The Stepford Husbands
Encyclopedia
The Stepford Husbands is a 1996 made-for-television sci-fi
/horror
film
inspired by the Ira Levin
novel The Stepford Wives
. It was directed by Fred Walton with a screenplay
by brothers Ken Wheat
and Jim Wheat. Donna Mills
, Michael Ontkean
, Cindy Williams
, Sarah Douglas
, and Louise Fletcher
all starred in the film. It is the third in a series of sequels inspired by the 1971 novel and the original 1975 film The Stepford Wives
.
.
Several months later, graphic artist Jodi and struggling author
Mick Davison (Mills and Ontkean) move to Stepford, Connecticut, in the same house, hoping that life in the seemingly idyllic town will help rejuvenate their troubled marriage. Jodi reunites with old college friend Caroline (Williams) and meets the brilliant Dr. Borzage (Douglas) as well as the intimidating Miriam Benton (Fletcher), who heads a powerful women's group. Mick notices the docile men in the community, including Caroline's husband (who shows surprising moments of aggression), but befriends sloppy neighbor Gordon; both agree they are unnerved by the community. However, both Jodi and Mick are concerned when Gordon undergoes a radical behavior change after a stay at the Stepford Institute for Human Behavior, afterwords thinking only of wife Lisa, but ignoring his son and other interests.
Caroline subtly manipulates the Davisons and drugs Mick at a party. When Mick reacts to the drug, Jodi is convinced her husband has serious problems and commits him to The Stepford Institute for a cure. Mick is given mind altering behavioral therapy
and psychotropic drugs, altering him to behave docily, but passionless. Jodi is concerned about the drugs Mick takes as part of the therapy; when she learns that the previous couple in her house (of the murder-suicide) was linked to heavy drugs, she replaces Mick's drugs with placebo
s. The serious side effects of the treatment becomes clear, the men can become violent, and Mick crashes and threatens to kill Jodi. They reconcile when he is convinced she didn't know of the Institute's motives or methods. (In essence, Caroline had made the decision for Jodi.) They plan to leave immediately.
Caroline has learned of the Davisons' plan to leave town. With the other residents, Caroline captures them in their own house. Mick is returned to the Institute for reconditioning, while Jodi is forced to escape to rescue Mick. Benton allows Jodi to find Mick in the Institute, but with Dr. Borzage, plans to kill her. Borzage, however, is alarmed by the out of control ethics
and kills Benton with a hypodermic needle
meant for Jodi. Borzage then allows the Davisons to escape.
In the epilogue, the fate of the town is not revealed, but Jodi and Mick have returned to New York, Mick has written a book about the experience, and a movie will soon be made.
.
This is the third sequel in a string of stories suggested by, but not necessarily true to the original concept of the novel. The first sequel, Revenge of the Stepford Wives
(1980) starred Don Johnson
, Sharon Gless
, and Julie Kavner
and suggested a similar drug induced compliance. The second sequel, The Stepford Children
(1987) starred Barbara Eden
hewed closer to the original, but that time, the men were also transforming children of Stepford. This third sequel basically reverses the roles, with the women being the oppressors. Louise Fletcher's role, in particular, recalls the role of "Diz", the Men's Club President, in the original. The muddled 2004 film
remains the closest to the original, but with an entirely different tone and ending.
The Executive Producer for the film is Edgar J. Scherick
, who produced the first film.
The film actually deviates from the original pro-feminist with a clearer message recognizing marriages aren't perfect, but still based in love. By having a strong central couple of Jodi and Mick, though troubled, this is one case where the spouse is not betrayed, perhaps suggesting the ending of the later 2004 remake. Unfortunately, the routine treatment and script dilute this message.
Another odd deviation is most of the men post-change are shapeless, dull, and not attractive. One of the major reasons the men of the original changed their wives was to render them as always beautiful and desirable sex objects. The women are pleased the men "listen to their feelings", but do not take full advantage of a "change". Critics wondered why the wives would be happy with such dullards. One review commented "The 'turnabout is fair play' tactic could have been handled intelligently, but this is not that film."
