The Stepford Wives (2004)

This short but intriguing novel by Ira Levin kept me guessing at every turn. Every scene gave one more clue to the dreadful secret of the wives in Stepford. The suspense had me up late eagerly awaiting each revelation. The 2004 film adaptation starring Nicole Kidman and Matthew Broderick is.. different. Stepford is brought into the 21st century, and Joanna is a top TV executive with a nervous breakdown. Her faithful but somewhat weak husband (Broderick) is eager to find a new life away from her high-powered career, and so they find themselves in Stepford. The movie takes a light-hearted look at the Stepford wives, as early on we see one 'short-circuit' and immediately know there is something off. As Glen Close leads the group through "cleaning" aerobics, I nearly rolled on the floor at the humor. Bette Midler is perfectly cast as Joanna's only 'normal' friend, and her personality change is drastic. In a politically-correct twist, a gay couple is added into the mix, and the "wife" is turned into *gasp* a gay Republican.

With a slightly different twist (the women are not dead, their minds simply altered) and a heartbroken Glen Close explaining the origin of the "Stepford" plan, I found the movie's ending to be as satisfying as the book. It was also a pleasant surprise that Broderick did not "Stepfordize" Kidman, considering how emasculated he seemed to be in her presence. Overall, I'm glad to have this movie in my collection.