I first saw The Witches of Eastwick back when it first released to movie theaters. I think I went with my doddily doo Cerpts and possible our friend Paul was with us as well. I remember liking it good enough but that was the one and only time I had seen it. I figured October was the perfect time of year to reconnect with it so let’s jump in and see what we have. First let’s start with who stars and that is a list of who’s who of movie stars. First up is the legendary Jack Nicholson, and I could make a list of films he has been in that would be longer than my arm but I'll name a few. He was in The Shining, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, A Few Good Men, Batman, As Good as It Gets, and Easy Rider.
OK, that’s enough. Jack stars as Daryl Van Horne, a mysterious man who moves into a neighborhood in a gorgeous Rhode Island town. Three women (the titular “witches”) are played by Cher (Moonstruck, Silkwood, and Mask), Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Dead Man Walking), and Michelle Pfeiffer (Scarface, Antman and the Wasp, and Batman Returns). Alex (Cher) is a sculptor, Jane (Sarandon) is a music teacher, and Suki (Pfeiffer) is a newspaper reporter. For one reason or another, all three women have recently lost their husbands. Cue the arrival of Daryl, who when he first moves into town, is not looked upon favorably.
In fact, he is referred to (at least by one woman, more on her later) as “He whose name is easily forgotten”. Daryl moves into the biggest, fanciest, and most expensive home in town. Everyone in town is absolutely beguiled by his arrival, except for the one who I mentioned earlier. That woman, Felicia, is the very devout wife of the editor of the town newspaper. Felicia, played by Veronica Cartwright (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Alien, and The Birds), is married to Suki’s boss Clyde Alden, which of course makes things complicated. Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water, The Cabin in the Woods, and Step Brothers) stars as Alden.
Daryl successfully ( and quite easily too) manages to seduce all three women which causes a rift to form between the ladies. However, they soon decide to settle their argument and share Daryl, allowing all three of them to claim him as their boyfriend. All this of course angers Felicia and she sees to it that the women are soon treated as the town outcasts. Wicked hilarity ensues. Also featured here is Carl Struycken who I absolutely adored as the gentle giant from Twin Peaks. Struycken plays Fidel, Daryl’s butler. Surprisingly, the film is directed by George Miller who also directed all the Mad Max films, and I do mean ALL of them. He’s also directed both Happy Feet animated films, so I guess the guy is multifaceted.
Now, while being entertaining and funny, it sometimes struggles to not fall into the category of being silly. While all three actresses are to be commended for their roles, all three are great, it’s Jack who absolutely steals the film. In fact, as I have praised all three women stars, the person that comes the closest to equaling Nicholson here is Cartwright in her role as the up tight bible thumper who is nearly as off the wall as Jack is. A little personal note, I was just in the process of moving into the dorms at Boston College right after filming of the movie had completed. It was filmed in the Boston area not Rhode Island where it is supposed to take place. All everyone could talk about was how the entire town was star struck as sightings of the cast had been made all over eastern Massachusetts.
Thankfully I missed that hysteria, but I wasn’t as lucky with all the Cheers’ insanity that was going on. Even though Cheers wasn’t filmed anywhere near Boston, the bar it was fashioned from (The Bull and Finch) was a huge tourist attraction, sometimes making it impossible to get through that area of the city. So, I said all that so I could tell you the scenery here is idyllic (if small New England towns are your thing that is) and many of the areas are easily identified if you have spent any time in the area. Nostalgically is of course how I wax! Three and a half cherry pits out of five for this horror comedy (it IS a dark horror comedy so don’t “at” me) fun romp from the 80’s.
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