Practical Magic (1998) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error The wry, comic romantic tale follows the Owens sisters, Sally and Gillian, as they struggle to use their hereditary gift for practical magic to overcome the obstacles in discovering true love. Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 32 titles created 27 Sep 2012 a list of 22 titles created 02 Nov 2013 a list of 28 titles created 25 Aug 2014 a list of 46 titles created 13 Dec 2014 a list of 27 titles created 16 May 2015 Search for " Practical Magic " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 1 win & 6 nominations.

See more awards » Videos A newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who even slightly anger them. Director: Andrew Fleming An FBI agent must go undercover in the Miss United States beauty pageant to prevent a group from bombing the event. Director: Donald Petrie A big-city newspaper columnist is forced to enter a drug and alcohol rehab center after ruining her sister's wedding and crashing a stolen limousine. Director: Betty Thomas A hopeless romantic Chicago Transit Authority token collector is mistaken for the fiancée of a coma patient. Director: Jon Turteltaub A lawyer decides that she's used too much like a nanny by her boss, so she walks out on him. Director: Marc Lawrence Birdee Calvert must choose between her morals and her heart after her husband divorces her and a charming young man, who her daughter disapproves of, comes back into her life. Director: Forest Whitaker A lonely doctor who once occupied an unusual lakeside home begins exchanging love letters with its former resident, a frustrated architect. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.

Director: Alejandro Agresti A soon-to-be-married man encounters an exciting stranger after his plane suffers an accident on takeoff. Director: Bronwen Hughes A computer programmer stumbles upon a conspiracy, putting her life and the lives of those around her in great danger. Director: Irwin Winkler Two gifted high school students execute a "perfect" murder - then become engaged in an intellectual contest with a seasoned homicide detective. Director: Barbet Schroeder After Cheryl Frasier and Stan Fields are kidnapped, Gracie goes undercover in Las Vegas to find them. Director: John Pasquin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X Depressed housewife learns her husband was killed in a car accident the day previously, awakens the next morning to find him alive and well at home, and then awakens the next day after to a world in which he is still dead. Director: Mennan Yapo Edit Storyline Sisters Sally and Gillian Owens have a special bond with each other despite being different in personality and outlook.

Having grown up with their spinster Aunts Frances and Jet in the long time Owens family home on an island off the coast of Massachusetts following the death of their father and then their mother, they are the latest in a long line of witches. Rumors of the Owens women being witches have existed for generations in the small close minded town in which they live, despite there being no hard evidence. The Owens women are also under a curse that any man with who they fall in love is doomed. With this experience, extroverted Gilly decides to leave the island to live life to the fullest, in the process falling for Jimmy Angelov, an ethnic Bulgarian who grew up near Transylvannia. More introspective Sally, who has sworn off the use of magic except in its most practical sense, has taken measures not to fall in love because of the curse, but ends up falling for and marrying ... Written by Huggo See All (159) » Taglines: For two sisters from a family of witches, falling in love is the trickiest spell of all.

See more » Genres: Rated PG-13 for some violence, intense thematic elements and sensuality | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 16 October 1998 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Hechizo de amor See more » Filming Locations: $13,104,694 (USA) (16 October 1998) Gross: Did You Know? Trivia According to Sandra Bullock in the commentary, in the scene where Gillian and Sally get drunk with their aunts and they sling insults, the actresses actually got drunk. They were drinking some very bad tequila that Nicole Kidman brought. See more » Goofs The Aunts tell Sally they are taking the girls to the solstice, and they return the morning after Jimmy dies talking about it. There are two solstices per year: summer and winter. It is obviously summer time by the way everyone is dressed on that night and the following days. The summer solstice is in late June. When Sally is chopping down the rose bushes that grew overnight by Jimmy's grave, Detective Hallet comes and comments that it's early for roses. Actually, in New England, June is right on target for roses.

Does it say where they are located? It's filmed in the Pacific Northwest, though it is also the perfect season for roses. See more » Quotes [first lines] Aunt Frances Owens : For more than 200 years we Owens women have been blamed by everything that's ever gone wrong in this town. Performed by Stevie Nicks and Sheryl Crow (uncredited) Courtesy of Reprise Records (United States) – See all my reviews Normally I don't care for chick flicks, but I can't seem to stop watching this one over and over again. I was surprised that so many others didn't care for it. I just loved the sets, the costumes, the women and their relationships, the real magic in the film, the special effects, the child actresses. This was stuff that women could relate to better than men. Aidan Quinn was the only boring part of the movie. I wished they'd chosen an actor who was more into the role. He seemed bored and made his part in the film more boring. (Also, he mumbles. Someone should give him elocution lessons.) This movie wasn't meant to be heavy. It was meant to be light, fun fluff, and that it is.

