Practical Magic (1998)

Sally and Gillian Owens have always known they were different. Raised by their aunts after their parents' death, the sisters grew up in a household that was anything but typical--their ... See full summary »

Director:

Griffin Dunne

Writers:

Alice Hoffman (novel), Robin Swicord (screenplay),

Stars:

Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sandra Bullock	...	Sally Owens
Nicole Kidman	...	Gillian Owens
Stockard Channing	...	Aunt Frances
Dianne Wiest	...	Aunt Jet
Goran Visnjic	...	Jimmy Angelov
Aidan Quinn	...	Gary Hallet
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Kylie
Alexandra Artrip	...	Antonia
Mark Feuerstein	...	Michael
Caprice Benedetti	...	Maria Owens
Annabella Price	...	Lovelorn Lady
Camilla Belle	...	Sally @ Age 11
Lora Anne Criswell	...	Gillian @ Age 10
Margo Martindale	...	Linda Bennett
Chloe Webb	...	Carla

Storyline

Sally and Gillian Owens have always known they were different. Raised by their aunts after their parents' death, the sisters grew up in a household that was anything but typical--their aunts fed them chocolate cake for breakfast and taught them the uses of practical magic. But the invocation of the Owens' sorcery also carries a price--some call it a curse: the men they fall in love with are doomed to an untimely death. Now adult women with very different personalities, the quiet Sally and the fiery Gillian must use all of their powers to fight the family curse and a swarm of supernatural forces that threatens the lives of all the Owens women.

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Plot Keywords:

love | curse | magic | family curse | aunt niece relationship | 

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Taglines:

For two sisters from a family of witches, falling in love is the trickiest spell of all.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence, intense thematic elements and sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hechizo de amor

Filming Locations:

Coupeville, Whidbey Island, Washington, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,001,536 (UK) (22 January 1999)

Gross:

£2,987,705 (UK) (19 February 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DiNovi Pictures, Fortis Films, Village Roadshow Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aidan Quinn's character, Officer Hallet, has something called Heterochromia Iridium. Heterochromia Iridium is an eye condition in which one iris is a partial or completely different color then the other iris. Although it is unusual in humans, there are some celebrities with this condition. Kate Bosworth and Jane Seymour to name two.

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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.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in HBO First Look: Practical Magic (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Black Eyed Dog"
Written and Performed by Nick Drake
Courtesy of Islands Records Ltd.
By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Music

User Reviews

A fun movie, despite a few weak points

It appears that director Griffith Dunne tried to keep this film from being as powerful as it could have been. The movie fails to fully develop the town's overt fear of witches (missing only slightly), the full foreboding of "something wicked this way comes" with Jimmy (although the script lets them get away with it), and the magical love bond between Sally and Gary. A few small changes, such as more supportive background music, would have made these points support and counterpoint the lighter parts of the flick.

Bullock and Kidman are very good as the central characters, very believable as different-but-bonded sisters. Kidman is a little too flaky at times to be a fully credible witch, but this characterization runs well enough in context. Channing (whom I rarely enjoy) and Wiest are excellent in major supporting roles, outdone only by Webb and Wood (Sally's daughters) who show their abilities by *not* overacting their potentially cutesy roles. Instead, they do a great job in stating variations on their mother and Aunt Gilly.

Overall, I think most aspects of direction and production could have used one more iteration of quality improvement. Still, the movie is quite enjoyable, and worth watching again some time.