A Model Bride

The Stepford Wives appears to be a picture perfect look at suburban life. But something dark lurks just beneath the surface. I wish I’d gone into The Stepford Wives completely blind, but I doubt I would’ve seen it if I didn’t know the twist. The Eberhart’s are just your average family leaving the big city for a quiet suburban town. Stepford is almost too quiet with bright and colorful residents. You’d never guess anything was wrong until you saw the women.

All the men are part of a boys club called the “Men’s Association,” while all the women are 50’s era housewives who love nothing more than to cook, clean, and please their husbands. I didn’t really recognize anyone until I realized Katharine Ross was Elaine in The Graduate. She plays aspiring photographer Joanna Eberhart. One of the only normal wives and/or mothers left in the town. Joanna teams up with fellow newbie resident Bobbie in order to figure out what’s wrong with the women of Stepford. You can tell it’s the 70’s due to the feminist parallels.

When you realize The Stepford Wives is based on a book written by the author of Rosemary’s Baby, you pick up on a lot of similarities. Mainly the slow burn to a shocking conclusion. The men in Stepford act strangely and even Joanna’s own husband seems to be against her. Until we discover (SPOILER ALERT!) the wives are all robots! Each designed to be the perfect wife for their husbands. Regardless of how you interpret it, nothing is more disturbing than Joanna discovering her own soulless robot just waiting to replace her. The Stepford Wives is a creepy critique of an archaic society.

The Stepford wives