The Stepford Wives (1975)

Nice effects though.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

The movie is scary at the end. I would never watch the end again. Just too creepy. If you can stand it, you should watch the end at least once to catch the horror of the story.But I find the scenes where the wives suddenly start obeying their husbands generally funny. Of course in real life this would be a horror, as it is at the end. But there is something hilarious about people suddenly saying and doing things they would never do before. People just don't do that, at least under normal circumstances like living in an affluent suburb.I see a lesson in the film about human autonomy. Our freedom is about doing our own quirky things, even if they're stupid. As one reviewer mentioned, the Katharine Ross character is actually a rather annoying person in some ways. Her freedom isn't about being good, but about being herself. Of course her sometimes annoying character does not reduce in the least the evil of her creepy husband.

Based on the novel of the same name by Ira Levin, The Stepford Wives film begins when Joanna Eberhart (Katherine Ross) moves with her husband and children from New York City to the small village of Stepford.Joanna finds that nearly all of the wives in Stepford are placid drones whose only ambition is cooking and cleaning. The Stepford Wives is very much a 1970's film with overtones of environmental pollution,powerful corporate conspiracies,sexuality, and of course feminist dogma.I disagree with the heavy-handed feminist message of the film which is that most men would prefer their wives to be obedient maids rather then equal partners.There are a few good moments in The Stepford Wives though. Tina Louise does very well with a small role and it's hard not to feel pity for her when she confesses that her husband never really loved her.

Based on Ira Levin's satirical novel The Stepford Wives is a story that at first seems like a simple thriller but on a closer look offers so much more. It doesn't just offer effective psychological suspense, work as a commentary on society's pursuit of youth and perfection, it is also a sci-fi horror with touches of dark humour and the best part is that it only gets better when you re-watch it. For the most part the film moves along slowly and quietly, painting a peaceful picture of a suburban dream life and even when Joanna begins to suspect something is amiss nothing in the movie gives away just how life shattering the town's secret is. It is not until the climatic end that the horror truly pokes it face out and sends chills down your spine and knowing the secret from the beginning means the chills are there from the very start when re-watching the movie. As the movie is shown from Joanna's perspective a lot of the horror happens unseen to us and as you think back on the movie those horrors will play for your inner eye and set thoughts in motion which makes this an incredibly strong movie with more impact than a simple jump-scare horror. While the movie has been criticized for being anti-feminist Stepford is clearly more chauvinistic dystopia than heaven and the men are cold and flat characters compared to the fleshed-out warm and strong females. All the women, the Stepford wives that is, give brilliant performances of perfect housewives so clearly inspired by the phony females in adds that they manage to give a comic edge to the story, perfectly hitting the note so it slowly increases the sense of something wrong rather than making the tone too light. Especially Ross (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969) is great as the heroine, at once feisty but still insecure and self-doubting from the insanity of the situation, and Prentiss (The Parallax View, 1974) is a delight as the bubbly Bobbie just as the beautiful Louise (Day of the Outlaw, 1959) brilliantly shows the insecurity hidden underneath the beautiful face of the feisty Charmaine, while Newman (Captain Nemo and the Underwater City, 1969) delivers the perfect archetype Stepford wife persona as Carol Van Sant. One could argue that the statement against gender roles was more important in the time of the book's publishment and movie's release but considering the high standard everyone is met with in today's global life, it is as familiar a theme as ever and Bryan Forbes's (The Raging Moon, 1971) bright sunny-set movie with its gloomy secret luring underneath will still be able to hit you and hit you hard.Moviegeek.eu

In 1975, while Feminists were Roaring about their new found Freedom there was and still is some Pushback (ever listen to Rush Limbaugh) about a Woman's Place, and some may still Think that they should be put and kept in Their Place. But when this Movie was made it was the beginning of the Rage Against the Male. Everyone by now must know the Punch Line to this Creepy and Relevant Story and that may limit some of the Visceral Reaction to viewing it for the first time Today.But it remains a Classic and rightfully so. It's pace is very Laid-Back and Suburbanite but that Rhythm is never without a Disturbing Edge surrounding this Horrific Satire. The Final Act is Fittingly Unsettling but does seem somewhat Restrained. The Final Scene is Legendary.Overall, the Movie has lost a bit of its Impact but not its Contemplation Factor. Like all Good Sci-Fi, the Story is still being Remade to this Day in one way or another and the Premise is as Thought Provoking as ever. The Cast does a good Job and the Script is very Natural, with Dialog at times so Convincing it seems Ad-Libbed.