I've never heard a commentary quite like this one, where it seems most of the time is spent talking about what's NOT in the film (having not heard any other commentaries by Frank Oz, I don't know if this is a typical style of his). He gets very analytic about the reasons why a scene, a shot, a line of dialogue was cut, and acknowledges that everything he does is in the service of the audience. While pointing out several times that the film is a comedy, he also says that Nicole Kidman's performance seemed to steer it away from that direction because she was not a "comedy actress" but an "honest actress" - in other words, Hollywoodspeak for being lousy at comedy. If you like your commentaries to be scene-specific, then Oz won't let you down on that count - he barely has time to take a breath finishing the details of one shot before going on to the next. He actually sounds a bit like Tarantinto with his speech patterns, but without the gabbling.

Love the movie and I was definitely looking forward to this track. Frank Oz is quite a presence. He rarely stops talking and it’s a perfect example of a successful solo commentary. Just like his commentary for “The Score”, Oz is very scene-specific, which actually makes the listening experience even better, because you can’t wait until he starts talking about you favorite scene.

The thing that surprised me is how honest Oz is. He talks in great detail about test audiences and last but not least, the famous and quite expensive scene with Bette Midler’s character that was ultimately cut from the movie. There’s also a lot of locaion talk, actors talk and info about the similarities between this new version of “The Stepford Wives”and the one from 1975.

It’s no secret that the Frank Oz movie had its share of problems during shooting and post, and certain comments by Oz here definitely “remind” viewers of that. But overall, this is a pretty straightforward, to-the-point commentary. It’s definitely worth it, and it’s not only for fans of the movie.

Check it out if you can.