Practical Magic (1998)

20% of critics liked it
(55 reviews)
73% of users liked it
(187,523 ratings)

Griffin Dunne directed this romantic fantasy adapted from the 1995 Alice Hoffman novel about the Owens family of witches, regarded as outcasts in the town where they live. Aunt Frances (Stockard Channing) and her sister Aunt Jet (Dianne Wiest) tried to pass on practical magic skills to their nieces,… More Griffin Dunne directed this romantic fantasy adapted from the 1995 Alice Hoffman novel about the Owens family of witches, regarded as outcasts in the town where they live. Aunt Frances (Stockard Channing) and her sister Aunt Jet (Dianne Wiest) tried to pass on practical magic skills to their nieces, subdued Sally (Sandra Bullock) and fiery Gillian (Nicole Kidman), brought up by the two aunts after their parents died. The aunts concoct spells for the lonely and the lovelorn, but the family's use of witchcraft unfortunately invokes a curse that spells doom to the family's menfolk. Denying her powers, Sally attempted to lead a life minus magic. Her marriage to fish merchant Michael (Mark Feuerstein) brought two daughters -- and Michael's death. Moving into the aunt's seaside mansion, the widowed Sally warns the aunts not to influence her daughters. Sally intervenes when Gillian suffers at the hands of her abusive Bulgarian boyfriend Jimmy (Goran Visnic), and Arizona detective Gary Hallet (Aidan Quinn), investigating Jimmy's disappearance, turns up in town, eyeing Gillian and Sally as the leading suspects. Filmed in Washington (San Juan Island, Whidby Island, Coupeville, Friday Harbor). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Griffin Dunne
Written By: Robin Swicord, Akiva Goldsman, Adam Brooks
Genres: Action & Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Kids & Family, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Oct 16, 1998 Wide
On DVD: Feb 16, 1999
Studio: Warner Home Video

Critic Reviews

Susan Stark, Detroit News
A saga that lacks the courage of its own odd convictions.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
A witch comedy so slapdash, plodding, and muddled it seems to have had a hex put on it.
Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune
The trio of credited writers exhibits a complete failure of imagination!
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The movie doesn't seem sure what tone to adopt, veering uncertainly from horror to laughs to romance.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Uneven adaptation of lyrical novel.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
A bad sign when the only female in the creative process is Swicord
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...innocuous, sugarcoated Hollywood fluff. (Blu-ray Comedy Double Feature)
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...applies a layer of Hollywood gloss, sentimentality, and hyperbole to the proceedings.
Steve Biodrowski, ESplatter
If nothing else, the screenwriters deserve recognition for the nerve it took to employ what must be the most outrageously lazy writer's device in the history of cinema.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
Has something to annoy just about everyone: feminists of either gender, Wiccans, or just people expecting a good movie.
John Venable, Supercala.com
An absolute waste of time.

Read all 11 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Dead A

It did felt corny at <i>some</i> moment(s) (the blood thingy at the end). But other than <i>that</i>, the whole movie was great. Is full of magic (not the silly ones). I loved the bonding of Sandra and Nicole. It made me jealous for not having a sister.
♥˩ƳИИ &

This is my favorite Sandra Bullock movie besides While You Were Sleeping. Love this movie. Own it and watch it often with friends. There are three movies me and my friends watch often together and it's Practical Magic, Girl Interrupted, and Almost Famous. Never fails. It's… More
This is my favorite Sandra Bullock movie besides While You Were Sleeping. Love this movie. Own it and watch it often with friends. There are three movies me and my friends watch often together and it's Practical Magic, Girl Interrupted, and Almost Famous. Never fails. It's always one of the three.. Sandra and Kidman are great together and really make you believe they are sisters. The aunts are insane and funny and its great. One of the best Witch movies out there.
Dean !

