Practical Magic (1998)
October 28, 2024 12:14 AM - Subscribe
(Trailer) Two witch sisters, raised by their eccentric aunts in a small town, face closed-minded prejudice and a curse which threatens to prevent them ever finding lasting love.
Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Nicole Kidman), born into a magical family, have mostly avoided witchcraft themselves. But when Gillian's vicious boyfriend, Jimmy Angelov (Goran Visnjic), dies unexpectedly, the Owens sisters give themselves a crash course in hard magic. With policeman Gary Hallet (Aidan Quinn) growing suspicious, the girls struggle to resurrect Angelov -- and unwittingly inject his corpse with an evil spirit that threatens to end their family line.
Director: Griffin Dunne
Writers:Alice Hoffman, Robin Swicord, Akiva Goldsman
25% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes‽
Justwatch
Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Nicole Kidman), born into a magical family, have mostly avoided witchcraft themselves. But when Gillian's vicious boyfriend, Jimmy Angelov (Goran Visnjic), dies unexpectedly, the Owens sisters give themselves a crash course in hard magic. With policeman Gary Hallet (Aidan Quinn) growing suspicious, the girls struggle to resurrect Angelov -- and unwittingly inject his corpse with an evil spirit that threatens to end their family line.
Director: Griffin Dunne
Writers:Alice Hoffman, Robin Swicord, Akiva Goldsman
25% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes‽
Justwatch
25% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes‽
This is pretty rough, but I did feel let down a bit by this movie when it came out. I think part of the issue is that a film featuring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as witch sisters in the late 90s (career peaks?) probably raised expectations pretty high. I also vaguely recall that the advertising wasn't quite in line with the vibe of the movie - but that may be a faulty memory of mine.
posted by Atreides at 7:44 AM on October 28 [1 favorite]
This is pretty rough, but I did feel let down a bit by this movie when it came out. I think part of the issue is that a film featuring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as witch sisters in the late 90s (career peaks?) probably raised expectations pretty high. I also vaguely recall that the advertising wasn't quite in line with the vibe of the movie - but that may be a faulty memory of mine.
posted by Atreides at 7:44 AM on October 28 [1 favorite]
25% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes‽
Absolutely ludicrous - a good example of when you should favor the audience score (73%!) instead of the critics' reviews (who I can only assume are put off by the female-centered story). This is a semi-annual rewatch in our household, mainly b/c it's one of my wife's favorites. A solid little rom-com with an offbeat premise and a stellar cast (not named: Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing!). Not a great movie, but definitely watchable and enjoyable.
posted by Pedantzilla at 10:41 AM on October 28 [8 favorites]
Absolutely ludicrous - a good example of when you should favor the audience score (73%!) instead of the critics' reviews (who I can only assume are put off by the female-centered story). This is a semi-annual rewatch in our household, mainly b/c it's one of my wife's favorites. A solid little rom-com with an offbeat premise and a stellar cast (not named: Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing!). Not a great movie, but definitely watchable and enjoyable.
posted by Pedantzilla at 10:41 AM on October 28 [8 favorites]
Yeah this is a solid 90s entry. It has:
1. Magic sisters with a family curse!
2. Magic aunts!
3. Lots of the implied hot sex with hot men bad and good!
4. Drinking!
5. Adorable moppets!
6. Picturesque small town!
7. An amazing house that Streisand apparently wanted to buy before she found out it was not real!
8. Healing the breach between women of the town and the magic witch family in order to cast out a shitty undead boyfriend!
I mean sheesh, what else do people want?
posted by emjaybee at 11:46 AM on October 28 [14 favorites]
1. Magic sisters with a family curse!
2. Magic aunts!
3. Lots of the implied hot sex with hot men bad and good!
4. Drinking!
5. Adorable moppets!
6. Picturesque small town!
7. An amazing house that Streisand apparently wanted to buy before she found out it was not real!
8. Healing the breach between women of the town and the magic witch family in order to cast out a shitty undead boyfriend!
I mean sheesh, what else do people want?
posted by emjaybee at 11:46 AM on October 28 [14 favorites]
I have never seen this and was thinking of having it be a family watch this year. Is it inappropriate for a 9 year old? She's never really seen anything with sex in it, and while she knows all the swear words she doesn't find them compelling yet. I don't really want that to change in a hurry.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:59 AM on October 28 [1 favorite]
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:59 AM on October 28 [1 favorite]
I would suggest holding off on a family watch until you've had a chance to see it, due to intimate partner violence and threats of sexual violence. The undead boyfriend is seriously shitty.
posted by EvaDestruction at 1:14 PM on October 28 [4 favorites]
posted by EvaDestruction at 1:14 PM on October 28 [4 favorites]
I'm just here to say it's based on an Alice Hoffman novel, and she has written other novels concerning these characters. If you haven't read Hoffman, you should.
posted by jkosmicki at 1:57 PM on October 28 [4 favorites]
posted by jkosmicki at 1:57 PM on October 28 [4 favorites]
'Tis the season to be followed around by Halloween movies. I keep seeing the damn Sandersons everywhere, myself.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:09 PM on October 28
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:09 PM on October 28
I just got back from Coupeville where this movie was filmed. Beyond the film, it is a great coastal town to visit! And they are still leaning into the film being made there. The little main street they used is filled with cute shops. Not everything is painted white anymore. There is a really great Mexican restaurant where the apothecary was.
