The Witches of Eastwick (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'The Witches of Eastwick' (directed by George Miller) is an absolute hoot. On Thursday nights in the small, sleepy town of Eastwick (in New England), 3 female friends - divorced music teacher, Jane (red-haired Susan Sarandon), divorced reporter, Sukie (blonde bombshell Michelle Pfeiffer), & widowed sculptress, Alex (rave-haired Cher) - meet to drink martinis, learn Chinese aphrodisiac cuisine, & lament about their lack of love life. As they sit around, they fantasize about & describe their vision of the ideal man. Arriving in town the following day is, well, Satan - disguised as mysterious, charismatic, horn-ball Darrell Van Horn (Jack Nicholson). One by one, the lusty, temperamental Darrell seduces each of the female friends.
With time, straaannnge things start happening. When the town matriarch, Felicia (Veronica Cartwright, outrageous) publically denounces Darrell Van Horne, she attains a horrific compound fracture. When she forces her editor husband to publish a nasty story about Darrell's sexual antics, Van Horne gets his revenge ... big time. The women - once naive - now see that they may be in grave danger & begin to plot their escape from his talons {literally}.
'The Witches of Eastwick' is just a super fun romp of a movie. Does it have a brilliant script? Nah. But it's edgy, funny & absurd {in a good way}. The actors are on-point. The sound design/effects are note-worthy. John Williams provides yet another interesting, memorable music score. The special effects are ghoulish fun. And the make-up work on demonic Jack Nicholson is a riot. Speaking of Jack, he is in full wacko mode, here {working those eyebrows to the extreme}. And the double entendre/innuendo dialogue he's given? He milks it for every metaphor going.
I LOVED Veronica Cartright as Felicia -- what she has to go through in more than one scene is hysterical! And the sexy threesome of Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer & Cher is unforgettable. Their onscreen chemistry is lived-in & easy. When together, they're constantly (and humorously) talking over each other. But what they're saying is punctuated with great wit & irony -- you'll remember them fondly years from now in these roles. I also liked the film's theme: emancipated females can be very powerful and - when provoked - can take-down any 'evil' man. So yeah, sans a verging-on-over-the-top firestorm of a climax sequence, 'TWoE' is a stylish & wonderfully played horror-comedy that most audiences adored.
With time, straaannnge things start happening. When the town matriarch, Felicia (Veronica Cartwright, outrageous) publically denounces Darrell Van Horne, she attains a horrific compound fracture. When she forces her editor husband to publish a nasty story about Darrell's sexual antics, Van Horne gets his revenge ... big time. The women - once naive - now see that they may be in grave danger & begin to plot their escape from his talons {literally}.
'The Witches of Eastwick' is just a super fun romp of a movie. Does it have a brilliant script? Nah. But it's edgy, funny & absurd {in a good way}. The actors are on-point. The sound design/effects are note-worthy. John Williams provides yet another interesting, memorable music score. The special effects are ghoulish fun. And the make-up work on demonic Jack Nicholson is a riot. Speaking of Jack, he is in full wacko mode, here {working those eyebrows to the extreme}. And the double entendre/innuendo dialogue he's given? He milks it for every metaphor going.
I LOVED Veronica Cartright as Felicia -- what she has to go through in more than one scene is hysterical! And the sexy threesome of Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer & Cher is unforgettable. Their onscreen chemistry is lived-in & easy. When together, they're constantly (and humorously) talking over each other. But what they're saying is punctuated with great wit & irony -- you'll remember them fondly years from now in these roles. I also liked the film's theme: emancipated females can be very powerful and - when provoked - can take-down any 'evil' man. So yeah, sans a verging-on-over-the-top firestorm of a climax sequence, 'TWoE' is a stylish & wonderfully played horror-comedy that most audiences adored.