Practical Magic

Based on the book by Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic follows sisters Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) as they work to break a curse that leaves the men they love doomed to a violent (and unexpected) end. It’s a decent premise that’s employed to predominantly underwhelming effect by director Griffin Dunne, as the filmmaker, working from Robin Swicord, Akiva Goldsman, and Adam Brooks’ screenplay, generally finds himself unable to draw the viewer into the curiously uneventful proceedings – with the less-than-engrossing atmosphere compounded by an ongoing reliance on the characters’ freewheeling exploits. This is despite the inclusion of a few admittedly promising subplots, with the best and most interesting example of this everything involving Goran Visnjic’s nasty Jimmy (ie these scenes provide Practical Magic with an urgency that’s otherwise entirely absent). The picture’s hopelessly uninvolving feel is especially disappointing given Bullock and Kidman’s typically charismatic work as the somewhat underwritten protagonists, which does, in turn, diminish the effectiveness of the movie’s frantic and, eventually, uplifting final stretch. The end result is a half-baked endeavor that has quite a few positives going for it, admittedly (eg Dunne’s stylish visuals remain a highlight), and yet there’s just never a point at which one is wholeheartedly drawn into the mostly aimless happenings.

** out of ****