A 1987 comedic film directed by
George Miller, based on the novel of the same name by
John Updike. The story was also made into a
musical.
Rating: R
Running time: 2 hours, 2 minutes
Cast:
Jack Nicholson as Daryl Van Horne
Michelle Pfeiffer as Suki Ridgemont
Susan Sarandon as Jane Spofford
Cher as Alexandra Medford
Veronica Cartwright as Felicia Alden
Three divorced women/friends living in a small New England town have no idea that they each carry incredibly strong magical powers, until during a night of daydreaming they manage to conjure up the idea of a “perfect” man, and then, suddenly a mysterious man comes to Eastwick. He purchases an old mansion and meets the three women, one by one, seducing them so easily- despite his obvious boorishness- he must be the devil. Of course, it takes a while for the women to figure this out. They first are overcome with their lusts, and are amazed by the power each of them carry together as a band of (innocent) witches. More problems arise when the conservative village grows disgusted over the obvious sexual decadence going on at the mansion, and they look to oust the women, and devilish Daryl, from Eastwick.
This movie is one of my favorites in my collection. Everyone in the film does a great job- each role fits the actor superbly. Nicholson, of course, works quite well as the hedonistic Daryl Van Horn- he may be type cast but there’s a good reason for it. Pfeiffer, Sarandon and Cher work very well together. Each display a loveliness of character as one by one they are seduced (in hilarious manners) by Daryl, and when they gather their witchery together to go against him, the result is grand. (Watching Nicholson go ballistic in the ice-cream shop and in the church are worth watching more than once.)
A few amusing film quotes:
Alexandra to Daryl: “I think... no, I am positive... that you are the most unattractive man I have ever met in my entire life. You know, in the short time we've been together, you have demonstrated every loathsome characteristic of the male personality and even discovered a few new ones. You are physically repulsive, intellectually retarded, you're morally reprehensible, vulgar, insensitive, selfish, stupid, you have no taste, a lousy sense of humor and you smell. You're not even interesting enough to make me sick.”
Daryl: “Do you think God knew what He was doing when He created woman? Huh? No shit. I really wanna know. Or do you think it was another one of His minor mistakes like tidal waves, earthquakes, floods? You think women are like that? S'matter? You don't think God makes mistakes? Of course He does. We ALL make mistakes. Of course, when WE make mistakes they call it evil. When GOD makes mistakes, they call it... nature. So whaddya think? Women... a mistake... or did he do it to us on purpose!?”