Fluffy Bewitched is only occasionally charming.

By Cheryl Eddy

AN OFFICIAL DECLARATION must be made: Hollywood is, for the most part, creatively bankrupt. (Charlie Kaufman can't write every movie, after all.) The vault of old television shows is robbed yet again for Bewitched, the latest from frequent Hanks-Ryan purveyor Nora Ephron. Other entries in this genre have appropriated their source material in various ways, playing it mostly straight, like 1993's The Beverly Hillbillies (note: for Lily Tomlin completists only); making it action-oriented, as in the recent Charlie's Angels films; or focusing solely on Jessica Simpson's budonkadonk (OK, The Dukes of Hazzard isn't out till August, but I think you know what I mean).

Ephron, who cowrote the Bewitched script with sister Delia and Adam McKay, applies a postmodern twist to Darren and Samantha's story. She also taps her own Sleepless in Seattle formula, slathering a generous coating of puppy love on a romance between grown-ups. Y'think there's big band on the soundtrack? Do broomsticks fly? The movie opens as honest-to-goodness witch Isabel (Nicole Kidman) touches down in Los Angeles, determined to give up her spell-casting ways. Her warlock father, Nigel (Michael Caine), can't understand why she'd give up "total instant gratification" in favor of settling down with some schlubby mortal – and, once we see her makin' cool shit happen, we can't help but agree. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Tinseltown, self-obsessed actor Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell), last seen stinking up the screen in the megabomb Last Year in Katmandu, decides to jump-start his career by starring in a new version of Bewitched.

How Isabel comes to be cast as Samantha to Jack's Darren has everything to do with her nose, which she's able to twitch in exact imitation of Elizabeth Montgomery (though, as she explains in her audition, "I wasn't allowed to watch Bewitched!"). She agrees to be on the TV show because she's attracted to Jack – for a witch, she sure is naive, interpreting his show-biz schmooze as genuine affection. Bewitched the movie amuses itself by leaping between the studio backlot, which provides fodder for endless Hollywood in-jokes, and Isabel's attempts to leave supernatural problem-solving behind. The irony of Isabel the witch playing Samantha the witch is a focal point that gets emphasized maybe a few too many times.

Kidman and Ferrell – the unlikeliest couple since Emily Watson fell for Adam Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love – actually make an OK pair here. Kidman's girlie-girl performance is characterized by giggles, twinsets, and the occasional snit-fit (she couldn't be farther from her Oscar-winning, and similarly nose-centric, turn in The Hours). Ferrell matches her by being typically unrestrained, whether he's Asshole Jack, screaming for cappuccinos on the set; Spellbound Jack, ardently pursuing Isabel while under the influence of a bungled hex; or Freaking-Out Jack, after he realizes Isabel is a you-know-what. As a romantic lead, Ferrell is not entirely convincing, but Jack's more obnoxious moments bring spontaneity to a film that otherwise colors well within the lines.

If Bewitched – which never really suggests that witch and mortal won't live happily ever after – fails to transcend its sitcom-style superficiality, at least it tries to have fun getting from point A to point B. The supporting cast is strong, with Shirley MacLaine purring her way through her memorable, if minimal, scenes as Iris Smythson, the actor playing Endora. (Unfortunately, Iris's burgeoning romance with Nigel is shoved aside by the time the film fumbles into its abrupt, consciously cheesy conclusion). Jason Schwartzman checks in as Jack's sleazy agent; Comedy Central faves Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Mo Rocca, and Amy Sedaris all pop up in small roles. Folks with long memories (and TV Land subscribers) will appreciate the film's nods to the original series – but will anyone outside LA chuckle at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf references?

For another look at Kidman as a witch, flip back to 1998's Practical Magic, a not-unflawed movie that nonetheless presented "the craft" as something that had a bit of an edge to it (an edge that felt a little Stevie Nicks-ish, but whatever). Would a kajillion Harry Potter books have been sold if the boy wizard's magic was limited to cute tricks like hooking up his digital cable? Bewitched is too sparkly to attempt anything darker than Isabel's rage at the pompous Jack (insult of choice: "You're a jerk!"), which is understandable given the film's romantic comedy classification. But aside from Kidman's movie-star glow and Ferrell's go-for-it goofiness, there's not much here beyond good intentions. Also, I'm hoping the crappy special effects are deliberately retro, because the witch-in-flight stuff appears created from the same the kind of technology favored by H.R. Pufnstuf.

'Bewitched' opens Fri/24 at Bay Area theaters. See Movie Clock, in Film listings, for show times.