Bewitched

Thankfully, there’s only one scene where Will Ferrell has the opportunity to really ham it up.

My date claimed that the second half of the movie was better than the first, but that was only because he fell asleep midway through. I didn’t find the movie to be quite that boring, but I can certainly understand why he and others might have a hard time watching it. With that said, as the tagline for the movie states, “Be Warned.”

Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman) is a witch who decides that she is tired of the instant gratification that comes with possessing magical abilities. She leaves the magical realm behind and moves to Hollywood in search of a normal life complete with a normal relationship. And yet, her inherent naivety about the real world lends her many opportunities to continue using magic despite her desire to quit the practice. Meanwhile, struggling movie star Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) has just been cast as Derrin in the revised version of the television show, Bewitched. Seeking to steal the spotlight and boost his career, Wyatt insists that the character of Samantha be played by an unknown actress who won’t upstage him. Blah blah blah, etcetera, etcetera, they end up casting Isabel as Samantha. Haha, yes, it's all very ironic. Hah. Hah. The remainder of the movie focuses on Isabel’s growing understanding of life in the real world and Jack’s continuing belief that the show should revolve around his character. Why anyone with half or even a quarter of a brain would like a show revolving around the blah blah character Derrin, given that the title and premise of the show is about a witch, is apparently left as an exercise for the viewer.

Jack Wyatt is for the most part entertaining, and I think that this is because Will Ferrell is not relying solely on his usual comedy from Saturday Night Live. His character is somewhat goofy but not slapstick, and Ferrell is not allowed the customary leeway to go off on random and unfunny tangents. Nicole Kidman plays a natural naivety very well, in that the audience realizes that she is simply innocent and trusting, but all the characters around her believe she is a dumb ditzy blond. Isabel is inherently the very same as the character whom she portrays, Samantha, in that Isabel really is a witch in love with a mortal man, trying to live a normal life. When real world problems become too much for her, she begrudgingly falls back on magic, as she is unable to change who she really is.

There are definitely moments in the movie that are really quite funny, but unless one is engaged in the story and has an interest in the characters, then I can see why Bewitched could be rather tiresome. Personally I thought it was basically entertaining and laughed out loud several times. Then again, I am as they say, somewhat easily entertained, so keep that in mind. Bewitched is very lighthearted and innocent, the characters are likable enough, but in the end there’s nothing spectacular about the film. I think Bewitched is best left to the list of “DVDs I want to rent.”