NOW
THAT
DIRECTOR
Frank
Oz’s
ill-conceived
“re-imagining”
of
“The
Stepford
Wives”
has
swept
into
theaters,
it’s
no
surprise
that
Paramount
chose
to
reissue
a
spiffy
new
DVD
of
the
good-but-not-quite-a-classic
1975
cult
thriller
starring
Katharine
Ross
and
Paula
Prentiss.
Adapted
from
Ira
Levin’s
feminist
horror
bestseller,
“The
Stepford
Wives”
wasn’t
a
huge
hit
upon
its
initial
release,
although
its
title
has
burrowed
so
deep
into
our
cultural
lexicon
that
many
Americans
“get”
the
meaning
of
a
“Stepford
wife”
without
ever
having
read
the
book
or
watched
the
movie.
This
wicked
by-product
of
the
’70s
women’s
movement
fuses
the
horrors
of
housework
with
the
paranoid
elements
of
“Invasion
of
the
Body
Snatchers,”
as
town
newcomer
Joanna
Eberhart
(Ross)
suspects
that
a
sinister
plague
of
consumerism
is
causing
the
wives
of
Stepford
to
mimic
the
banal
suburban
cheerfulness
found
in
cleaning
product
TV
commercials.
While
Joanna
and
her
best
friend,
Bobbie
Markow
(Prentiss),
investigate
Nancy
Drew-style,
several
key
questions
arise:
Why
do
the
wives
of
Stepford
tackle
domestic
chores
with
such
gleeful
abandon?
And
why
do
these
gorgeous
women
stay
married
to
such
dweeby
male
chauvinist
pigs?
The
answers
lie
somewhere
between
a
store
mannequin
and
Microsoft.
NOT
WITHOUT
ITS
share
of
flaws,
the
original
film
would
benefit
from
tighter
pacing
and
a
stronger
leading
man
than
wimpish
hubby
Peter
Masterson.
Honestly,
wouldn’t
a
handsome,
considerate
and
“perfect”
husband
(like
Paul
Newman)
who
slowly
reveals
his
true
evil
nature
be
more
frightening
than
someone
who’s
just
plain
milquetoast
throughout?
And
even
the
basic
concept
of
“robot
wives”
requires
a
pretty
hefty
suspension
of
disbelief.
Wouldn’t
the
kids
notice
mommy
hasn’t
aged
a
day
in
20
years?
Or,
perhaps
her
ob/gyn
might
suspect
something
isn’t
quite
the
same?
And
what
about
children:
Can
she
have
more,
or
do
they
require
assembly
as
well?
But
for
all
these
unanswered
questions,
the
fun
and
frightening
elements
of
“The
Stepford
Wives”
more
than
outweigh
the
negative.
After
all,
this
is
science
fiction.
And
despite
generous
doses
of
camp
and
kitsch,
those
satiric
ingredients
never
undermine
the
malevolent
and
horrifying
reality
that
the
women
of
Stepford
are,
in
fact,
being
murdered
and
substituted
with
complacent
mechanical
copies.
British
director
Bryan
Forbes
(“Séance
on
a
Wet
Afternoon”)
stages
several
terrific
set
pieces,
such
as
the
hilarious
consciousness-raising
group
in
which
the
wives
knowingly
exchange
tips
on
housework
(“Try
‘Easy-On’
spray
starch.
You’ll
never
run
short
on
time
again.
I
guarantee
it.”).
There’s
also
the
unsettling
supermarket
finale
in
which
the
wives
blankly
glide
along
the
aisles
in
sunhats
and
long
pastel
dresses.
It’s
important
to
note,
however,
that
“The
Stepford
Wives”
wouldn’t
be
nearly
as
effective
if
not
for
the
strong
and
appealing
performances
by
Ross
and
Prentiss
(who’s
seems
something
like
a
goofy
older
sister
of
Geena
Davis).
We
fear
for
their
safety
and
loss
of
identity
as
the
Stepford
nightmare
slowly
engulfs
its
women,
including
“Gilligan’s
Island”
alumna
Tina
Louise.
In
the
new
20-minute
“The
Stepford
Life”
documentary
included
with
the
DVD,
the
principal
cast
and
crew
return
for
a
look
at
the
troubled
production
of
the
original
film,
where
producer
Edgar
Scherick
reveals
that
Brian
De
Palma
was
slated
to
direct,
based
on
the
success
of
his
1973
thriller
“Sisters”
(an
interesting
“what
if”
if
there
ever
was
one).
But
as
it
is,
the
1975
film
works,
and
without
the
ridiculous
focus
group
testing
that
marred
the
current
version.