The characters weren't meant to be deep, but I felt the relationship between the two sisters was deeper and well performed by two skilled actresses. In spite of the fluffiness of it, I enjoyed the two scenes in which we got to sit and relax to the sound of Stevie Nicks' "Crystal." So what if cars weren't crashing and guns weren't shooting. They weren't supposed to be. I felt the camaraderie of the moment as the two sisters and their aunts got drunk on "midnight margaritas" while dancing to Harry Nilsson's "Lime in the Coconut." It was just plain light fun. Also, women can enjoy the vicarious satisfaction of watching these women destroy the evil, bullying man who tries to destroy them. The end of the film was rather Disney-kiddie-flick-like. Another ending might have worked better, but it was tolerable because it reminded the audience that the film was all in fun, and not to be taken seriously. I usually prefer deeper films, but I thoroughly enjoyed this piece of fluff. Sure it was silly and campy, but it was fun. A film doesn't have to take itself seriously to be fun.

Bullock, Kidman, Channing, and Wiest are beautiful, charming and wonderful to watch in this flick, and I love watching the four of them over and over again. 36 of 42 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Movie Review - - FILM REVIEW; In a Super-Cute Coven, A Witches' Brew for Men - NYTimes.com FILM REVIEW; In a Super-Cute Coven, A Witches' Brew for Men By JANET MASLIN Published: October 16, 1998 ''Practical Magic'' has a new look for Halloween: super-cute. It's Barbie Joins a Coven time as Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman shake their long flossy hair and play witch sisters with otherworldly decorative qualities. In a bouncy, bubble-brained movie with the look of a shelter magazine, they flounce through a domesticated story in which magic is for dealing with menfolk and brooms look all too comfortably at home. ''C'mon, ladies, let's clean house!'' is the battle cry in the big broom scene at the end.

Based on Alice Hoffman's fanciful novel and directed with go-for-broke prettiness by Griffin Dunne, ''Practical Magic'' is nothing but a guilty pleasure. Despite a transcendently silly story line and a lot more froufrou touches than the traffic will bear, it's liable to work as escapism for anyone who thinks ''Little Women'' has too much grit. The stars are svelte and charming, in a hopelessly retrograde way. (''What wouldn't I do for the right guy?'' wonders Ms. Kidman, who has never before made herself quite this dizzy.) And they have delightful comic support in Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing, as the senior witches in the family, benign old sisters who depart unexpectedly for a solstice celebration at one point in the story. ''We can't back out,'' they tell Ms. Bullock's Sally and Ms. Kidman's Gillian. ''We're on the committee.'' These are all members of the Owens family, and they share a curse: men who fall in love with them have a tendency to be struck dead.

''Boys looked at her and got so dizzy they had to be rushed to the emergency room for a hit of oxygen or a pint of new blood,'' Ms. Hoffman wrote of Gillian, the family flirt. Sally, the homebody, is so much more down to earth that she winds up running a botanicals shop. ''Practical Magic'' is the kind of movie that loves to look at all the matching bottles and hear her talk about hand lotion. At first the sisters spurn their witchy heritage and reserve their magic for little things, like putting the coffee spoon on auto-stir. Then Gillian has an abusive boyfriend (because witches have as many talk show issues as anyone else) and he winds up a teeny bit dead. This causes problems, so out come the potion recipes. Sally and Gillian do something clever with needles and Redi-Whip, and before you can say snazzy special effects, the evil but handsome boyfriend (Goran Visnjic) is making even more trouble. Most magically, Sally's Mr. Right (Aidan Quinn) shows up as a detective on the boyfriend's trail.

''Practical Magic'' is also the kind of movie in which the detective likes cactus-shaped pancakes and is staying in an inn that's as picture-perfect as the witches' charming lair. Not content to vie for the cover of House and Garden, ''Practical Magic'' also makes vegetables look lovely whenever vegetables appear, and throws in baby-boom chestnuts on the soundtrack. (Stevie Nicks, doyenne of witchcraft chic, is among those heard.) Fortunately, its leading actresses are capable of real enchantment, enough to outshine the prefabricated kind. ''Practical Magic'' was written by Robin Swicord and Akiva Goldsman and also by Adam Brooks, one of the writers of the ''Beloved'' screenplay. Coincidentally or not, both films culminate in supportive rallying by groups of women who join forces to help sisters in need. ''Practical Magic'' is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It includes violence, profanity and witchy vamping.

