WHO MADE IT? | Director: Nora Ephron Cast: Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley McLaine and Michael Caine | WHAT'S IT ABOUT? | Jack Wyatt (Ferrell), a vain and self obsessed actor, is trying to get his career back on track when he is cast as the lead in a remake of the beloved 1960s TV series Bewitched. He is looking for an unknown to play the lovable nose twitching witch Samantha. After seeing hundreds of unsuitable candidates he comes across Isabel (Kidman) in a book shop. Her nose looks uncannily like that of Elizabeth Montgomery, who played Samantha in the original show. Anyway she proves perfect. What he doesn't know is that Isabel is a real life witch who has decided to put her magic ways behind her and lead a normal life in suburbia. | WHAT'S IT LIKE? | Directed and co-written by the queen of the rom-com Nora Ephron (When Harry Met Sally/Sleepless in Seattle), this lacks all the charm, magic and wit of the TV series Bewitched. Kidman looks way out of her depth playing comedy, portraying Isabel as a dumb blonde who sounds more like Marilyn Monroe at times. Elizabeth Montgomery was a natural who made it look really easy. Ferrell is completely over the top and hammy as the prima donna star. Shirley McLaine and Sir Michael Caine are the only ones worth watching and they are not in it long enough. Part of the plot involving their characters, which has great possibilities, is suddenly dropped half way through the film without rhyme or reason. They also introduced scatty but lovable Aunt Clara and prankster Uncle Arthur, characters from the TV show, who will mean nothing to anyone who has never watched Bewitched (i.e. most of the audience). In the movie Kidman pulls her ear and makes awful situations rewind back to the beginning - I wish I could do just that and recoup the hour and a half I spent watching this film. | BEWITCHED opens on 19 August 2005