Growing up it felt like you were either into The Craft or into Practical Magic. I hate The Craft, and have been on team Practical Magic since seeing it in the theater. I wanted to be all of the women in this film at one time or another. As I approach Aunt status in age, I see them as absolute icons. This movie feels uplifting to me and has actually become less cheesy with every viewing.
On my most recent rewatch (because of course we watched this when we were in town) here are some observations my friends and I made: This is the best movie hair ever. Everyone looks 90s perfect. Wow, Jimmy was more awful than we remembered.
posted by haplesschild at 5:12 PM on October 28 [5 favorites]
Growing up it felt like you were either into The Craft or into Practical Magic. I hate The Craft, and have been on team Practical Magic since seeing it in the theater. I wanted to be all of the women in this film at one time or another. As I approach Aunt status in age, I see them as absolute icons. This movie feels uplifting to me and has actually become less cheesy with every viewing.
On my most recent rewatch (because of course we watched this when we were in town) here are some observations my friends and I made: This is the best movie hair ever. Everyone looks 90s perfect. Wow, Jimmy was more awful than we remembered.
posted by haplesschild at 5:12 PM on October 28 [5 favorites]
> 25% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes‽
I watched Practical Magic recently because I somehow never saw it and I enjoy watching both The Craft and Hocus Pocus during the spooky season, and have to say, 25% is a pretty generous score. Apart from Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman being incredibly beautiful, this movie is absolutely terrible. Maybe I had to see it in 1998 but this movie is dreck.
posted by dis_integration at 12:05 PM on October 29 [1 favorite]
I watched Practical Magic recently because I somehow never saw it and I enjoy watching both The Craft and Hocus Pocus during the spooky season, and have to say, 25% is a pretty generous score. Apart from Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman being incredibly beautiful, this movie is absolutely terrible. Maybe I had to see it in 1998 but this movie is dreck.
posted by dis_integration at 12:05 PM on October 29 [1 favorite]
I only watched this recently (I think it was on at Halloween party I was at 20something years ago, but that doesn't count) and I liked ... parts of it?
It's darker and weirder than I expected (after all, zombie abusive ex-boyfriend) but I kind of wished it was even darker and weirder than it was. Some of those elements seemed at odds with its rom-com vibe.
Kidman's version of being a free spirit is just to speak in a breathy way. I generally love Kidman but she was miscast here.
I did love Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest, though. I'd watch an entire movie with just them. (Also ... yes, they were sisters but they also seemed lesbian-coded, like a lot of witchy aunts in things. I wish someone would actually do that for once).
I don't regret watching it and I'll probably watch it again at some point. It's fine.
posted by edencosmic at 2:51 PM on October 29 [1 favorite]
It's darker and weirder than I expected (after all, zombie abusive ex-boyfriend) but I kind of wished it was even darker and weirder than it was. Some of those elements seemed at odds with its rom-com vibe.
Kidman's version of being a free spirit is just to speak in a breathy way. I generally love Kidman but she was miscast here.
I did love Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest, though. I'd watch an entire movie with just them. (Also ... yes, they were sisters but they also seemed lesbian-coded, like a lot of witchy aunts in things. I wish someone would actually do that for once).
I don't regret watching it and I'll probably watch it again at some point. It's fine.
posted by edencosmic at 2:51 PM on October 29 [1 favorite]
(Also ... yes, they were sisters but they also seemed lesbian-coded, like a lot of witchy aunts in things. I wish someone would actually do that for once).
A Discovery of Witches did this. The main character's aunt and her partner are both witches.
posted by Preserver at 5:29 PM on October 29 [2 favorites]
A Discovery of Witches did this. The main character's aunt and her partner are both witches.
posted by Preserver at 5:29 PM on October 29 [2 favorites]
Good to know. A Discovery of Witches has been on my list for a while (I may have started it at some point).
posted by edencosmic at 7:49 AM on October 30 [1 favorite]
posted by edencosmic at 7:49 AM on October 30 [1 favorite]
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posted by biffa at 5:01 AM on October 28 [4 favorites]