A very enjoyable film with a very good cast including a very young Camilla Belle. A mix of Rom-Com/drama that has some dark moments as a family of witches try to break a curse within their family.
Dean M

Deliciously wicked and sweet entertaining story! Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are devilishly sexy as the spell-casting sisters doomed to be single for the rest of their natural life... and Stockard Channing and Diane Wiest are also enchanting as their aunts that have raised them… More
Deliciously wicked and sweet entertaining story! Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are devilishly sexy as the spell-casting sisters doomed to be single for the rest of their natural life... and Stockard Channing and Diane Wiest are also enchanting as their aunts that have raised them on chocolate cake and midnight margaritas! Aidan Quinn rounds out the superb cast as a detective determined to find out the truth behind the disappearance of a wanted killer.
Film C

i love tis film great performancs and really good to watch excellent storylie
Candy R

Great actresses, but weak plot.
Sanjaya &

Awesome! I love Bullock's and Nicole's performance. They're so lovely.. Best Movie of 1998
Curtis L

fun
Red L

A little bit silly (well actually a lot silly). But a happy ending.
Rachel F

I absolutely love this movie. It's funny and it has a very good storyline. Plus, i'm a sucker for anything that has to do with the supernatural.
xGary X

Like the similarly supernatural Witches Of Eastwick, and The Craft before it, this just doesn't work for me. Sandra Bullock is pleasant enough, but the characters are stereotypes and the plot is contrived and forced. The colossal handicap of Nicole Kidman's presence… More
Like the similarly supernatural Witches Of Eastwick, and The Craft before it, this just doesn't work for me. Sandra Bullock is pleasant enough, but the characters are stereotypes and the plot is contrived and forced. The colossal handicap of Nicole Kidman's presence doesn't help either.
Drew S

This is my mother's favorite movie - she's watched it upwards of 100 times. Naturally, I get a lot of it as well. The ending is sort of stupid and I can't say the plot really sits well with me, but there are parts of it I like a lot. The performances, most notably, are… More
This is my mother's favorite movie - she's watched it upwards of 100 times. Naturally, I get a lot of it as well. The ending is sort of stupid and I can't say the plot really sits well with me, but there are parts of it I like a lot. The performances, most notably, are great.
danny d

dark and pointless, most chicks dig it i guess
Jason S

I was a little confused. Was it supposed to be a funny movie?
Stuart B

Maybe its just me but I didnt care what happened...
Steven V

Absolute movie. Brilliantly written, with great acting from all the actors. A charming and magical story about curses, love and of course, magic.
Deb S

Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) play witches looking for love, struggling against a curse, which predestined that every man they love would die a sudden, tragic death. The girls are raised by their two aunts, Frances (Stockard Channing) and Jet (Dianne Wiest) after… More
Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) play witches looking for love, struggling against a curse, which predestined that every man they love would die a sudden, tragic death. The girls are raised by their two aunts, Frances (Stockard Channing) and Jet (Dianne Wiest) after the death of their parents. When Gillian is beaten by her boyfriend Jimmy, she seeks Sally's help, but things don't work out as planned and they find themselves in a whole lot of trouble and have to take drastic measures when they accidentally kill him. See how they deal with breaking the god-awful curse, finding love and killing JIMMY TWICE.While there is precious little magic in PRACTICAL MAGIC, I found it entertaining and the aunts are a riot.
Joseph E

Oh, "Sandra", How can it be that "The Net" Is still your best film, and that Mediorce "Forces of Nature"is your second? Oh, Wait, when you act and get directed this bad in a film, I can understand, and stand corrected.
Jason S

Skewing of comedy and drama, Practical Magic is an odd concoction that doesn't sit well on either side of the genre. Doesn't help that Kidman and Bullock are lifeless and average at best.
Maymay A

"For two sisters from a family of witches, falling in love is the trickiest spell of all." Fantasy. It is a concept that would be pretty interesting. You see, it has every element to experiment with. With this, nothing's impossible. However, it looks like that the… More
"For two sisters from a family of witches, falling in love is the trickiest spell of all." Fantasy. It is a concept that would be pretty interesting. You see, it has every element to experiment with. With this, nothing's impossible. However, it looks like that the filmmakers wasn't able to produce a very creative craft here. It started off quite well. However, the story and even the movie itself didn't turn into something good enough. It left me feeling good though. It may not be that amazing but it left some good life lessons, and I appreciate that.