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The Stepford Wives Review

Other Critics provided by Metacritic.com

Critics scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 3.0
    42

    out of 100

    Metascore®
    Mixed or average reviews
    based on a weighted average of all
    critic review scores.

  • 10

    out of 100

    Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

    A pitiful shambles of a remake, The Stepford Wives might have qualified as a rethinking of the 1975 original if there were any trace of coherent thought in the finished product.

  • 40

    out of 100

    The New York Times Dana Stevens

    It does manage to fire off a handful of decent jokes and a few sneaky insights before losing its nerve and collapsing into incoherence.

    Read Full Review

  • 40

    out of 100

    Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis

    It was somebody's nitwit idea to rip out the story's guts and brains for a sour sellout of a finale -- which finds the filmmakers behaving exactly like Stepford men and turning an original into a dummy.

    Read Full Review

  • 50

    out of 100

    Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

    At no time do the men -- that is, the straight ones -- believably hold the upper hand. In the new town of Stepford, there's no bitterness, no struggle, no competition, none of the scars of the sexual revolution. There's just gay apparel.

    Read Full Review

  • 60

    out of 100

    Variety

    Another "remake" that merits the title in name only, The Stepford Wives isn't the "troubled" disaster that media reports have suggested it might be, yet nor do its oddly matched parts ever congeal into a fully formed creation.

    Read Full Review

  • 60

    out of 100

    The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

    Because the entire audience knows what's going on, the filmmakers hope to distract viewers from storytelling weaknesses with an urgent sense of style.

    Read Full Review

  • 63

    out of 100

    USA Today Mike Clark

    You feel some of the strain in this immaculately shot, designed and costumed farce, but it's fast and the cast is lively, even though a lost-looking Broderick rarely gets to shoot his patented bewildered look.

    Read Full Review

  • 75

    out of 100

    Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

    The 1975 movie tilted toward horror instead of comedy. Now here's a version that tilts the other way, and I like it a little better.

    Read Full Review

  • See all The Stepford Wives reviews at Metacritic.com

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For Families provided by Common Sense Media

Iffy for 14+

So-so remake of campy '70s movie; not for kids.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this movie has strong material for a PG-13, including vulgar humor, very explicit sexual references and an overheard sexual situation and comic violence. Characters drink, smoke, joke about psychotropic prescription drugs and Viagra, and use some bad language. There are some very nasty characters plotting some very nasty things. The main characters are all white and the movie has some comic stereotyping.

  • Families can talk about why a thriller plot from 29 years ago makes more sense as a comedy today. How are both versions inspired by the conflicting pressures on both men and women? What do you think about what the movie has to say about defining success and happiness? About perfection not really working?

What to watch for
  • violence false3

    Violence: Comic peril and violence.

  • sex false5

    Sex: Explicit sexual situation for a PG-13, sexual references, including adultery and prostitution. There is a gay couple.

  • language false3

    Language: Strong language for a PG-13.

  • consumerism false0

    Consumerism: Not an issue

  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3

    Drinking, drugs and smoking: Drinking and smoking, prescription drug use.

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© Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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