PRACTICAL MAGIC Directed by Griffin Dunne; written by Robin Swicord, Akiva Goldsman and Adam Brooks, based on the novel by Alice Hoffman; director of photography, Andrew Dunn; edited by Elizabeth Kling; music by Alan Silvestri; production designer, Robin Standefer; produced by Denise Di Novi; released by Warner Brothers. Running time: 105 minutes. This film is rated PG-13. WITH: Sandra Bullock (Sally Owens), Nicole Kidman (Gillian Owens), Dianne Wiest (Aunt Jet), Stockard Channing (Aunt Frances), Aidan Quinn (Gary Hallet), Goran Visnjic (Jimmy), Evan Rachel Wood (Kylie) and Alexandra Artrip (Antonia). FILM REVIEW; In a Super-Cute Coven, A Witches' Brew for Men - The New York Times The New York Times Movies |FILM REVIEW; In a Super-Cute Coven, A Witches' Brew for Men Search Continue reading the main story ''Practical Magic'' has a new look for Halloween: super-cute.

It's Barbie Joins a Coven time as Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman shake their long flossy hair and play witch sisters with otherworldly decorative qualities. In a bouncy, bubble-brained movie with the look of a shelter magazine, they flounce through a domesticated story in which magic is for dealing with menfolk and brooms look all too comfortably at home. ''C'mon, ladies, let's clean house!'' is the battle cry in the big broom scene at the end. Based on Alice Hoffman's fanciful novel and directed with go-for-broke prettiness by Griffin Dunne, ''Practical Magic'' is nothing but a guilty pleasure. Despite a transcendently silly story line and a lot more froufrou touches than the traffic will bear, it's liable to work as escapism for anyone who thinks ''Little Women'' has too much grit. The stars are svelte and charming, in a hopelessly retrograde way. (''What wouldn't I do for the right guy?'' wonders Ms.

Kidman, who has never before made herself quite this dizzy.) And they have delightful comic support in Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing, as the senior witches in the family, benign old sisters who depart unexpectedly for a solstice celebration at one point in the story. ''We can't back out,'' they tell Ms. Bullock's Sally and Ms. Kidman's Gillian. ''We're on the committee.'' These are all members of the Owens family, and they share a curse: men who fall in love with them have a tendency to be struck dead. ''Boys looked at her and got so dizzy they had to be rushed to the emergency room for a hit of oxygen or a pint of new blood,'' Ms. Hoffman wrote of Gillian, the family flirt. Sally, the homebody, is so much more down to earth that she winds up running a botanicals shop. ''Practical Magic'' is the kind of movie that loves to look at all the matching bottles and hear her talk about hand lotion. At first the sisters spurn their witchy heritage and reserve their magic for little things, like putting the coffee spoon on auto-stir.

Then Gillian has an abusive boyfriend (because witches have as many talk show issues as anyone else) and he winds up a teeny bit dead. This causes problems, so out come the potion recipes. Sally and Gillian do something clever with needles and Redi-Whip, and before you can say snazzy special effects, the evil but handsome boyfriend (Goran Visnjic) is making even more trouble. Most magically, Sally's Mr. Right (Aidan Quinn) shows up as a detective on the boyfriend's trail. ''Practical Magic'' is also the kind of movie in which the detective likes cactus-shaped pancakes and is staying in an inn that's as picture-perfect as the witches' charming lair. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Not content to vie for the cover of House and Garden, ''Practical Magic'' also makes vegetables look lovely whenever vegetables appear, and throws in baby-boom chestnuts on the soundtrack. (Stevie Nicks, doyenne of witchcraft chic, is among those heard.) Fortunately, its leading actresses are capable of real enchantment, enough to outshine the prefabricated kind.

''Practical Magic'' was written by Robin Swicord and Akiva Goldsman and also by Adam Brooks, one of the writers of the ''Beloved'' screenplay. Coincidentally or not, both films culminate in supportive rallying by groups of women who join forces to help sisters in need. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up ''Practical Magic'' is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It includes violence, profanity and witchy vamping. PRACTICAL MAGIC Directed by Griffin Dunne; written by Robin Swicord, Akiva Goldsman and Adam Brooks, based on the novel by Alice Hoffman; director of photography, Andrew Dunn; edited by Elizabeth Kling; music by Alan Silvestri; production designer, Robin Standefer; produced by Denise Di Novi; released by Warner Brothers. Running time: 105 minutes. This film is rated PG-13.

