Bette Midler

Interview by: Alysa Salzberg
AlysaSalzberg@TheCinemaSource.com

There are some who’d say Bette Midler is a highlight of Frank Oz‘s remake of The Stepford Wives (in theaters June 11). But Bette’s got news for you: “I was a fill-in,” she chuckles.

Joan Cusack was originally supposed to take on the role (her brother Jon would have played Matthew Broderick‘s part), but when her father got sick, she bowed out, and the script got sent to Midler. When Bette read it, “I thought ‘Oh my goodness, this is great.’ Because I hadn’t done a picture in a while, and I was anxious to do one again. So I was utterly thrilled. I thought the material was really, really funny. “

Modest? Yes. Self-deprecating? Maybe. But trust us, all kidding aside, the woman also known as “The Divine Ms. M.” has a great sense of self-esteem. Which is why it’s even more interesting to see her play a character who becomes a bland, “perfect” Stepford wife.

By taking on the role, Midler got to work in many a lavish domestic set, traipse across many a manicured lawn in perfect hair and dresses. “For me,” she says, “[working on the film] was kind of like a travelogue to a land I’d never been to. I found it very exotic.”

What, not used to tailored clothes and perfect coifs? It seems Midler’s the rare diva who doesn’t live a diva’s pampered lifestyle. Bette shrugs. “I’ve been in [showbiz] since I was a young person, and I work when I feel like working, and when I don’t feel like working I do a lot of studying, I spend time with my family. I have a great husband, I have a beautiful daughter.”

But

there is one thing Bette thinks could make her life feel even more balanced: “I would like to live a little bit more, because I do a lot of things that keep me very busy, and sometimes [I miss out on] really living, like you know, slowing down and eating your food in a half an hour instead of in ten minutes.” She pauses for a moment, then sums it up decisively: “I would like to eat slower.”

Speaking of eating, does Midler have any superior Stepford Wives-like domestic skills?

“I’m very good at opening beer and wine bottles,” she replies. “I’m good at picking up pet toys and I’m good at making pancakes and baking powder biscuits.”

I can’t help but laugh at Bette’s earnest, yet smiling delivery, and Bette doesn’t seem surprised. After all, not only is she a singer, she’s also a comedian. In The Stepford Wives, as in all of her funny movies, Bette takes to her comedic character like a duck to water. She’s got a knack for being funny.

“As far as comedy chops are concerned,” she muses, “I never really thought anything about it…I think it’s mostly a matter of timing. And if you’re a musical person, if you know music and you know rhythm and you know pace, if you can hear the bass and the drums, then you’re usually okay; comic timing is exactly the same thing. I believe I’ve always had it and I think it’s mostly musical. So if you’re a rhythmic person, if you can dance, if you can tap your foot, you can do comedy.”

With that, Bette nods earnestly, sure to punctuate her thoughts with a laugh.