The Dark Charms of <em>Practical Magic</em>, 20 Years On
Read this plot description and ponder whether it sounds like a good pitch for a light rom-com: Two sisters—one more sensible than the other but each of them practicing witches—kill an abusive boyfriend together, bury his body, and then have to reckon with the consequences of the crime after he comes back to life. You’re not laughing? What if I told you the sisters were reckoning with an ancient family curse that mortally doomed any man who fell in love with them? It might not sound like a breezy night at the movies, but 20 years ago, the good folks at Warner Bros. thought it could be.
The result was , Griffin Dunne’s adaptation of Alice Hoffman’s 1995 novel, which follows Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Nicole Kidman) as they wrestle with their ancestors’ past, the laws of witchcraft, and the homicide they commit. The film (which is ) was a box-office flop, grossing on a sizable $75 million budget. Its critical reception was that Dunne, years later, wondered if the movie had been by a witch who served as a consultant on the film and later sued the studio over a pay dispute.