WITH: Sandra Bullock (Sally Owens), Nicole Kidman (Gillian Owens), Dianne Wiest (Aunt Jet), Stockard Channing (Aunt Frances), Aidan Quinn (Gary Hallet), Goran Visnjic (Jimmy), Evan Rachel Wood (Kylie) and Alexandra Artrip (Antonia). Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Practical Magic (1998) Practical Magic (1998) 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,639 151 people found this helpful 5.0 out of 5 starsVERY underrated movie! A must see! ByAvalon Daughteron April 26, 2001 I bought this movie after it came out and pop it in every couple of months. "Practical Magic" is a wonderful, have-fun movie that is just right as a Halloween movie for any age (save maybe very, very young viewers.) I know because every Halloween party I've had, this movie has delighted my guests. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are wonderful as two sisters in this movie. Their on-screen chemistry is amazing.

You can't help but smile as they joke with each other and interact because it reminds you of how you were with a close sibling or how you wish you could be with one. Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest are amazing. As supporting actresses, they almost steal the show as they are described as the aunts who are "sugar and spice" by the director, Griffin Dunne. The story is about two sisters who are very close who live with their aunts in what I assume is a New England town. They have the reputation of being "witches" who curse any man who dares love an Owens woman. Of course, Gillian (Nicole Kidman) and Sally (Sandra Bullock) get into a bit of trouble as Gillian's evil boyfriend Jimmy (Goran Visnjic) accidently ends up dead at their hands through self-defense that can be deemed suspicious by anyone else and they try to figure out a way to cover it up. Things get stickier when the Officer Hallet (Adian Quinn) shows up to find the wanted Jimmy and sparks fly between Sally and Officer Hallet. Do they try to send him away and risk Sally losing her one true love?

Or do they let him stay and risk Gillian and Sally getting caught while Jimmy's ghost continues to torment Gillian? This movie is based on a third of Alice Hoffman's wonderful book by the same name. For those of you who have seen the movie (spoiler alert) and are curious about the book, you won't be disappointed. Remember the woman that wished to take another woman's husband? Well, you get to find out what happens to her as well as the adventures that Sally's daughters get into as they grow up. In other words, the book is better than the movie, but the movie is just as fun as the book. As for those of you who like DVDs and their extra features, it is chock-full of them. From the game of "find the ingredients to mix the love potion" you have to search through the various features in the DVD to click on "ingredients" and get clues as to mixing the love potion which opens up a whole behind-the-scenes featurette. It also contains trailers, bios, and other little tidbits that were artistically designed well and accompanied by wonderful little chimes and music.

This "witch" movie is not quite as dark as "the Craft" (or ridiculous for that matter) as not as sex-filled as "Witches of Eastwick" but genuinely wholesome, fun and delightful. Especially the "Midnight Margaritas" scene which will have you humming the tune for days. A good recommendation for a Halloween movie for most ages. 20 people found this helpful 3.0 out of 5 starsGood, but Far from Perfect ByR. M. Fisheron December 9, 2002 This movie certainly is a mixed bag! Not only does it mix in several very good and poignant scenes with some utterly illogical and cheesy ones, but compresses within it no less than five plot strands! Gillian and Sally (Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock) are the latest in a long line of witches, stemming from their ancestress Maria Owens who was banished from her village on the crimes of witchcraft. Pregnant with her lovers child, and devastated that he never came to rescue her, she placed a spell upon herself that she might never again feel the pain of love.

However, this spell became a curse, and for the next three hundred years, the men that any Owens women ever loved would reach an untimely end. This is what happened to Gillian and Sally's father, and soon after their mother died also of a broken heart, leaving them to stay with their quirky aunts Frances and Jet (Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest). The four make a loving family, but as Jet puts it - 'with the sweets comes the sour', as the close-knit town community despise the strange and eccentric Owens women...except of course when its in their best interests to go to the aunts for help with their life-love. Exposed to the desparate and all-consuming nature of love that is witnesses in the aunt's customers Sally decides that she never wants to fall in love. Gillian however can't wait, and while she scampers away from the town as soon as she's old enough, Sally creates a spell in her childhood of the man she is to fall in love with - a man so perfect she feels he can not possibly exist, with qualities such as being able to flip pancakes, ride a horse backwards, and have one green and one blue eye.

Her logic is if he doesn't exist, she can never have her heart broken. Time will tell differently however - by their adulthood Sally is happily married and living a blissfully normal life with two daughters and Gillian is involved with a gorgeous -but dangerous- man. Sally truly loves her husband however, and when the curse takes effect she is devastated. Gillian has problems of her own however when her boyfriend Jimmy gets violent. When Sally goes to rescue her sister they are both kidnapped by Jimmy and manage to escape only by loading his liquior bottle with belladonna, a powerful sedative. Unfortunatly, Jimmy doesn't survive the experience. Terrified, the sisters perform a ressurection spell, but when Jimmy returns as something 'dark and un-natural' they panic, knock him out and bury him in the backyard. But not all things stay buried, least of all Jimmy, and when a police-dectective from Arizona comes investigating his disappearence the house, Sally is petrified - especially since he has one green eye and one blue one... Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are great as Gillian and Sally, and they carry full weight of the mish-mashed storyline on their shoulders.

