# Bewitched, the movie -- What went wrong? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565 "2006-06-06T02:05:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/21 "2006-06-06T18:31:42Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Probably 4. And you’re right - if I drank 64 martinis, I would have sex with a stampeding rhino, and probably enjoy myself. You set a high bar to achieve… ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/22 "2006-06-06T19:38:31Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > :smack: 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/23 "2006-06-06T19:44:42Z")
My problem with the movie was they were inconsistent with the premise. If Nicole Kidman isn’t Samantha but a different witch playing the role then why does she have an Aunt Clara and Uncle Arthur like Samantha? And how is it they end up living across from a nosy neighbor named Gladys Kravitz, just like in the tv show? ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/24 "2006-06-06T21:38:48Z")
I understand the confusion factor here,\*\* sciurophobic\*\*. A little background may help… You know how, here on the Straight Dope, sometimes a couple or three threads get started that are almost identical, and are merged into one by the mods? This is what happened with Bewitched. And they actually did replace Will Ferrell with Jim Carrey about halfway through, but _they made Jim Carrey up to look just like Will Ferrell._ Brilliant! See? The Aunt Clara and Uncle Arthur characters were from the second movie, which was a straight remake, they were just merged with the first movie which was about a movie being made as a remake of the original movie which was from the series but never got distributed, and starred Jane Fonda as Elizabeth Montgomery. Why is my head hurting? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/25 "2006-06-07T01:13:17Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I really don’t see the hate for it. The story idea was excellent – what did you want, just a repeat of the opening episode of the TV show? Boring. By making it a movie about the making of the movie, it added an extra dimension and I applaud it for actually trying to do something interesting instead of going for the tried and true. On that basis alone, it is better than 90% of the TV show remake films. Making a movie about people making a movie is not a new idea … it’s a very old plotline. The movie gets no originality point from me on that. I agree that the device of making a movie based on the TV series allows for commentary on the TV show, but I didn’t think they took much advantage of it, and certianly they didn’t get much use out of it comedically. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/26 "2006-06-07T01:16:36Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Probably 4. And you’re right - if I drank 64 martinis, I would have sex with a stampeding rhino, and probably enjoy myself. Well, who wouldn’t? ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/27 "2006-06-07T02:01:18Z")
Things like The Brady Bunch show that you can turn pretty much any premise into a funny movie if you’ve got decent writing. I’m going to blame crappy writers and the fact that Will Ferrel is pretty much the epitome of “completely blows”. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/28 "2006-06-07T02:16:46Z")
Well, here’s the central thing apart from Ferrell’s character stinking things up: the thing that gave the TV show it’s edge, if such a term can be applied meaningfully to a 60s TV show, is that it had some sneaky little feminist subtext. Samantha’s witch powers make her too powerful to suit Darren. The only way Darren can handle being her husband is if she gives up her witchly powers. It’s a classic bit of patriarchal sexism. But of course, Samantha can’t keep her promise to give up her powers (be a damned dull series if she did) so she keeps using them. Darren inevitably finds out about it, and reacts with anger and fear at her repeated betrayal of her promise not to use them. It’s all very 60s, and what I was wondering is how they would update it. It would be amusing to see how they’d rework a prefreminist TV series in postfeminist times. Maybe have Darren be a Kevin Federline kinda guy, all happy to let Samantha support them both with her witchly powers so long as she keeps him in beer and steaks and cable TV. And all Samantha wants him for is sex, though she lets him think he’s got an important job keeping their house in order. But then Endora starts giving him ideas about how he’s got to be a big man in the world to win Samantha’s respect, and he starts doing all sorts of silly goofy things like starting an accounting firm or building machine parts for industrial firms, and things go hilariously wrong because of Darren’s masculine inability to communicate effectively, and Samantha has to rescue Darren from his silly follies by using her witchy powers without him knowing about it so his pride won’t be hurt. Then they have sex and all is well. OK, it’s not Blazing Saddles yet, but it’s a start. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/29 "2006-06-07T02:23:30Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > Making a movie about people making a movie is not a new idea … it’s a very old plotline. The movie gets no originality point from me on that. I agree that the device of making a movie based on the TV series allows for commentary on the TV show, but I didn’t think they took much advantage of it, and certianly they didn’t get much use out of it comedically. I disagree. It’s not a new idea – but it was never done with a movie remake of a TV series. Certainly a straight version of the TV show would have been much worse – there really isn’t anything to bring to the table. I guarantee that, no matter what you think of the idea, a straight version would have been much worse (The original **Bewitched** was no great shakes to begin with). And they did plenty to deal with that: the “they replaced Darrin and _no one noticed_” line, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/30 "2006-06-07T02:59:58Z")
I would’ve chosen Matthew Broderick as Darrin, and then swapped him with David Schwimmer. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/31 "2006-06-08T19:24:26Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Probably 4. And you’re right - if I drank 64 martinis, I would have sex with a stampeding rhino, and probably enjoy myself. Kind of hard to have sex with anyone - or anything - while you’re having your stomach pumped in the ER. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/32 "2006-06-08T19:32:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Kind of hard to have sex with anyone - or anything - while you’re having your stomach pumped in the ER. Unless, of course, that’s your fetish. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/33 "2006-06-08T19:39:22Z")
I like Showgirls. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/34 "2006-06-08T20:04:29Z")
> [@Elendil's Heir](#): > > Kind of hard to have sex with anyone - or anything - while you’re having your stomach pumped in the ER. Bah! Clearly you just haven’t tried hard enough… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565/35 "2006-06-10T04:22:17Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Bah! Clearly you just haven’t tried hard enough… Yeah, I know. I’m an underachiever that way… :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bewitched-the-movie-what-went-wrong/359565.md?page=1)