What we're watching [www]

A couple of nights ago, we rented La Dolce Vita. I'm sorry to say that I only made it 2 hours through the 3 hour "masterwork". Sure, Anita Ekberg has a very... um... enticing? screen presence, but she's not in much of the movie, is rather an airhead, and her segment is severely marred by the extremely creepy character "Frankie". Presumably, he was intended to look like a satyr with an extreme face lift; if not... . For the most part, however, the story felt very much like a version of Reality Bites for another generation -- amoral characters whining about life not turning out to be the paradise they expected. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Last night we rented the remake of The Stepford Wives. Overall, it was a mildly amusing way to waste 92 minutes. I haven't seen the original, so I really can't comment on which is better. The plot was pretty predictable and definitely lacking any suspense. The great cast – who doesn't like Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler and Christopher Walken? – almost makes up for the lack of script. Matthew, Nicole and newcomer Roger Bart are also all in the upcoming film adaptation of The Producers; hopefully that will be a much better film.