Ol' Cupid Strikes Sister Witches

Review by MELODY L. GOH

THERE'S a line from Sandra Bullock in Practical Magic that goes "If he doesn't exist then it won't matter." Well, the same thing can be said about the movie, it wouldn't matter too much to anybody if it didn't exist.

Unfortunately though, it does.

Practical Magic shares with its viewers a lot of confusing elements, particularly where the storyline is concerned.

In a nutshell, the movie's about two witch sisters, one timid and docile, the other romantically aggressive, who stick together no matter what. However, it's the annoying and irrelevant sub-plots which make the movie... drab.

It opens with a promising, although cheesy look at the Owens' family history way back in the 16th century. The film goes downhill from the first time Bullock and Nicole Kidman appear on screen. Not even the supporting cast of veterans Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing can save the movie.

The sisters live with their free-spirited witch aunts, Jet (Wiest) and Frances (Channing) after their mother dies of a "broken heart".

After learning all about witchcraft from their aunts, it turns out that Sally (Bullock), the dorky one, has more powers than older sister Gillian (Kidman). At a young age, she even concocts a love spell by creating a non-existent man with impossible qualities to stave off falling in love.

You see, the Owen women have a life-long curse; any man who dares love an Owen woman, will die an untimely death. Ah... how corny can you get?

However, Sally does fall in love, marry, has two cute girls and leads a "normal" life for a while, but loses her husband. Devastated, she moves back into her aunts' house with her two kids in tow and a broken heart. One would definitely get a feeling of deja vu here, as scenes from Hope Floats pop up every now and then.

Meanwhile, living her sex life to the fullest, is Gillian. She meets a Bulgarian stallion, Jimmy Angelov (Goran Visnjic), who is "stronger" than she is and winds up falling for him. What she doesn't know, is that Angelov is abusive and dominating.

To cut a long and winding story short, Sally and Gillian accidentally kill Angelov, revive him, kill him again, and yet again because his spirit just won't die.

In the midst of all the killing, Detective Gary Hallet (a hefty Aidan Quinn who's not as appealing as he is in other movies) appears in the women's lives and wins Sally and her two daughter's hearts. Apparently, Hallet has all the impossible qualities that Sakky cooked up long ago, including having one blue eye and one green. Aw... shucks.

The one part of the movie that is interesting is when Angelov comes back to haunt the sisters and even possesses Gillian's body, leaving a trail of huge slimy, disgusting toads everywhere she/he goes. When it's all over though, you realise that there's really nothing much to the movie that's worth mentioning.

Where does it go wrong?

After all, the acting isn't that bad, in fact, it is pretty good, especially on Kidman's part. And Channing, as usual, is simply delightful with her witty remarks and cute facial expressions.

Maybe it is the fact that nothing really magical happens throughout Practical Magic, which is quite a disappointment for some.

Watch this only if you're in for some silly humour and a cliche-ridden storyline or if you're a die-hard fan of Bullock and Kidman, in which case you won't even need to read a review. E

Copyright Star Publications (M) Bhd.
Source: Pg. 15, Weekender, The Star, 19th December 1998

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