The Stepford Wives: Difference between revisions
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''[[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
While just a modest hit in theaters, the film quickly sprouted a meme in the
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 [[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]].
{{
* [[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: ===▼
*
* [[Stepford Consumer]]
* [[Stepford Snarker]]
* [[Stepford Suburbia]]:
* [[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
* [[Brainwashed]]: Some of the sequels had this as the method of creating the Wives/Husbands, instead of out-and-out replacement.
* [[Broken Record]]: In addition to the example under [[Foreshadowing]] below, there's also
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: The word "archaic
* [[Foreshadowing]]: "I'll just ''die'' if I don't get that recipe!" .... "I'll just ''die'' if I don't get that recipe!" ... [[Broken Record|"I'll just
* [[Motor Mouth]]: [[The Simpsons (animation)|Julie Kavner's]] character in ''Revenge''.
* [[Paranoia Fuel]]: Joanna experiences this in-universe
* [[Phlebotinum Breakdown]]: One of the Wives malfunctions while attending a garden party.
* [[Pyrrhic Villainy]]: One of the few high points in ''Revenge of the Stepford Wives'' was an older Men's Association member revisiting [[My God, What Have I Done?|the painful realization]] of what he had given up by having his wife remade.
* [[Recycled in Space|Recycled in]] [[High School|HIGH SCHOOL!]]: ''[[Disturbing Behavior]]''.▼
▲* [[Recycled in Space]] [[High School|HIGH SCHOOL!]]: ''[[Disturbing Behavior]]''.
* [[Ridiculously-Human Robots]]
* [[Robotic Reveal]]: Again, only explicitly done in the movie(s).
* [[Robotic Spouse]]
* [[Sex Bot]]
▲* [[Stepford Suburbia]]: [[Trope Namer|Ditto.]] The empty sterility of American suburbia is a major theme in the original film.
* [[Take That]]: Or else a [[Shout-Out]]. The mastermind behind the whole Men's Association conspiracy used to build animatronic robots at [[Disney Theme Parks|Disneyland]].
* [[Town with a Dark Secret]]: One of the archetypal examples.
* [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife]]: The town pharmacist. Justified, since he's married to a Stepford Wife.
* [[Uncanny Village]]
▲* [[Stepford Smiler]]: In addition to [[Trope Namer|the obvious]], Walter is also one of these, {{spoiler|until he cracks.}}
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Films of the 1970s]]
[[Category:Horror Literature]]
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[[Category:The Stepford Wives]]
[[Category:Multiple Works Need Separate Pages]]
[[Category:Films Based on Novels]]
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[[Category:Film]]
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Latest revision as of 19:05, 14 November 2022
Multiple Works Need Separate Pages Multiple versions or instalments of this work have been lumped into this page. Multiple Works Need Separate Pages, and this page needs to be turned into either a franchise page or a disambiguation page. |
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.
- Stepford Smiler: With the remake providing the page image. In the final scene of the original film, all the women have them.
- In the remake, Walter is also one of these, until he cracks.
- Stepford Consumer
- Stepford Snarker
- Stepford Suburbia: The empty sterility of American suburbia is a major theme in the original film.
- The Beautiful Elite
- Black Eyes of Evil: 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 new large bustline.
- Brainwashed: Some of the sequels had this as the method of creating the Wives/Husbands, instead of out-and-out replacement.
- Broken Record: In addition to the example under Foreshadowing below, there's also the robot Bobbie after Joanna stabs her with a knife.
- Chekhov's Gun: The word "archaic".
- Foreshadowing: "I'll just die if I don't get that recipe!" .... "I'll just die if I don't get that recipe!" ... "I'll just die if I don't get that recipe!"
- Motor Mouth: Julie Kavner's character in Revenge.
- Paranoia Fuel: Joanna experiences this in-universe, when she realizes that either her husband is going to have her replaced with a robot that no one will be able to tell isn't her, or she's going crazy and this is all in her head. She isn't sure which of these two scenarios is worse.
- Phlebotinum Breakdown: One of the Wives malfunctions while attending a garden party.
- Pyrrhic Villainy: One of the few high points in Revenge of the Stepford Wives was an older Men's Association member revisiting the painful realization of what he had given up by having his wife remade.
- Recycled in HIGH SCHOOL!: Disturbing Behavior.
- Ridiculously-Human Robots
- Robotic Reveal: Again, only explicitly done in the movie(s).
- Robotic Spouse
- Sex Bot
- Take That: Or else a Shout-Out. The mastermind behind the whole Men's Association conspiracy used to build animatronic robots at Disneyland.
- Town with a Dark Secret: One of the archetypal examples.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: The town pharmacist. Justified, since he's married to a Stepford Wife.
- Uncanny Village