"One of the 50 Coolest Websites...they simply tell it like it is" - TIME
The Stepford Wives | 2004 | PG-13 | - 6.4.4
A comic re-imagining of the 1975 suspense classic, about suburban husbands that are replacing their wives with robots: After a successful television network president (Nicole Kidman) is fired and suffers a complete nervous breakdown, she moves with her husband (Matthew Broderick) and her family to the quiet, idyllic Connecticut town of Stepford. Everything is perfect there. So perfect that the new arrivals become suspicious. Also with Christopher Walken, Faith Hill and Bette Midler. [1:33]
SEX/NUDITY 6 - We hear a man and a woman (married) having sex, they moan and scream and three other people listen: we see the woman come out of the room wearing a short negligee that reveals cleavage and her bare thighs. Men and women kiss in several scenes. A man presses a button on a remote control and a woman's breasts enlarge. Women in tiny outfits jump up out of foil-covered cake pans (we see cleavage and bare abdomens), women wear bathing suits and women wear Las Vegas-style dance costumes. Also women wear low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage, bare shoulders and backs throughout the movie. A woman wears a bra top and shorts revealing cleavage, her bare abdomen and thighs. Men are shown bare-chested and women in bikinis. On a game show a couple is asked which one of them would rather be with a "hot, sexy lesbian." Another game show offers a man and a woman an opportunity to spend a week with other men and women, and we hear that one partner has had numerous sex partners (some of whom are introduced as "porn stars") during that time. A woman talks about having found her husband with another woman. A man talks to his wife about their sexual relationship in a couple of scenes. A woman admires a man's pants and says "no wonder they call it Banana Republic." Men play with remote control cars and the object of the game is to remove a bra from one of them (a man is shown playing with the bra afterward). A woman talks about attaching a pine cone to a sexual device. A man talks about using Viagra. People dance waltzes together.
VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - A character is hit on the head with a candlestick and the character's head flies off (it is a robot); we see the dismembered head rolling on the floor, the body falls to the floor, and another character tries to re-attach the head by shoving on it and twisting it. A character is electrocuted when kissing a dismembered robot head (we see the electric jolt). A man shoots a gun at a woman (she is not hit) and people in the area scream and run. We hear that a man has shot and killed his ex-wife and five other people were wounded. A woman talks about having killed her husband and the woman with whom he was having an affair. A man threatens to hit a man with a candlestick. A woman puts her hand in the flame of a stove and does not react to being burned. A woman spins out of control while dancing, then slams hard to the ground, a man pulls on her head, we see a flash and hear a spark. A roomful of women throw their heads back, we hear a pop and see a flash. A female robot lies on a marble slab covered with a sheet, her eyes open abruptly and they are black. Two women break into a house and are nearly caught by the owner. We see a woman in a hospital after she has suffered a nervous breakdown and we hear that she has had electroshock therapy. We see a child's drawing of a man shooting at the child's mother. A robot dog falls down a flight of stairs.
LANGUAGE 4 - 11 sexual references, 1 mild scatological term, 2 anatomical terms, 4 mild obscenities, 8 religious exclamations.
SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown smoking cigars and drinking alcohol.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - The roles of men and women, competition between the sexes, perfection, robotics, beauty, extramarital affairs, success, being selfish, divorce, relationships, homosexuality, stereotypes, slavery, sexual dysfunction, anti-Semitism.
MESSAGE - Our imperfections make us who we are and also make us more interesting.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
how to
support us
PLEASE DONATE
We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.
NO MORE ADS!
Become a member of our premium site for just $1/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.
how to
support us
PLEASE DONATE
We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.
NO MORE ADS!
Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.