The Stepford Wives: Difference between revisions

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Content added Content deleted
VisualWikitext
(MWNSP)
 
(5 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{work}}
{{work}}
{{Multiple Works Need Separate Pages}}
[[File:stepford-wives-1975_4151.jpg|frame]]
[[File:stepford-wives-1975_4151.jpg|frame]]


''[[The Stepford Wives]]'' started life as a 1972 novel by Ira Levin. In it, Joanna Eberhart, her husband Walter, and their two young children move from New York City to the eponymous Connecticut commuter-town. Joanna becomes friends with fellow new arrival Bobbie Markowe, as the two of them also become more and more concerned with the behavior of the other housewives in Stepford, who are all impossibly beautiful, housework-obsessed and totally submissive towards their husbands, who in turn are all members of the "Men's Association". The novel was successful enough to be made into a movie in 1975; [[William Goldman]]'s script was fairly faithful to the original, with the major difference being a far more explicit finale showing what was happening to the wives. In both versions, the wives were robot duplicates that replaced the original women after their husbands had them murdered. Both versions of the story had [[Downer Ending]]s.
''[[The Stepford Wives]]'' started life as a 1972 novel by Ira Levin. In it, Joanna Eberhart, her husband Walter, and their two young children move from New York City to the eponymous Connecticut commuter-town. Joanna becomes friends with fellow new arrival Bobbie Markowe, as the two of them also become more and more concerned with the behavior of the other housewives in Stepford, who are all impossibly beautiful, housework-obsessed and totally submissive towards their husbands, who in turn are all members of the "Men's Association". The novel was successful enough to be made into a movie in 1975; [[William Goldman]]'s script was fairly faithful to the original, with the major difference being a far more explicit finale showing what was happening to the wives. In both versions, {{spoiler|the wives were robot duplicates that replaced the original women after their husbands had them murdered}}. Both versions of the story had [[Downer Ending]]s.


While just a modest hit in theaters, the film quickly sprouted a meme in the 1970's, with the term "Stepford Wife" becoming a catchphrase used to describe [[Housewife|female homemakers]] who were sexually repressed and only concerned with domestic chores.
While just a modest hit in theaters, the film quickly sprouted a meme in the 1970's, with the term "Stepford Wife" becoming a catchphrase used to describe [[Housewife|female homemakers]] who were sexually repressed and only concerned with domestic chores.


No theatrical sequels were made, but the movie spawned, over the course of two decades, three [[Made for TV Movie|made-for-TV]] "sequels": ''The Revenge of the Stepford Wives'', ''The Stepford Children'', and ''The Stepford Husbands''. The lack of Levin and/or Goldman's involvement was painfully obvious, and all three films were also victims of [[Bowdlerise|bowdlerization]]: in ''Revenge'' and ''Husbands'', the victims were not killed and replaced but instead merely brainwashed, while ''Children'' had the replaced teenager left alive for no readily-apparent reason, allowing in all three cases for a rescue and happy ending.
No theatrical sequels were made, but the movie spawned, over the course of two decades, three [[Made for TV Movie|made-for-TV]] "sequels": ''The Revenge of the Stepford Wives'', ''The Stepford Children'', and ''The Stepford Husbands''. The lack of Levin and/or Goldman's involvement was painfully obvious, and all three films were also victims of [[Bowdlerise|bowdlerization]]: in ''Revenge'' and ''Husbands'', the victims were not {{spoiler|killed and replaced}} but instead merely brainwashed, while ''Children'' had the replaced teenager left alive for no readily-apparent reason, allowing in all three cases for a rescue and happy ending.


In 2004, Frank Oz directed a more overtly comedic remake of the original film. The production suffered from [[Troubled Production|severe behind-the-scenes turmoil]], including actors walking off the project and some last-minute reshoots. Many viewers found the revelations of the resulting finale to [[Gainax Ending|come completely out of left field]] and contradict the rest of the movie, but as always, [[The Stepford Wives/YMMV|Your Mileage May Vary]].
In 2004, [[Frank Oz]] directed a more overtly comedic [[The Stepford Wives (2004 film)|remake]] of the original film. The production suffered from [[Troubled Production|severe behind-the-scenes turmoil]], including actors walking off the project and some last-minute reshoots. Many viewers found the revelations of the resulting finale to [[Gainax Ending|come completely out of left field]] and contradict the rest of the movie, but as always, [[The Stepford Wives/YMMV|Your Mileage May Vary]].


{{tropelist}}
{{tropenamer}}
* [[Stepford Smiler]]: With the remake providing the page image. In the final scene of the original film, all the women have them.
⚫
== The orginal film/novel, and its sequels, provide examples of ==
** In the remake, Walter is also one of these, {{spoiler|until he cracks}}.
* [[Stepford Consumer]]
* [[Stepford Snarker]]
* [[Stepford Suburbia]]: The empty sterility of American suburbia is a major theme in the original film.

