Comedy, Fantasy, Horror  •  1987  •  118 min  •  Adults (18+)

The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

The Witches of Eastwick poster

The Witches of Eastwick (1987)


Rating & Dimensions

Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Leans Progressive
Political: Leans Left
Diversity: Moderate
Family Values: Strongly Progressive
Christianity: Negative

Viewer Rating
6.6

Overview

Three restless women in a quaint New England town accidentally conjure a charming, chaotic devil figure, played by Jack Nicholson at his most gleefully unhinged. Based on John Updike's 1984 novel and directed by George Miller, the film frames female desire and supernatural power as tools of liberation from a suffocating patriarchal order. The male antagonist is less a love interest than a cautionary prop the women ultimately outgrow. They end the story as a self-sufficient chosen family, raising children collectively outside conventional marriage. Add a satirical swipe at small-town Christian respectability, and the progressive signals stack up cleanly. Leans Progressive reflects the film's consistent tilt toward female autonomy over traditional domestic arrangements.


Starring Cast

Jack Nicholson  •   Cher  •   Susan Sarandon


Where to watch

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Detailed Bias Analysis

Analyzing...
Leans Progressive

Primary

Political: Leans Left
Confidence: High

The film's dominant themes align with progressive values by portraying female liberation from patriarchal constraints and celebrating collective female empowerment against a manipulative male figure, which is the decisive factor for its rating.

Diversity: Moderate
Confidence: High

The movie features a predominantly traditional cast without explicit DEI-driven recasting. However, its narrative strongly critiques traditional male identities and patriarchal societal structures, portraying the central male figure as an antagonist and exploring themes of female empowerment against these norms.

Secondary

Family Values: Strongly Progressive
Confidence: High

The film portrays three single mothers who reject traditional male partners and societal norms to form a self-sufficient, all-female chosen family unit, collectively raising their children and embracing sexual freedom, thereby strongly endorsing progressive family structures and values.

Christianity: Negative
Confidence: High

The film satirizes the hypocrisy and judgmentalism of the conservative, puritanical Christian community in Eastwick, particularly through the character of Felicia Alden. This rigid morality is portrayed as oppressive, destructive, and foolish by the narrative.

LGBTQ: N/A
Confidence: High

The Witches of Eastwick does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The narrative focuses on three heterosexual women and their relationship with a male antagonist, exploring themes of female empowerment and sexual liberation within a strictly heterosexual framework.

Trans: N/A
Confidence: High

The Witches of Eastwick does not feature any identifiable transgender characters or themes. The story focuses on three women in a small New England town who unwittingly summon a mysterious, charismatic man, leading to the development of their latent powers and a series of supernatural events. The film's scope does not include any exploration of transsexual identity.

Female Combat: N/R

The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.

Gender Swap: No
Confidence: High

The film is an adaptation of a novel. All major characters, including the three witches and Daryl Van Horne, maintain the same gender as established in the original source material. No character's gender was altered for the screen adaptation.

Race Swap: No
Confidence: High

The film adapts the 1984 novel by John Updike. The main characters—Daryl Van Horne, Alexandra Medford, Jane Spofford, and Sukie Rougemont—are portrayed by actors whose race aligns with the implied racial descriptions of these characters in the original source material.

Hinduism: N/A
Confidence: High

Not depicted in the film.


Viewer Rating Breakdown

6.6

Viewer Rating

Combines user and critic ratings from four sources

User Ratings

IMDB logo
6.6
The Movie Database logo
6.5

Critic Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes logo
6.7
Metacritic logo
6.7

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