This is not a great movie, not by a long shot. It's cheesy and lame on so many levels and as a remake it tarnishes the memory of the beloved series in countless ways. But, it's not a remake, by any means, and in that, we find redemption. It is, rather, a parody in some ways, and a tribute in others, and in that, they succeed. When i first saw this movie, I was angry and so very disappointed. I just found it plain dumb. But over the years I have found that it grows on you, at least it did on me. My first reaction to Bewitched was basically the same one Family Guy's Stewie Griffin had upon viewing said movie, shown below.
The reason, I think, it wasn't that funny, was because we were expecting it to be funny for the same reasons the series was funny, but like I said, this isn't a remake of the series, it is a tribute. Had we seen this movie without the title of Bewitched, everyone would've found it funny enough not to hate it. The title raised our expectations to unreasonable levels.
I found the story to be a very creative means of bringing back interest to the series and also a terrific job of ending it, and not making it with the purpose of actually rebooting the entire series. It is a standalone movie playing on nostalgia and nothing else, resulting in a touching tribute that does its job of reminding us of what we grew up with, without actually tarnishing the characters we love. Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell do not play Samantha and Darrin, they play actors filming a remake of Bewitched. It is a clever twist and while it is tempting to say they just played it safe by providing themselves a way to capitalize on the fame of the original without actually remaking it, I would love to see more reboots take a similar route.
What I also enjoyed about this movie was the casting. It was near perfection. Nicole Kidman as the Ding Dong blonde worked perfectly, Will Ferrell's bumbling idiot, yet jerk movie star has-been was fun and hilarious, and Michael Cain and Shirley McClaine round off the supporting cast brilliantly. Not too mention Steve Carell's Uncle Arthur, while brief, was a brilliant choice. "Hey, is it Porsche, or Porsha?" (Steve Carell as Uncle Arthur)
I think this movie works well for what it was intended to be, and if we were to watch it as such, then I think we all would've enjoyed it more. I am not innocent in hating the movie upon first viewing it, and I'm sure there are many others who shared my initial reaction. However, as a standalone movie, I find it to be well written, superbly cast, and yes, even funny. Except the Clippers joke, which as Stewie points out, is not.
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