The Stepford Wives (PG-13) ★★½

As a loosely based remake to the 1975 creep show of the same name, about a town full of way too perfect suburban wives and their way too happy husbands, The Stepford Wives is definitely riddled with glaring plot holes and implausibilities. But its also a real hoot.

Story

The tagline reads, ''The wives of Stepford have a secret,'' and boy, do they ever. Of course, Joanna Eberhart (Nicole Kidman), a former tough-as-nails television network president, doesn't know the secret. Not yet, anyway. She just thinks she's moving to the peaceful upper-class suburbs of Stepford, Connecticut, with her attentive husband, Walter (Matthew Broderick) and their two adorable children--to try to recover from a nervous breakdown after being summarily dismissed from her high-powered job. What Joanna finds instead is a group of eerie '50s-type perfect housewives, lead by the ultra-coiffed Claire Wellington (Glenn Close), who tend to their beautiful, spacious homes, excel at crafts and cater to their geeky husbands' every whim. The women's behavior is more than a little odd to Joanna, even if Walter thinks it's all very quaint, as he rushes off to join the other men folk at the Stepford Men's Association, lead by Claire's manly husband Mike (Christopher Walken). Luckily, Joanne isn't entirely alone in her suspicions, discovering allies in recent transplants Bobbie Markowitz (Bette Midler), a frumpy best-selling author, and Roger Bannister (Roger Bart), a gay-and-proud-of-it architect. Together, they try to unravel the mysterious of Stepford, while also managing to learn how to make the perfect Christmas ornament from a pine cone.

Acting

Stepford Wives employs a stellar cast. The over-exposed Kidman finally gets to loosen up a bit after such downers as The Hours, Cold Mountain and Dogville and has fun with Joanna. Her bitchy TV executive is particularly comical, as it is realistic, especially when she's spouting off ideas on how to turn a tragedy into ''real'' television. Honestly, the Oscar-winning actress can do just about anything--but it may be time for her to take a vacation. As Joanna's husband, Broderick is spot-on as the mousy Walter who eventually shows some backbone (of course he does). Close and Walken also have their roles down, er, perfectly as the masterminds of their own little version of heaven. But the real standouts are Midler, as the caustic Bobbie, and Broadway actor Bart as Roger, who provokes the biggest laughs from the audience with his flare for the flamboyant. Yes, it may be a tad stereotypical, but he sells it, girlfriend. Even country singer Faith Hill tries her hand at the whole acting thing, making an appearance as one of the Stepford wives--come on, she certainly looks the part, doesn't she?

Direction

Trouble brewed on The Stepford Wives set. Director Frank Oz (In & Out) apparently had difficulties with producers over the direction of the film (which veers completely away from the suspenseful original) as well as run-ins with co-stars Midler and Walken--and the end product reflects it. Stepford is muddled and savvy moviegoers will no doubt scrutinize the film's glaring flaws, especially the whole ''robot'' component (are they actual robots or what?) and the over-the-top, maybe-you'll-guess-it twist at the end. But Stepford's intentional ribbing of social mores and quest for perfection comes shining through, thanks to Paul Rudnick's campy script. There are more than a few hysterical scenes, including one where Joanna, Bobbie and Roger sneak into one of the Stepford houses, and after hearing a particularly vigorous lovemaking session between perfect wife #34 and her husband, Roger runs up the stairs because he's ''got to get some of that'' or the scene where Claire talks about the great things to make at Christmas, while Bobbie throws out her own clever ideas on what to do with pine cones. The important thing is Stepford Wives doesn't take itself seriously--well, not really--and neither should anyone else.

Bottom Line

The Stepford Wives may not be as perfect as Stepford's manufactured denizens but, supported by a fabulous cast, it produces some genuine belly laughs just the same.