Excellent, Without a doubt!!

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Wicked Stepmother (1989) * (out of 4) Bette Davis, like so many other great actors and actresses, ended her career with a really embarrassing film. Depend on who you believe, Davis walked off the film after a week due to her not liking the screenplay, or, according to director Cohen, she was in such bad health that she had to walk off. Either way the film centers on a witch (Davis) who moves in with a family (Colleen Camp, David Rasche) and soon starts to take over the house. Her daughter (Barbara Carrera) then comes to stay and more trouble follows. The truth behind why Davis left this production will never be known but I seriously doubt the film would have turned out very good either way. Cohen, best known for various horror movies, doesn't have too much to work with his as his screenplay undoubtedly had to be rewritten with the daughter aspect added in. Some would say Davis walking off the film would ruin it all around but even the stuff she's in doesn't appear to be written overly well. We get a few campy moments because it's rather strange seeing someone like Davis doing a movie like this. She is over acting quite a lot but if she was really unhappy with the screenplay, I kept wondering if she was giving a bad performance on purpose. The comedy falls flat on its face but I must admit that there's some weird charm with the way Davis is delivering her lines. The supporting cast are all pretty bland and doesn't bring any energy to the film. Tom Bosley is pretty bad as a detective. Even with Davis walking off the film there's no excuse for all the other issues with the movie. This includes it not really knowing what it's trying to do because on one hand it tries to come off as a kids movie but then we'll have another scene, like the sex scene between the witch and the married father, which seems out of place. I find it shocking that the movie got a theatrical release because it looks like a TV movie at best and that might be an insult to TV movies. Fans of Davis might want to check this out just to see her final film but others should stay far, far away unless you're a fan of bad movies.

