Bothered & bewildered

Skip it. Seriously. DO NOT PAY FOR THIS MOVIE. Do not not pay for this movie. Just skip it.

When you have Caine and MacLaine, you'd better give them something to do. Bewitched drags them along like old boots off the backend of a newlyweds' car. These are two people with impeccable comic instincts, and for the first half of the movie, they quietly transcend the witless, cutesy plot.

Then things get really boring, and you get the feeling Caine and MacLaine just stopped showing up to the set. Better things to do, I guess, like going to the bathroom or playing horseshoes.

For all its utter banality, Bewitched does serve a purpose. It proves that Nicole Kidman is an actor to be reckoned with -- not that she wasn't before; no actor working today has taken as many risky and varied roles as her and succeeded. But Bewitched thrusts upon her the most dangerous and dull part of her career, and she wrings it for all it's worth. There is an early scene when her character is "auditioning" for the role of Samantha. Watch Kidman. This is an actor completely committed and comfortable in her part, even as the movie itself is creaking. I think it says great things about Kidman's professionalism and reserves.

Does anyone else think Will Ferrell's 15 minutes are up? Nice guy, and funny, but I think we're done here.