⚫
{{tropelist|The original film/novel, and its sequels, provide examples of:}}
* [[The Beautiful Elite]]
* [[The Beautiful Elite]]
* [[Black Eyes of Evil]]: [[Robotic Reveal|When Joanna meets her robot double in the film]], it hasn't quite been finished yet and is sporting a pair of these (this is a minor [[Special Effects Failure]], as they're supposed to be empty sockets—the black contact lenses reflected ambient lighting). It's also sporting a [[Evil Is Sexy|new large bustline]].
* [[Black Eyes of Evil]]: [[Robotic Reveal|When Joanna meets her robot double in the film]], it hasn't quite been finished yet and is sporting a pair of these (this is a minor [[Special Effects Failure]], as they're supposed to be empty sockets—the black contact lenses reflected ambient lighting). It's also sporting a [[Evil Is Sexy|new large bustline]].
Line 31: Line 38:
* [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife]]: The town pharmacist. Justified, since he's married to a Stepford Wife.
* [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife]]: The town pharmacist. Justified, since he's married to a Stepford Wife.
* [[Uncanny Village]]
* [[Uncanny Village]]

== The 2004 version provides examples of ==
* [[Alas, Poor Yorick]]
* [[Aluminum Christmas Trees]]: Yes, there actually ''was'' a reality show about putting a married couple's relationship to the test by separating them on an island full of sexy people. And ''yes'', it was on Fox.
* [[Armor-Piercing Question]]:
{{quote|'''Joanna''': Let me ask you something. These machines. These Stepford Wives. Can they say "I love you"?
'''Walter''': Mike?
'''Mike''': Of course. In 58 languages.
'''Joanna''': But do they ''mean'' it?}}
* [[Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other]]
* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: Joanna. In the beginning, her pet project at the network she works at is a [[Reality TV]] show similar to ''[[wikipedia:Temptation Island (TV series)|Temptation Island]]''. At a press conference, while hyping up her show, she is confronted and ''shot at'' by a man whose marriage was ruined by the show, and who [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|shot his cheating wife and her lovers in rage]]. Afterwords, Joanna is already planning out the reunion show to exploit the carnage she has accidentally inflicted, only to not only be fired from the network, but also blacklisted from television due to her utterly irresponsible decisions in programming.
** What does it say that ''that'' is probably the [[Take That|most unbelievable thing in the movie]]?
* [[Downer Ending]]: {{spoiler|Subverted. Walter destroys the computer controlling the wives, freeing them of their brainwashing}}.
** And then {{spoiler|either reinstated or double subverted kind of awesomely when the end, without showing the wives, implies that the '''WIVES''' are now in complete control and keep their husbands as docile servants}}.
** {{spoiler|It was said they were under "house arrest", so it's safe to assume the wives considered this was a fitting punishment in lieu of jail time}}.
* [[Gay Conservative]]: The gay couple in the 2004 remake includes one [[Invisible to Gaydar]] member who is a [[Gay Conservative]]. His partner is a [[Camp Gay]].
* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Joanna.
* [[The Man Behind the Man]]: The viewer is led to believe that Mike is behind the operation, but really {{spoiler|he's just a Stepford Husband created by his "wife" Claire, the real [[Big Bad]] of Stepford}}.
* [[Married to the Job]]
* [[Not His Sled]]: The 2004 remake had its own [[Shocking Swerve|shocking surprise ending]], where it's revealed {{spoiler|the wives weren't replaced by robots}}.
* [[Phlebotinum Breakdown]]: One of the Wives malfunctions while attending a square dance.
* [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]: Hank, the disgruntled reality show contestant, at the very beginning.
* [[Scream Discretion Shot]]
* [[Take That]]:
** Towards reality TV; see [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] above.
** "So I wondered, where in the world would nobody notice a town full of mindless, lifeless automatons? And then I thought, of course! Connecticut!"
** The original's Disney reference is updated to a dig at America Online ("Is that why the women are so slow?"). Most of Disney's pioneering work with animatronics was done in the '60s and '70s, making the reference somewhat dated by 2004.
* [[Utopia Justifies the Means]]: {{spoiler|What appears to be the villain's main motive for turning the women into robots}}.
* [[With or Without You]]:
{{quote|'''Joanna Eberhart''': It's... It's not our world. It's not us. And I'm picking up our kids from camp right now, and we're getting out of here. With or without you.}}


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
Line 73: Line 50:
[[Category:Films Based on Novels]]
[[Category:Films Based on Novels]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stepford Wives, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stepford Wives, The}}
[[Category:Film]]

Latest revision as of 19:05, 14 November 2022

The Stepford Wives started life as a 1972 novel by Ira Levin. In it, Joanna Eberhart, her husband Walter, and their two young children move from New York City to the eponymous Connecticut commuter-town. Joanna becomes friends with fellow new arrival Bobbie Markowe, as the two of them also become more and more concerned with the behavior of the other housewives in Stepford, who are all impossibly beautiful, housework-obsessed and totally submissive towards their husbands, who in turn are all members of the "Men's Association". The novel was successful enough to be made into a movie in 1975; William Goldman's script was fairly faithful to the original, with the major difference being a far more explicit finale showing what was happening to the wives. In both versions, the wives were robot duplicates that replaced the original women after their husbands had them murdered. Both versions of the story had Downer Endings.

While just a modest hit in theaters, the film quickly sprouted a meme in the 1970's, with the term "Stepford Wife" becoming a catchphrase used to describe female homemakers who were sexually repressed and only concerned with domestic chores.

No theatrical sequels were made, but the movie spawned, over the course of two decades, three made-for-TV "sequels": The Revenge of the Stepford Wives, The Stepford Children, and The Stepford Husbands. The lack of Levin and/or Goldman's involvement was painfully obvious, and all three films were also victims of bowdlerization: in Revenge and Husbands, the victims were not killed and replaced but instead merely brainwashed, while Children had the replaced teenager left alive for no readily-apparent reason, allowing in all three cases for a rescue and happy ending.

In 2004, Frank Oz directed a more overtly comedic remake of the original film. The production suffered from severe behind-the-scenes turmoil, including actors walking off the project and some last-minute reshoots. Many viewers found the revelations of the resulting finale to come completely out of left field and contradict the rest of the movie, but as always, Your Mileage May Vary.

The Stepford Wives is the Trope Namer for:
The original film/novel, and its sequels, provide examples of:
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/The_Stepford_Wives?oldid=1989397"