Absolutely Brilliant!

A Masterpiece!

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Three single women in a picturesque village have their wishes granted - at a cost - when a mysterious and flamboyant man (Jack Nicholson) arrives in their lives.So, the role Jack Nicholson plays originally was intended for Bill Murray? That is a mind-blower. Nicholson is creepy, dirty, lewd... he always has that edge of crazy. Dangerous crazy. Murray can be crazy, but silly crazy... I cannot see him being the dirty old man so much as the funny overseer. It would be a completely different tone.Great film, though... definitely worth seeing, and a great demonstration of Cher as an actress. She seemed to only have a few years to a decade of being in big movies, but she did those well.

From the director who brought us Mad Max comes a modern-day fairy tale of sorts that examines the age-old battle of the sexes. Alex (Cher), Jane (Susan Sarandon) and Sukie (Michelle Pfeiffer) are three single women who live in the sleepy New England town of Eastwick. Since all of them lack a man in their lives, and are dissatisfied with the ones who are in town, they wish for a handsome stranger to visit. Miraculously, their wish is granted when Daryl Van Horne (Jack Nicholson) strolls into town and succeeds in turning their lives (and the town's) upside down. For the most part, I thought that the story was very effective in setting up its characters and giving them depth, even Daryl. The three women who are the titular "Witches of Eastwick" were all distinct personalities and had situations that made you care about them. Generally speaking, the performances were all very good, although Jack Nicholson towers above the rest of the cast as he brings his brand of insanity to what is essentially the devil in human form. Even the whole "witch" thing was dealt with rather subtly, as the women only become witches by finding the power within themselves. It is this struggle between male and female power which forms the core conflict of the film, and it is a compelling one even though it has been many times over in various forms. The townspeople are also given some development, although probably not enough to warrant the attention provided them. There are references made to the Salem witch trials, and the wife of the town's newspaper editor (Richard Jenkins...with hair!) acts as the mouthpiece for morality when the the three "witches" start their relationship with Daryl. Despite this interesting aside, I think it detracts a little bit from the main conflict. Moving on, I also thought that John Williams' score was fantastic and had this magical/mysterious quality that really meshed with the story and visuals. It's not his best score, but it was still a very good one. There were also a number of special effects by ILM which I thought were also well-done, especially considering this was made in 1987. Overall, I thought this was a very entertaining and funny movie that presented a well-worn theme in a fresh way. The only detraction, I think, is that there's a bit of a mean streak in regards to the portrayal of the male characters which might turn that half of the audience off. Still, this is a quality film that shows off director George Miller's versatility and the acting talents of its cast.

To put it in one sentence - it is a broad satire on human condition and western society, still very modern, sharp and subversive after 25 odd years.Casting is spot on; it is one of the very best Jack Nicholson acting performances; he carries on through the movie with terrific energy, an absolute devil, if only a small one.Susan Sarandon as Jane Spofford is a close match. She is a true witch; it is a great pleasure to watch her unleash her heroine true self.Cher is very good, if only somewhat reserved. Michelle Pfeiffer has quite a few good moments.The whole female trio works really well.Veronica Cartwright over-the-top performance as an evil moralfag is another great, if somewhat guilty pleasure. An absolute dark comic masterpiece with a lots of re-watch potential. Very undervalued.

I suppose having Jack Nicholson play the usual Jack Nicholson character was thought by some to be a casting coup - and a masterpiece would be born. Cher. Sarandon. Pfeiffer. A real casting coup. All they needed was a script.They didn't get it with this dreck. The Hayes Code is long gone, but movies like this tell us why codes evolve in the first place: hideousness built on wretchedness heaped on tastelessness served on poor writing pretending to be clever and wry. With Satan as obnoxious centerpiece.When anything can be filmed and standards evaporate, shock shlock results - attention earned not by great dialogue, clever sets, smart comedy, but by puking, mocking, and dialogue out of a bad True Detective parody.Satan comes into the lives of three women in small-town America. In one choice vignette, he gives a mocking, foul speech in a church. In another, he gives a mocking foul speech . . . Well you get the drift. Foul speech, puke, foul speech, puke, interspersed with not the slightest bit of cleverness. A high school film project effort where the teacher never showed up to advise.Hideous.