Kidman's accent faulters at times (especially whenever she says 'aunts') but on the whole performs the carefree, irresponsible younger sister very well. Bullock as the older, more composed and sensible Sally is just as good, and the two can easily pull off the sister bond. Unsurpringly Stockard Channing and Diane Weist create the aunts perfectly, with Channing as the sharper, more eccentric Frances and Weist as the gentle and kind Jet. Aidan Quinn however is nothing to sing and dance about. He enters the movie quite late, and then leaves just as early and Bullock has far more chemistry with the actor playing her first husband, even though he's in the movie for an even shorter time (or maybe its just because I love their run 'n jump kiss so much!) ... Sandra Bullock - News NEWS Sandra Bullock More at IMDbPro » Connect with IMDb 14 October 1998 | The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News | See recent The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News news » Maybe there's a curse on movies about witches.

Warner Bros.' "Practical Magic" may conjure up potent boxoffice and join in a post-theatrical coven with mainstream audiences, but it's a disappointing brew of slick commercial moviemaking and old-fashioned romantic fantasy. Not as enchanting and mysterious as it could be, despite strong performances by leads Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman , actor-producer Griffin Dunne 's second film as director features multiple generations of peaceful New England witches -- several pairs of sisters -- who all live together in a funky old house on the edge of town. Based on Alice Hoffman 's novel of the same name, "Practical Magic" is a half-serious, half-satirical take on all things witchy, from modest displays of everyday sorcery to full-blown casting of spells to raise the dead or cause love to blossom. Ill-fated romances going back several centuries mark the line of Owens women, who have also endured the mocking, unfriendly locals but live more or less in peace. It seems that any man who falls in love with an Owens woman is fated to die, usually after fathering two girls.

After their parents' death, from girlhood on, Sally Bullock ) and Gillian (Kidman) know of the curse, but that doesn't stop the former from marrying a nice but doomed guy and the latter from becoming a vamp with bad taste in men. Quieter and trying to join the real world, Sally is still devastated when tragedy strikes and she vows to give up practicing "white" magic. Sally goes so far as to tell her naughty but lovable aunts ( Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing ) not to encourage her daughters Evan Rachel Wood , Alexandra Artrip ) in the ways of witchery. Soon enough Gillian, in Arizona, gets in trouble when a wild lover ( Goran Visnjic ) turns violent. Sally rushes to help, and the two sisters are forced to get rid of him. Unfortunately, the dead guy's ghost haunts them and possesses Gillian, eventually leading to a group exorcism. Sally also faces a new dilemma when a private investigator (Aidan Quinn) comes looking for Gillian's missing lover. Could he be the perfect mate Sally thought could never exist? Will She ever want to use her power again?

Robin Swicord , Akvia Goldsman and Adam Brooks are credited for the rambling, often fuzzy screenplay that has a few sparkling moments, while Dunne's direction is consistently lackluster. Still, he gets the job done well enough for undemanding viewers, most of whom won't be able to keep their eyes off Bullock and Kidman. As a pair and individually, they may not click in every frame, but on a basic level the movie delivers on its promise of seeing two accomplished actresses strut their stuff. PRACTICAL MAGIC In asssociation with Village Roadshow Pictures A Di Novi Pictures production in association with Fortis Films Director: Griffin Dunne as mother and daughter in Fox's 'chick flick' By Michael Rechtshaffen The ever-complex mother-daughter relationship is at the emotional core of "Hope Floats", a tenderly rendered chick flick with Sandra Bullock and Gena Rowlands creating the tricky dynamic. Making good on the feature directorial promise of "Waiting to Exhale", Forest Whitaker deftly handles the dramatic and comedic elements of Steven Rogers' neatly unencumbered script, allowing the cast ample opportunity to shine.

Receiving an added boost from strong advance airplay for its theme song (a Garth Brooks cover of Bob Dylan 's "Make You Feel My Love"), "Hope Floats" should generate buoyant boxoffice for Fox. After her best friend informs her during an appearance on the trashy "Toni Post Show" that she has been having an affair with her husband, Bullock's Birdee Pruitt grabs her daughter Bernice ( Mae Whitman ) and seeks solace in her hometown of Smithville, Texas, where she was a three-time beauty queen. But maybe moving back in with her mom, Ramona (Rowlands), wasn't such a great idea. In possession of a somewhat forceful personality and long considered the town eccentric (a reputation not exactly unearned considering her hobby of dressing up her taxidermist husband's handiwork and giving it names like Scaredy-Cat), Ramona refuses to watch her self-deflated daughter wallow in self-pity. Much to Birdee's protest, Ramona attempts to set her up with her old high school crush, Justin Matisse (OK, so the names are just a little precious), played with trademark gee-whiz likability by Harry Connick Jr.

