Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell), a Hollywood star recovering from a couple of box office bombs, is talked into starring in a reboot of the 1964 television series, Bewitched. Desperate to regain his fame, he insists on hiring an unknown actress to play Samantha as not to be overshadowed. When he finds Isabel, she seems perfect for the part. Little does he know, Isabel is a real witch.
I have not seen this movie since watching it in the theaters in 2005, so I didn’t remember much about it. Written and directed by Nora Ephron, there’s a certain amount of expectation when watching it. This is the woman who wrote When Harry Met Sally and You’ve Got Mail, after all. Unfortunately, Bewitched doesn’t really live up to those expectations, despite its potential.
Nicole Kidman seems like the obvious choice to replace Elizabeth Montgomery as the witchy Samantha (Isabel). Isabel is looking to put her witchy ways behind her, live a normal life and find love. She seems pretty naïve of the real world but she’s instantly smitten with Jack and agrees to become the Samantha to his Darren. Kidman is wide-eyed and breathy and Will Ferrell is… well, Will Ferrell at the peak of his own comedic career. They work perfectly fine on screen together, but the romantic chemistry is practically non-existent.
Bewitched seems to be missing that Ephron magic that made her previous romantic comedies so enchanting. It could be the miscasting of Will Ferrell, or the overly formulaic plot. It never seems to truly commit to the idea that the love story between Isabel and Jack is the real remake of Bewitched and instead of relies on special effects and some minor, silly spell casting/shenanigans to try and make the movie work. Michael Caine’s talent is completely wasted and Steve Carrell, whom I usually adore, shows up briefly as the obnoxious Uncle Arthur… and he really commits to the obnoxious part.
That being said, there were some parts of the movie that I found to be entertaining. Shirley MacLaine makes the most of her under-developed role as Iris/Endora and some of the sight gags are amusing. As usual, the Ephron soundtrack is full of cozy nostalgia, but it’s just not enough to make Bewitched worthy of its material source. I don’t regret watching it (again), but it’s unlikely I’ll return for another repeated viewing. (https://theromcomcatalog.com/review-bewitched-2005/)
