Episode #343 - ‘Practical Magic’ - Tequila Necromancy

It’s a ReWatchable Halloween Special! Continuing our run of 2021 movie episodes, we are here to bring you our thoughts about the 1998 fan-favorite spooky rom-com, Practical Magic. Starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, this weird and witchy tale tells the story of the Owens sisters, who are as blessed with magic as they are cursed to lose the men they fall in love with. Five ReWatchable hosts have gathered on Halloween to tell a tale of love, loss, raising the dead, and of course, magic. Fun Facts In case you missed it, we are on Subjectify Media now. Episode 37 of Not About The Weather has a great explanation of what exactly happened and why we’ve got a new website. Our fun facts are themed: what’s your favorite Halloween TV special? The winners include Buffy, Supernatural, Stranger Things, How I Met Your Mother, and Boy Meets World. Practical Magic Interestingly, all our Americans are newbies today, and our superfans are the international hosts. Kendra had not heard of this movie til two weeks ago. Karen was expecting scarier - like The Craft! Danielle had seen a famous scene on Tiktok which both set the scene and did not prepare her at all. Natalie saw this movie in the cinema in the 90s. Is this a feminist movie? Kind of. It’s very women supporting women, but also weirdly women versus women. Starting with the whole Maria Owens situation. Pro tip: don't curse your own family line, it goes against the biological imperative. So much happens in the first 20 minutes. Some hosts expected the set up of the first 20 minutes to be the whole movie. But no. The aunts casting a love spell on Sally might be well meaning but it’s creepy as hell. Natalie’s theory is that they are breeding her to keep the family line going. Gross. The Faith Hill “This Kiss” scene is a pretty huge pop culture moment. Everyone in this movie has a lot of hair and it is wonderful. Should Gilly, the romantic, have gotten the chance at true love? Was Jimmy a vampire. No. Well, maybe. Well, no. But. Maybe? The newbies did not expect the sisters to be murderers. Let alone double murderers. Was the whipped cream disgusting or inspired?  If you don’t make your own necromancy ingredients, store bought is fine! Gary the Cop shows up chasing Jimmy down for Jimmy’s crimes, so he doesn’t seem to be concerned about harm befalling Jimmy. But he does have to uphold the law, and these women are not good at covering up crimes. Did Sally, like, make Gary with her spell? Is the Owens curse objectively real? Is it naive to just not believe in it? If you claim that it’s down to belief only, then Sally killed her husband by believing in it. Karen wasn't expecting to be thinking about the theoretical workings of magic this hard for this movie. It’s called Practical Magic! You didn’t think we may discuss the practicality of magic? Are soul bonds ethical? What about free will? Natalie has read a Supernatural AU of Practical Magic featuring Dean and Sam as the witches and Cas as the cop. But seriously, Sally’s spell. Is it Google Maps or The Sims? (Just go with it.) Natalie delivers some tea about soulmate compatibility. Depressing or inspiring? You decide. Karen is very upset. Just when you thought this movie was over, it is not over! The climax depends on reaching out to all the women who hated them and drawing back the fear curtain. This movie fits into every category. Horror? Romcom? Family drama? Sure. This movie is quite famously full of queer themes, even though it isn’t about lesbians. There’s some chat about why fictional incest is a trope here too. (Just go with it.) We look at why media is incapable of showing intimacy between people without coding it the same way romantic intimacy is coded. A real witch put a curse on this movie. It’s an extreme cult classic in so many ways!  Favorite scenes. Favorite lines. This episode’s superfans are: Maj Elisabeth and Natalie Fisher.This episode’s newbies are: Kendra Cleary, Karen Rought, and Danielle Zimmerman. ReWatchable: A TV Re-Watch Podcast is dedicated to rewatching completed cult classic or unjustly cancelled TV shows with a team of both superfans and newbies. Join us for analysis, commentaries, character discussions, and more for each show we choose to tackle.During our rewatches, we stay spoiler-free for our discussions on an episode-to-episode base, to give our newbie hosts and listeners a chance to discover things fresh! We ask that listeners also don’t discuss any spoilers for the shows we’re watching ahead of that episode’s discussion in their feedback to us or on our social media. Follow Us: Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Facebook Listen and Subscribe: Audioboom // Apple // Spotify // Stitcher // Google // AmazonFeel free to leave us your questions or comments through any of these mediums! 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