But Birdee and her bespectacled daughter still haven't come to terms with the fact that Mr. Pruitt (Michael Pare) isn't going to come crawling back to them. Playing opposite the always-exquisite Rowlands gives Bullock a chance to stretch and reach for higher emotional stakes, and she admirably rises to the challenge, helping to break some comfortable habits that threatened to border on shtick in recent outings. The structure and pacing aren't always as effective as they could be, but credit Whitaker for coaxing fine, understated performances from not only his adult cast but also impressive child actors Whitman ("One Fine Day") and Cameron Finley ("Leave It to Beaver"), who are never less than completely natural in their demanding emoting. Fine also is the resonant cinematography (courtesy of frequent Oscar nominee Caleb Deschanel ) and Dave Grusin 's light-touch score. Not quite so subtle is the song selection assembled by Whitaker and Don Was , which -- while featuring some nice work by Brooks, Trisha Yearwood and Lyle Lovett -- can be a little too literal in underscoring the on-screen moods.

HOPE FLOATS A Forest Whitaker film Credits: Director: Forest Whitaker; Producer: Lynda Obst; Screenwriter: Steven Rogers; Executive producers: Mary McLaglen , Sandra Bullock; Director of photography: Caleb Deschanel; Production designer: Larry Fulton; Editor: Richard Chew; Costume designer: Susie DeSanto; Music: Dave Grusin; Executive soundtrack producers: Don Was , Forest Whitaker; Casting: Ronnie Yeskel . Cast: Birdee Pruitt: Sandra Bullock; Justin Matisse: Harry Connick Jr.; Ramona Calvert: Gena Rowlands; Bernice Pruitt: Mae Whitman; Travis: Cameron Finley; Bill Pruitt: Michael Pare; Harry Calvert: James N. Harrell. MPAA rating: PG-13. Color/stereo.

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Dustin Putman's Review: Practical Magic (1998) - [TheMovieBoy] Practical Magic (1998) Directed by Griffin Dunne Cast: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Aidan Quinn, Goran Visjnic, Chloe Webb, Lucinda Jenney. 1998  105 minutes (for mild violence, profanity, and sexual situations). Reviewed by Dustin Putman, October 17, 1998. "Practical Magic," is a film that is so misguided in so many ways that it makes you wonder how such talented and high-profile actors would even get involved in an embarrassing clap-trap like this one. The film stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as Sally and Gillian Owens, two sisters whose family comes from a long line of witches, spanning back 200 years. At the start, their parents die when they are still children, and they go to live with their two zany aunts (Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest).

Switch to the present day, Gillian, who is the stronger, more rebellious sibling, leaves home, and meets up with a dark, abusive guy (Goran Visjnic), while Sally stays in their hometown, meets and falls in love with a sweet, caring man, has two children, and then is devastated when her husband is hit by a truck and killed (come to think of it, she's not too devastated since she gets over it in about two minutes). When Gillian calls Sally to come get her after having another abusive spat with Visjnic, they accidentally murder him, and in desperation, bury the body in the backyard of their aunts' house. Add to this wildly convoluted story subplots involving the dead rising and an exorcism, not to mention a spattering of "light-hearted whimsy," and you have a pretty good idea how messy "Practical Magic" is. After seeing the film, I reflected that there was not even one scene, or element, that I liked or enjoyed. It is a comedy, to be sure, but all of the humor falls astoundingly flat, and the occasional dramatic moments are the least bit touching. It is not charming or entertaining in any way.

And then to top it off, we've got this dark, but bird-brained story of an evil spirit taking over Gillian's body. Whatever. The characters are handled terribly, and actually, most of the actors do not have the fortune of even getting to be what you could call a character. There is no reason why Channing and Wiest should have decided to be in this film, and in every scene involving them, they are always standing side-by-side. No attempt is made to flesh them out into actual people. The same goes for Aidan Quinn, as a handsome police investigator, who has the misfortune of being the romantic lead opposite Bullock, even though he comes into it at around the 70-minute mark, and once again, there is no attempt to develop their relationship, or his character, in any way. In fact, every line of dialogue in the film is in service of moving the plot along, rather than getting to know the people saying the lines.