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
/horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
inspired by the Ira Levin
Ira Levin
Ira Levin was an American author, dramatist and songwriter.-Professional life:Levin attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa...
novel The Stepford Wives
The Stepford Wives
The Stepford Wives is a 1972 satirical thriller novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a photographer and young mother who begins to suspect that the frighteningly submissive housewives in her new idyllic Connecticut neighborhood may be robots created by their husbands.Two films of...
. It was directed by Fred Walton with a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by brothers Ken Wheat
Ken Wheat
Ken Wheat is an American screenwriter, producer and director. He is the writer of Pitch Black and the brother of screenwriter Jim Wheat, with whom he has collaborated on a number of projects.- Filmography :...
and Jim Wheat. Donna Mills
Donna Mills
Donna Mills is an American actress, most well known for her role as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing.-Early years:...
, Michael Ontkean
Michael Ontkean
Michael Leonard Ontkean is a Canadian actor. He is best known for the 1970s crime drama The Rookies, the film Slap Shot , and the cult-favorite TV series Twin Peaks .-Life and career:...
, Cindy Williams
Cindy Williams
Cynthia Jane "Cindy" Williams is an American actress best known for starring in the television situation-comedy series Laverne & Shirley, in the role of "Shirley Feeney", and for her role as Laurie Henderson in the classic film American Graffiti.-Early life:Williams was born in Van Nuys,...
, Sarah Douglas
Sarah Douglas
Sarah Douglas is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the Kryptonian supervillain Ursa in the first two Superman movies , and for her role as Pamela Lynch in the 1980s primetime drama series Falcon Crest .-Early life:Douglas was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, the...
, and Louise Fletcher
Louise Fletcher
Louise Fletcher is an American actress best known for her role as Nurse Ratched in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and as Kai Winn Adami in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She also guest starred on the science fiction television series Heroes...
all starred in the film. It is the third in a series of sequels inspired by the 1971 novel and the original 1975 film The Stepford Wives
The Stepford Wives (1975 film)
The Stepford Wives is a 1975 science fiction–thriller film based on the 1972 Ira Levin novel of the same name. It was directed by Bryan Forbes with a screenplay by William Goldman, and stars Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson, Nanette Newman and Tina Louise...
.
Plot
In a prologue, a docile man suddenly kills his wife in a violent method, and then commits suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Several months later, graphic artist Jodi and struggling author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Mick Davison (Mills and Ontkean) move to Stepford, Connecticut, in the same house, hoping that life in the seemingly idyllic town will help rejuvenate their troubled marriage. Jodi reunites with old college friend Caroline (Williams) and meets the brilliant Dr. Borzage (Douglas) as well as the intimidating Miriam Benton (Fletcher), who heads a powerful women's group. Mick notices the docile men in the community, including Caroline's husband (who shows surprising moments of aggression), but befriends sloppy neighbor Gordon; both agree they are unnerved by the community. However, both Jodi and Mick are concerned when Gordon undergoes a radical behavior change after a stay at the Stepford Institute for Human Behavior, afterwords thinking only of wife Lisa, but ignoring his son and other interests.
Caroline subtly manipulates the Davisons and drugs Mick at a party. When Mick reacts to the drug, Jodi is convinced her husband has serious problems and commits him to The Stepford Institute for a cure. Mick is given mind altering behavioral therapy
Behaviour therapy
Behaviour therapy, or behavior therapy is an approach to psychotherapy based on learning theory which aims to treat psychopathology through techniques designed to reinforce desired and eliminate undesired behaviours.-History:...
and psychotropic drugs, altering him to behave docily, but passionless. Jodi is concerned about the drugs Mick takes as part of the therapy; when she learns that the previous couple in her house (of the murder-suicide) was linked to heavy drugs, she replaces Mick's drugs with placebo
Placebo
A placebo is a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient...
s. The serious side effects of the treatment becomes clear, the men can become violent, and Mick crashes and threatens to kill Jodi. They reconcile when he is convinced she didn't know of the Institute's motives or methods. (In essence, Caroline had made the decision for Jodi.) They plan to leave immediately.
