Film Reviews

Bewitched

• Rating:
• Director: Nora Ephron
• Starring: Nicole Kidman
• Details: US / 102 mins (PG).

Isabel (Kidman) is a witch who wants a normal life in which she can be sure she is loved for who she is and not her ability to cast spells. Jack (Ferrell) is a Hollywood actor on the skids taking the lead in a TV remake of Bewitched, the old sitcom in which a witch pretends to be a normal mortal. When selfish Jack casts naive Isabel as his TV witch, on the basis that her unknown status will make him look a bigger star, sparks fly. That's the theory, at least, but there are few magic moments in Nora Ephron's (Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail) latest romantic comedy. Kidman is as radiant as ever but even her star quality casts a weak glow; Ferrell mugs furiously as he tries to wring some laughs from the weak script, but the gags simply aren't strong enough; Jason Schwartzman, as Jack's yes-man agent Ritchie, gets one or two decent lines ("You look like Don Johnson, but in a bad way"), but his comic potential is for the most part wasted, while veterans Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine wither away on the sidelines. This could have been a neat satire on Hollywood and its current dependence on TV and remakes for inspiration; then again, this flat and lifeless wasted opportunity probably says more about the dearth of creativity in Hollywood than any satire could.

Review by Declan Burke