I should have know I was headed for trouble during the opening credits, when I found out the screenplay was written by the deeply hated Akiva Goldsman, who managed to destroy the "Batman" series with "Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin." "Practical Magic" is directed by Griffin Dunne, primarily an actor, who last year made the contrived, clumsy romance, "Addicted to Love," with Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick. I disliked that movie quite a bit, but since "Practical Magic" is even worse, that can only give you a taste of what a talentless filmmaker he is. I'd tell him to quit while he's ahead, but in these last two years, he's ultimately already buried himself. ©1998 by Dustin Putman Practical Magic (Film) - TV Tropes Practical Magic You need to login to do this. Get Known if you don't have an account Share Just a normal evening at the Owens house. "Did you or your sister kill James Angelov?" " Yeah, a couple of times ." -Sally Owens and Gary Hallett.

Sally and Gilly Owens are two sisters with an open secret: they come from a long line of witches, and their family harbors a terrible Hereditary Curse : any man who falls in love with them is doomed to die. They lost their father to the curse, and shortly after, their mother to a broken heart. As a result, they go off to live with their two eccentric aunts, Frances and Bridget. Hearing about the curse and seeing the sadness it brings, plus the enmity of the town toward their witchy family, Sally decides she never wants to fall in love, and casts a spell to protect herself from its charms by decreeing she'll fall in love only with a man she believes cannot possibly exist. Gillian, on the other hand, is a free spirit who falls into lust easily and often, usually with men who are no good for her. As they both grow older, Sally foregoes magic entirely, or tries to. She seeks out a normal life. The well-meaning aunts give her a magical nudge, however. Sally meets and marries a young man named Michael, and they have two daughters together.

For the first time, she feels a normal life is attainable, and becomes part of the town community that had once shunned her for being a witch. Gillian drifts across the country, eventually meeting and falling for a violent creep named Jimmy Angelov. Both sisters hit a rough patch when Michael is killed — another victim of the curse — and Sally falls into a deep depression. Meanwhile, Jimmy isn't quite the angel he's pretended to be. When Jimmy attacks and kidnaps the Owens sisters, they fight back and he ends up dead. In order to cover their tracks, the women resort to Black Magic to revive him, only he comes back an even worse monster in death than he was in life. Forced to kill him again, this time they bury him in their backyard and unleash a new curse on their family name. Their troubles are compounded when a detective, Gary Hallet, shows up looking for Jimmy. The story is probably best remembered as a 1998 film, but was originally based on a book of the same name by Alice Hoffman. It should be noted that most of the tropes here apply to the movie. The book is markedly different .

The movie stars Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as the sisters (Gillian and Sally, respectively), with a supporting cast featuring Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, and Aidan Quinn. The director was Griffin Dunne, previously known for Addicted To Love (1997). The film was not particularly successful at the box office. It earned an estimated 46,683,377 dollars at the United States market, where it was only the 45th most successful film of its year. It performed relatively well in the United Kingdom but not elsewhere. The movie provides examples of: All of the Other Reindeer : The Owens women have been victims of this for centuries, ever since the town's last attempt to Burn the Witch! failed. Aunt Frances and Jet aren't bothered by it, but Gilly and Sally are. Asshole Victim : If anyone needed to die, it was Jimmy. Abusive: he hit Gillian for correcting him in front of a kid that a jelly donut isn't a cream donut.

Violent: aside from branding his women with his ring (Gillian would not have been the first), he had a tendency to strangle women when he thought they were trying to escape him. And controlling: to the point of not being willing to let Gillian go to the restroom by herself, and to the point where she felt the need to drug him to have the occasional bit of rest from his constant attentions. Be Careful What You Wish For : Aunt Jet uses these exact words to warn a woman against wishing for a man "to love [her] so much he can't stand it". Ironically, Aunt Frances does as well: Jet: She goes through all these men, none of which are any good for her. Frances: One day maybe she'll meet a man who goes through her. Black Magic : Bringing Jimmy Angelov back from the dead falls into this category. Also, Sally and Gillian slice their palms and clasp hands to cure Gillian's Demonic Possession . Their joined hands and shared blood cures Gillian and breaks the family curse. Blood Sisters : Gilly and Sally, an important plot point. Boomerang Bigot : Sally grows to hate magic, but she still keeps using it in her daily life.

When she and Gilly screw up big, the aunts call her on it and tell her she "can't dabble in magic while looking down your nose at it." Kylie: Why can't we tell Mommy that we're using magic to get rid of the policeman? Gilly: Because Mommy likes to pretend she doesn't use magic. Break the Cutie : Gillian, after she suffers through the possession Brick Joke : Kylie points at Sara's son who has been bullying her and says she hopes he gets chicken pox. Later, during Gary's interviews, he's briefly shown to have broken out with red marks all over his face. Broken Bird : Sally, after losing her husband. Bug Buzz : The sound of the death beetle portended Michael's death. Burn the Witch! : Averted when the hanging of the main characters' ancestor fails due to her magically saving herself. Came Back Wrong : Jimmy Angelov. Although he was shown to be something of a monster before his death as well. Lampshaded by Gillain when Sally warns her he'll come back "dark and unnatural." Gillian: Jimmy's already dark and unnatural! I don't care how he comes back, as long as he has a pulse!

