What qualities constitute the perfect wife?

Welcome to the town of Stepford, where you're guaranteed to find the answer.

Joanna Eberhard (Nicole Kidman) a powerhouse TV network president and the whiz behind a kinky reality game show, seems to have the perfect life. She has a great job, 2 beautiful children and a loving husband, Walter Kresby (Matthew Broderick).

However, after surviving an attempt on her life by the crazed husband of a viewer, Joanna is fired, has marriage troubles and realises that she barely knows her children.

After suffering an emotional breakdown, Joanna accepts her hubby's offer to start afresh in seemingly perfect Stepford, Connecticut. There, Joanna hopes to be able to salvage her marriage and become the perfect mother she has so far failed to be.

As the gates of the small town open, it feels as if you're stepping into the Maxis Sims game. Stepford, like Pleasantville is simply a town that's too good to be true - not a single shrub is out of place outdoors and the weather is perfect. All the houses are spacious, and so impeccably decorated to make you green with envy.

To sweeten the deal of moving to this town, the female citizens are Barbie replicas who are always beautifully made up and in pastel country sundresses that emphasise their curvaceous bodies and impossibly huge bosoms. They are domesticated sex kittens whose aspirations rise no further than fulfilling their husbands' every need (especially sexual ones) and their "hobbies" include doing household chores.

Which might even be reasonable if only their husbands, weren't such a stark contrast: they all look amazingly dorky, except perhaps Mike Wellington (Christoper Walken), the charismatic Mayor of Stepford, head of the Me's Association, and husband of Claire Wellington (Glenn Close).

Considered an outcast of this perfect community, Joanna seeks out others who are also unable to fit in. She becomes steadfast friends with Bobbie Markowitz (Bette Midler), a famous author who loves challenging traditional roles in society, especially that of her sloppy husband, Davie (Jon Lovitz). Her other "girlfriend", Roger Bannister (Roger Bart), is a stereotypical gay man who has just moved to Stepford with his boyfriend.

The trio begins investigating into their Stepford neighbours' strange behaviour, but gradually Joanna’s new friends and their spouses one by one seem to go the same way, until at last it is Joanna and Walter's turn to uncover the "secret" of Stepford.

This year's movie is based on the satirical book The Stepford Wives written by Ira Levin back in 1972, as well as the subsequent sci-fi, thriller and mystery movie, The Stepford Wives (1975) directed by Bryan Forbes. This adaptation by director Frank Oz and writer Paul Rudnick to become a comedy thriller film examining the issue of sexism, fails to pull through due to too much exaggeration and a lack of wit.

The premise of the story has been adapted to suit a modern-day lifestyle with miracle household appliances, yet the utter perfection of the characters and surroundings remain too far-fetched and fake. The presence of a gay couple is an interesting attempt to involve sexism and gay issues in modern times, but comes off as trying a little too hard.

Even the twist at the end doesn't help much with the film's originality, because movies with the same concept like The Village or the Matrix Trilogy have explored this idea before.

Although Nicole Kidman, who recently won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Hours, charms the screen usual, she somehow pales in comparison to Bette Midler. Midler, who was nominated for a Grammy last year for Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook, proves that her acting has not been compromised by her singing career. Her humorous, quick-witted and independent character leave more imprints on the viewer than Nicole Kidman's lead role.

However, the highlight of the show is definitely getting to see Faith Hill make a fool of herself as a malfunctioning Stepford wife.

After reading the original story by Ira Levin, I felt that it was an outstanding book because of its realism. Although it was written in 1970s and was meant to broach the provocative issue of sexism of that time, he had clearly brought forth the problems real women face regardless of time and space. I was drawn into the book and the mystery of the "Stepford secret". Even before I turned to the last page, I had already made a firm resolution never to become a Stepford wife.

I feel that it's a crying shame that the movie, which mockingly examines sexism, reaches an extent that fails to portray the realism that Ira Levin had managed to accomplish. I would personally recommend the book as a much better alternative to the movie.

Or perhaps Frank Oz wanted the viewers to look out for more than just beauty on the surface. However, like the bimbotic Stepford wives, underneath the beauty, there is nothing in the film - neither a good plot nor creativity.

What irony.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.

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All pictures courtesy of United International Pictures and Yahoo! Movies.