听 Nicole Kidman stars in Frank Oz's "mildly diverting" remake of The Stepford Wives based on Ira Levin's novel about a picture-perfect suburban town populated with robotic women. Although she never voiced her reservations, rumours of trouble on the set coupled with Kidman's reluctance to promote the film served as early warning and, sure enough, this so-called comedy bombed with critics and audiences alike.
Going Through The Motions
A Perfect World is a fairly comprehensive look at the making of the film, revealing how the design team were able to create this spooky town in the heart of Connecticut and on vast soundstages that could accommodate grand sets like the men's club, ballroom and supermarket. The cast also offer their thoughts on the project and there's plenty of behind-the-scenes footage (note Kidman's dubious expression as Oz announces that he's behind schedule.)
Sadly the remainder of the featurettes are very skimpy. Cast and crew pointlessly ponder the connotations of the phrase "Stepford wife" in Stepford: A Definition, while each of the principal characters is briefly outlined in the Wives and Husbands featurettes. Again, the pleasure is in the subtext as Kidman explains her reasons for signing on. Having just been through a very intense experience on the set of Birth, she shrugs and says, "[Scott] Rudin, the producer, told me it would be like summer camp."
Robot Wars
Six deleted and extended scenes don't offer much in the way of fresh material - most notably an overindulgent crane shot for Glenn Closes' 'electrifying' kiss with Christopher Walken - who delivers what would have been the film's closing line of dialogue. Still, the Gag Reel is quite amusing with Matthew Broderick gearing up for a moment of pathos only for Kidman to announce that his fly is open. Now that's comedy!
Although he's a director with a big reputation for eliciting laughs, Frank Oz's commentary is mind-numbingly dull. Besides his forgetfulness ("I have no idea where we shot this scene" and "Great actor - I forget his name" are among his utterances) he glosses over the well-publicised conflict with producers over the tone of the film and his reported run-ins with Walken and Bette Midler. Unfortunately this sets the tone for a DVD, which is - like the female populace of Stepford - merely mechanical.
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