Remakes can be better than the original? Who'd've thunk?
NOTE: Contains massive SPOILERS. Since this is already out on DVD, it means the statute of limitations is up on giving away stuff.
I have to admit, I rented "The Stepford Wives" with a bit of trepidation. I'd seen the original, which was rather alarmingly gloomy (it didn't have a very happy ending) but poignant. This version had gotten mixed reviews. But once I watched it, I found that I was happy I had.
Nicole Kidman (hottie) plays Joanna Eberhart, a sassy TV producer who gets axed from her job. She and her husband (Matthew Broderick) Walter move to the charming, postcard town of Stepford, Connecticut. As in the original, there's something a bit "off" about the women of Stepford, in that they're all happy. Too happy. Well, except for one Bobbie Markowitz (Bette Midler) and Stepford's first gay couple, Roger Bannister (Roger Bart) and Jerry Harmon (David Marshall Grant). Joanna has her suspicions about the "Stepford Wives," but tries to fit in and keep her marriage together. But things go awry when Roger ends up becoming... a "Stepford Husband" (don't ask me, I didn't write the script). This creates more dischord and Joanna tries to hold it together, until her best friend Bobbie joins the madness by becoming the next victim. This prompts Joanna's eventual discovery of the plot to replace the brainy, strong women of Stepford with not-too-bright, obedient slave wives. And it appears that her only way out is to become a Stepford Wife herself. Joanna begrudgingly accepts her fate. The end... or not?
This is the "twist" that everyone was talking about: Joanna (and her husband) pull a fast one on everyone by "de-programming" the Stepford Wives. However, the best is yet to come. It turns out that the man we all thought was behind this scheme, Mike Wellington (Christopher Walken), is actually... a Stepford Husband himself. The only difference here is he's not an actual human being (while the other Stepford Wives, in a departure from the original, are in fact human). The actual proprietor of this entire scheme to tame the beauties of Stepford is... Claire Wellington (Glenn Close), Mike's wife. Her plans are thwarted, however, when all the Stepford Wives become their normal, smart, strong selves. In another twist, at the end it is the MEN who end up doing the shopping, the chores, and what have you. A much more perky ending, if you ask me. 
BOTH versions are good movies, I think. They're just different in tone and pacing (the new one is much shorter, and in many ways, tighter and fresher than the original). If you watch only one, watch this one.