At one point in the movie version of Bewitched, a TV critic calls a studio’s plan to remake the old television series “a crass attempt by the network to cash in on nostalgia rather than come up with new ideas.”  Pretty daring comment, considering the movie it’s in.

      All three of the new movies at Carmike 9 have their roots in the ‘60s: Disney’s G-rated Herbie: Fully Loaded and George Romero’s R-rated Land of the Dead are the latest entries in series which began in 1968, while the PG-13 Bewitched is even more venerable – the TV series it’s based on premiered in ’64.

      I don’t have much stomach for zombie movies, so fans of the Living Dead franchise are on their own.  The two family-friendly films both deliver what they promise – mildly amusing, recycled entertainment – but little more.

       Bewitched at least attempts a fresh take on its formula; if you’re going to recycle a concept that has already sustained 256 sitcom episodes, you’d best try something new. 

      The movie’s conceit is that the original series is being remade, starring fading male star Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) as the eminently forgettable Darren.  As Jack recalls too late, “They replaced the actor who played Darren on the original – and no one noticed!”  Jack’s desire to  remain the center of attention makes him push the studio into casting an unknown as Samantha.

      Enter Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman), who can twitch her nose just like Elizabeth Montgomery, the original Samantha, and is just as pretty.  And get this – Isabel is a real witch!  Wow!  What brilliant thinking – a witch pretending to be normal playing a witch pretending to be normal . . .

      Oh well.  You know from the get-go where it’s headed – the actors will re-enact in real life the show’s conflict between magic and the normal life that Isabel longs for. 

      Kidman makes a sweet Isabel, with just enough of the actress’s natural steel showing to sustain her eventual rebellion against Jack’s plans.  Ferrell, on the other hand, is all over the map as Jack, most often a complete jerk and only occasionally the kind of man who might plausibly win the love Isabel is willing to offer. 

      The two stars are outshone by the supporting cast, including Michael Caine as Isabel’s meddling father, Shirley MacLaine as the scene-stealing actress hired to play Samantha’s mother, and Steve Carrell as magic Uncle Arthur – his scenes had children in the audience giggling nonstop.  Even Jennifer Hall (All My Children), as a sassy waitress with no affection for Jack, gets the best licks in during her brief scene.

      Herbie takes a more straightforward approach to its recycling project: don’t change a thing, just reuse the old formula.  If you saw 1968’s The Love Bug, you know exactly what will happen here – the supernaturally possessed VW bug comes from nowhere to take the racing world by storm.

      The new film begins with a montage of Herbie’s past triumphs, leading to his present relegation to the junkyard, from which he is rescued by Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan), the daughter of a NASCAR dynasty fallen on its own hard times.  Soon enough, Maggie discovers Herbie’s special character, and together they surprise the racing world, which evidently has suffered a collective loss of memory about the VW’s triumphs in the past.

      As with earlier incarnations, the tricked-out Volkswagen is really the draw of the film, and there are plenty of racing scenes to fuel Herbie’s fans: four separate competitions, each a different kind of race.  Lohan, the nominal star, shows little of the spark that has made her a reigning teen queen, and in an odd twist is asked to play older than her actual age – the 18-year-old is totally unconvincing as an ostensible college graduate. 

       Despite its slick appearance, the movie’s vision of the world seems stuck somewhere near its ‘60s roots.  While the racing world may still be overwhelmingly masculine, it’s hard to credit the disbelieving comments, “It’s a chick” when Maggie reveals herself as Herbie’s driver – after all, this IS the year a female driver finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500, and it’s been 30 years since Janet Guthrie broke that barrier.

      Neither Herbie nor Bewitched should be expected to break much new ground, though. Summer fluff is what it is, the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy: sweet stuff, but not much substance.

 This review appeared in the Aberdeen American News on June 26 2005.

Return to Wally Hastings's Film Reviews.
Return to Wally Hastings's Home Page.

This page last updated on July 2, 2005.