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After Joanna (Kidman) loses her high-powered Manhattan TV exec job, her husband Walter (Broderick) seizes the chance to start life over again without all the stress. So they pack up the kids and move to an idyllic suburb called Stepford. While Walter joins the local men's association, Joanna quickly befriends two other new residents--a sassy writer (Midler) and a gay architect (Bart). This trio of amateur sleuths decide to investigate the town's odd goings-on, most notably the way all the women seem just a bit too perfect. But that's only the tip of the iceberg.

With a story this well-known, you've got to do something clever, and Rudnick fills the script with such brilliant touches that even a graceless director like Oz can't miss (and to be fair, this is Oz's strongest film yet). The cynical humour pokes sharply but subtly at America's insular affluence and stereotypical roles that create a false sense of success without actually achieving it. Under all the goofiness, this is actually a strong statement about aspirational lifestyles, but the witty script is so dry that those in the target area won't get the joke!

Meanwhile, the film's surface is hilariously colourful. Kidman gives it her all with an energetic, entertaining performance that has true layers of complexity underneath the goofiness. Broderick brings just the right puppy-dog nerdiness to the confused-and-potentially-evil Walter. Walken is great fun as Stepford's puppet-master. And Midler and Close (as the town's mother figure) are sheer perfection--outrageously camp with a controlled edge that's often rather terrifying.

If even a moment in this film hadn't sustained the tone, it never would have worked. So all credit to the cast and crew for the fine balancing act they perform right to the multi-twist ending. The result is a fabulously entertaining piece of candy, wrapped in a shiny pink ribbon. With a surprisingly provocative aftertaste.