Caroline has learned of the Davisons' plan to leave town. With the other residents, Caroline captures them in their own house. Mick is returned to the Institute for reconditioning, while Jodi is forced to escape to rescue Mick. Benton allows Jodi to find Mick in the Institute, but with Dr. Borzage, plans to kill her. Borzage, however, is alarmed by the out of control ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
and kills Benton with a hypodermic needle
Hypodermic needle
A hypodermic needle is a hollow needle commonly used with a syringe to inject substances into the body or extract fluids from it...
meant for Jodi. Borzage then allows the Davisons to escape.
In the epilogue, the fate of the town is not revealed, but Jodi and Mick have returned to New York, Mick has written a book about the experience, and a movie will soon be made.
Production
The film first aired on May 14, 1996. It was filmed in North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
This is the third sequel in a string of stories suggested by, but not necessarily true to the original concept of the novel. The first sequel, Revenge of the Stepford Wives
Revenge of the Stepford Wives
Revenge of the Stepford Wives is a 1980 made-for-television sci-fi/horror film inspired by the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives. It was directed by Robert Fuest with a screenplay by David Wiltse. Sharon Gless, Julie Kavner, Don Johnson, Arthur Hill, and Audra Lindley starred in the film...
(1980) starred Don Johnson
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges...
, Sharon Gless
Sharon Gless
Sharon Marguerite Gless is an American character actress of stage, film and television, who is best known for her roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch , as Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series Cagney & Lacey and as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer...
, and Julie Kavner
Julie Kavner
Julie Deborah Kavner is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. Noted for her role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, she also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.Born in Los...
and suggested a similar drug induced compliance. The second sequel, The Stepford Children
The Stepford Children
The Stepford Children is the second of three made-for-television sequels to the 1975 cult film The Stepford Wives. The film premiered on the NBC network on March 15, 1987. The film was directed by Alan J...
(1987) starred Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
hewed closer to the original, but that time, the men were also transforming children of Stepford. This third sequel basically reverses the roles, with the women being the oppressors. Louise Fletcher's role, in particular, recalls the role of "Diz", the Men's Club President, in the original. The muddled 2004 film
The Stepford Wives (2004 film)
The Stepford Wives is a 2004 American science fiction film. The film is a remake of the 1975 film of the same name; both films are based on the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives...
remains the closest to the original, but with an entirely different tone and ending.
The Executive Producer for the film is Edgar J. Scherick
Edgar J. Scherick
Edgar J. Scherick was one of the most prolific producers of television miniseries, made-for-television films, and theatrical motion pictures.-Life and career:...
, who produced the first film.
Reception
The Stepford Husbands is generally considered to be a modestly budgeted and cliché-ridden film, with mediocre acting. The Hollywood Reporter said "it's hard to care since this is about as shabbily done as you can get with a good-and-scary, tried-and-true idea. Flat and dull, without passion, a sort of Stepford script." Much of the bite is gone from with a lack of the black comedy found in other incarnations.The film actually deviates from the original pro-feminist with a clearer message recognizing marriages aren't perfect, but still based in love. By having a strong central couple of Jodi and Mick, though troubled, this is one case where the spouse is not betrayed, perhaps suggesting the ending of the later 2004 remake. Unfortunately, the routine treatment and script dilute this message.
Another odd deviation is most of the men post-change are shapeless, dull, and not attractive. One of the major reasons the men of the original changed their wives was to render them as always beautiful and desirable sex objects. The women are pleased the men "listen to their feelings", but do not take full advantage of a "change". Critics wondered why the wives would be happy with such dullards. One review commented "The 'turnabout is fair play' tactic could have been handled intelligently, but this is not that film."