Word: bullocks
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Sally tries to fit into a small New England town, while Gillian looks for love in all the wrong places. The familial curse is that a man who loves one of the Owens' witches will meet an untimely death, as Gillian's abusive boyfriend does at the hands of Bullock. Right. Now, it never promises to be Citizen Kane, and it provides some good laughs and a feel-good finale. If you want a braincandy slumber party movie, rent Practical Magic, by all means. Just don't expect it to work any magic on you. Meredith B. Osborn...
This movie was not even given the benefit of bitchiness that The Craft had going for it. Where Neve Campbell and company reveled in their magic, Bullock tries to repress it, downplaying her powers in order to fit in. Kidman does her best to portray the bad girl who uses her magic for fun, but such a sickly sweet Bullock offsets her. Kidman walks into Bullock's attempts to create a normal life in smalltown New England, saying things like, "Hang on to your husbands, ladies." But we end up feeling sorry for Kidman instead of rejoicing in her power...
...have us believe. Cursed with a bad haircut and looking overweight, Quinn will never be a real heart-throb alongside the likes of DiCaprio or, for the older set, Cary Grant. Still, the filmmakers do their best to convince us he is still worthy of the love of sexy Bullock. His performance was not all that bad, but given such cheesy gimmicks as the use of his sheriff's star as a magic talisman, he has little to do but work on his Wayne impression...
...actors in this movie, from the ever-sarcastic Stockard Channing '65 and Dianne Wiest who play Kidman and Bullock's witchy aunts, to main characters Kidman, Bullock and Quinn, are doomed to failure by tired lines such as, "There's a little witch...
While Practical Magic initially left me with a smile, it quickly turned to that stomachache you get after eating too much candy. The sight of Bullock and Kidman in a semi-lesbian erotic scene may arouse some, but eventually, it is just one more cheap trick to keep us in our seats. To give the flick a little credit, it never promises to be Citizen Kane, and it provides some good laughs and a feelgood finale. If you want a brain-candy slumber party movie, rent Practical Magic, by all means. Just don't expect it to work any magic...