's nothing to appeal to the non-fans. I think the movie was done in a way that it couldn't have pleased very many "non-fans". It tries so hard to appeal to the fans, it fails to realize, that the older fans will watch it either way. And the newer folks does not have anything to go for. One of the main character Jack is played by Will Farrell. It was an arrogant and rather obnoxious character - but hilarious as hell. Nicole Kidman plays a pampered witch who is playing the new actress who is playing Samantha. Now this is a movie within a movie. Isit complicated? I suspect this new "setup" was to have a refreshing take on the original, but I somehow feels that it may actually alienate some fans in the process. But like i said before, if they are fans, they'll gonna snap it up anyways. Problem is, this new setup doesn't work that "magically" and the movie basically failed to charm like the original.

There were many references to the original series, which was a feeble attempt to stir up some nostalgia, cos it didn't work that well on the fans (or at least to me), and it wouldn't work that well on the newbies either. I guess the movie would have fared better if they didn't try so hard. Argh!!! .... Still ... i love Will Farrell's performances .. that guy is the only reason to watch the show. Ironically.