This film is nothing short of a criminal act! Was nobody looking out for poor, frail (almost dead) Bette Davis?? The filmmaker supposedly was trying to offer the legend what she wanted most, To work.. but I say that everyone who was involved with the making of this catastrophe that stood by and allowed an already dead Bette Davis to be shamed like this is GUILTY of a crime! A crime against everything that we classic film lovers and fans of Bette Davis hold dear. I realize that Bette walked off the film, some say because of her failing health, others say Bette (as sick as she was) knew that this steaming pile was beneath her. Whatever the reason I am glad that we can at least say that Bette walked off because this STAIN on her glorious career is as bad as I have ever seen! I almost turned it off after only 15min and then I forced myself to watch until the point that Bette walked off. If someone wants to see a Bette Davis film then I recommend they watch All About Eve or Now Voyager or The Letter... or if you want to see a "farewell" performance then watch The Whales of August which co stars Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Southern and Harry Carey Jr. In closing I just want to say that I am a film historian and preservationist at heart and I would NEVER think of making my next statement if I didn't feel it was the best solution, that being said I feel that this film should be erased from history.. All it does is tarnish the memory of one of the greatest actresses that ever graced stage or screen. Nothing whatsoever can be gained from viewing this film, if so I would not say that I feel it should be completely deleted. I don't expect everyone to agree with me but I hope that all of you Bette Davis fans that haven't seen this movie yet will PLEASE SKIP this one! Then for all the Bette Davis fans and classic movie lovers/buffs that have seen some or all of this excrement, don't remember Bette this way, she was so wonderful and full of life in All About Eve, remember her that way.If anyone involved in the making of Wicked Stepmother reads this - SHAME ON YOU!I am adding a list of what I consider "must see" films for film lovers so if you don't want to see my list stop here. Thanks!Here are a few of my favorite dvds that I recommend watching- -Citizen Kane - Orson Welles (1941) -Casablanca - MichaelCurtiz(1943) -The Third Man - Carol Reed (1949) -Seven Samurai - Akira Kurosawa(1954) -Touch of Evil - Orson Welles (1958) -Rules of The Game - Jean Renoir (1939) -Singing In The Rain - Stanley Donen (1952) -Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958) -Charade - Stanley Donen (1963) -Double Indemnity - Billy Wilder (1944) -Gone With The Wind - Victor Flemming/George Cukor (1939) -Lawrence of Arabia - David Lean (1962) -The Godfather - Francis Ford Coppola (1972) -Wizard of Oz - Victor Flemming (1939) -400 Blows - Francois Truffaut (1959) -The Grand Illusion - Jean Renoir (1937) -8 1/2 - Federico Fellini (1963) -The Seventh Seal - Ingmar Bergman (1957) -The Magnificent Ambersons - Orson Welles (1942) -The Red Shoes - Powell & Pressburger (1948) -Treasure of the Sierra Madre - John Houston (1948) -Gaslight - George Cukor (1944) -The Black Narcissus - Powell & Pressburger (1946) -The Maltese Falcon - John Houston (1941) -Now Voyager - Irving Rapper (1942) -Sunset Blvd. - Billy Wilder (1950) -The Big Sleep - Howard Hawks (1946) -All About Eve - Joe Mankiewicz (1950) -North By Northwest - Alfred Hitchcock (1959) -The Trial - Orson Welles (1962) -Laura - Otto Preminger (1944) -The Lost Weekend - Billy Wilder (1945) -The Lady Eve - Preston Sturges (1941) -Night of The Hunter - Charles Laughton (1955) -The Searchers - John Ford (1956) -On The Waterfront - Elia Kazan (1954) -Battleship Potemkin - Sergei Eisenstein (1925) -The General - Buster Keaton (1927) -Breathless - Jean-Luc Godard (1959) -Sweet Smell Of Success - Alexander Mackendrick (1957) -L'Atalante - Jean Vigo (1934) -Metropolis - Fritz Lang (1927) -Out Of The Past - Jacques Tourneur (1947) -The Lady Vanishes - Alfred Hitchcock (1938) -Mr. Arkadin - Orson Welles (1955) -Rear Window - Alfred Hitchcock (1954) -The Killers - Robert Siodmak (1946) -The Lady From Shanghai - Orson Welles (1947) -Ace In The Hole - Billy Wilder (1951) -The Thief of Bagdad - Michael Powell (1940) and if you are trying to discover something that you have never seen. Then do a search of any of the following directors and check out their work.-Orson Welles -Alfred Hitchcock -Powell & Pressburger -Billy Wilder -Ingmar Bergman -John Ford -Carol Reed -John Houston -Federico Fellini -Akira Kurosawa -Stanley Donen -Michael Curtiz -George Cukor -Elia Kazan -Jean Renoir -Frank Capra -Martin Scorsese -Victor Flemming -Jean Vigo -Howard Hawks -Francois Truffaut -Preston Sturges

Wow was this BAD!!! Bette Davis (in her last film role sad to say) is a witch who marries Lionel Stander (wisely walking through his role) and invades his house which he shares with his adult children (Colleen Camp and David Rasche). Things "comically" spin out of control. Then Davis disappears (she wisely left after a week of shooting) and is replaced by sexy Barbara Carrera. With Davis gone this officially became unwatchable--I turned it off after an hour.Before this "Burnt Offerings" was Davis' worst film--this is 100 times worse! I admit she does have a fun opening line--"Call me mom!" but she looks terrible. Her speech is slurred because of one of the strokes she had and wears a terrible red wig. Davis was obviously very ill when she did this. Still, despite it all, she manages to make the most of her small screen time. All the dialogue is terrible with tons of unfunny comedy but Davis bravely makes the worst lines sound quite funny. And there is a somewhat funny visual joke revealing Camp's former mother was Joan Crawford! It's a shock seeing Davis looking this terrible and--basically--the film is just dreadful. MGM released THIS? Also when Carrara takes over it actually gets worse. She is very beautiful--but no actress.I only saw this because it was Davis' last film. I wish I hadn't. A total bomb. AVOID at all costs!!

I love this movie! It is funny, full of inside jokes, and Richard Moll is GREAT of course. Most people hate it, but I love it. You could say it's a guilty pleasure of mine, but I wouldn't say that because I don't feel guilty at all for loving it!