'Practical Magic': Designer Witches in Lightweight Farce 'Practical Magic': Designer Witches in Lightweight Farce Related Articles Join a Discussion on Movies By JANET MASLIN ractical Magic" has a new look for Halloween: super-cute. It's Barbie Joins a Coven time as Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman shake their long flossy hair and play witch sisters with otherworldly decorative qualities. In a bouncy, bubble-brained movie with the look of a shelter magazine, they flounce through a domesticated story in which magic is for dealing with menfolk and brooms look all too comfortably at home. "C'mon, ladies, let's clean house!" is the battle cry in the big broom scene at the end. Warner Brothers From left, Nicole Kidman, Goran Visnjic and Sandra Bullock in "Practical Magic." Men who fall in love with the witch sisters tend to die. Based on Alice Hoffman's fanciful novel and directed with go-for-broke prettiness by Griffin Dunne, "Practical Magic" is nothing but a guilty pleasure.

Despite a transcendently silly story line and a lot more froufrou touches than the traffic will bear, it's liable to work as escapism for anyone who thinks "Little Women" has too much grit. The stars are svelte and charming, in a hopelessly retrograde way. ("What wouldn't I do for the right guy?" wonders Ms. Kidman, who has never before made herself quite this dizzy.) And they have delightful comic support in Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing, as the senior witches in the family, benign old sisters who depart unexpectedly for a solstice celebration at one point in the story. "We can't back out," they tell Ms. Bullock's Sally and Ms. Kidman's Gillian. "We're on the committee." These are all members of the Owens family, and they share a curse: men who fall in love with them have a tendency to be struck dead. "Boys looked at her and got so dizzy they had to be rushed to the emergency room for a hit of oxygen or a pint of new blood," Ms. Hoffman wrote of Gillian, the family flirt.

Sally, the homebody, is so much more down to earth that she winds up running a botanicals shop. "Practical Magic" is the kind of movie that loves to look at all the matching bottles and hear her talk about hand lotion. At first the sisters spurn their witchy heritage and reserve their magic for little things, like putting the coffee spoon on auto-stir. Then Gillian has an abusive boyfriend (because witches have as many talk show issues as anyone else) and he winds up a teeny bit dead. This causes problems, so out come the potion recipes. Sally and Gillian do something clever with needles and Redi-Whip, and before you can say snazzy special effects, the evil but handsome boyfriend (Goran Visnjic) is making even more trouble. Most magically, Sally's Mr. Right (Aidan Quinn) shows up as a detective on the boyfriend's trail. "Practical Magic" is also the kind of movie in which the detective likes cactus-shaped pancakes and is staying in an inn that's as picture-perfect as the witches' charming lair.

Not content to vie for the cover of House and Garden, "Practical Magic" also makes vegetables look lovely whenever vegetables appear, and throws in baby-boom chestnuts on the soundtrack. (Stevie Nicks, doyenne of witchcraft chic, is among those heard.) Fortunately, its leading actresses are capable of real enchantment, enough to outshine the prefabricated kind. "Practical Magic" was written by Robin Swicord and Akiva Goldsman and also by Adam Brooks, one of the writers of the "Beloved" screenplay. Coincidentally or not, both films culminate in supportive rallying by groups of women who join forces to help sisters in need. "Practical Magic" is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It includes violence, profanity and witchy vamping. PRODUCTION NOTES: PRACTICAL MAGIC Directed by Griffin Dunne; written by Robin Swicord, Akiva Goldsman and Adam Brooks, based on the novel by Alice Hoffman; director of photography, Andrew Dunn; edited by Elizabeth Kling; music by Alan Silvestri; production designer, Robin Standefer; produced by Denise Di Novi; released by Warner Brothers. Running time: 105 minutes.

This film is rated PG-13. WITH: Sandra Bullock (Sally Owens), Nicole Kidman (Gillian Owens), Dianne Wiest (Aunt Jet), Stockard Channing (Aunt Frances), Aidan Quinn (Gary Hallet), Goran Visnjic (Jimmy), Evan Rachel Wood (Kylie) and Alexandra Artrip (Antonia).

Question: Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock play sisters from a long line of witches in which 1998 film?
Answer: Practical Magic