A Lifetime of Happiness: Movies, TV, and Video Games

Practical Magic (1998)

March 02, 2022 Steve Bennet-Martin Season 1 Episode 108
A Lifetime of Happiness: Movies, TV, and Video Games
Practical Magic (1998)
Show Notes Transcript

The Steves discuss the 1998 cult classic Practical Magic along with what's making them happy in pop culture today!

What's making us happy?

  • Horizon: Forbidden West (PS4)
  • The Woman Across the Street from the Girl in the Window (Netflix)


Movie discussion topics include:

  • Names and numbers behind the production team
  • A deep dive into the goddess Hecate
  • Real life actors and actresses with heterochromia iridium
  • The secret behind the Midnight Margarita's scene
  • Does it matter if spell is responsible for true love?

Ending- Any music or audio clips were borrowed from the original source material.

Support the show
Steve:

Hello, returnee happies and new listeners. This is Steve Bennet-Martin, and

Stephen:

this is Stephen Martin-Bennet. And welcome to a

Steve:

lifetime of. The podcast where we take you on our journey through some of the movies, TV shows, and other bits of pop culture that are helping to keep us happy while hopefully bring a smile to your face along the way. And

Stephen:

today we're kicking off magical March. As we review how the fabulous Owen sisters broke their family curse and found true love in the 1998 cult classic, practical, magic.

Steve:

But first my love what's been making you happy.

Stephen:

So you know that I love can't be. Really? Yes. And you know that I love Kristen bell. We both do. Yeah. So you put the two together and you have the woman across the street from the girl in the window on Netflix.

Steve:

That was a serious movie. It wasn't campy at all.

Stephen:

That was my favorite thing about it. Is that the screen. I was so campy, but they played every line dead serious, and it was just so magical doing it that way, because you know, it could have been totally played for laughs and the way they did it, you were listening to it. Oh, they just said that.

Steve:

Yeah. With straight faces. Yeah. What was your favorite part of it being that it's a spoiler filled?

Stephen:

I did love her dramatic rain phobia that made her pass out and that. She's fighting it and crawling and passes out in the street.

Steve:

Yes. And I love how her handyman has been repairing her mailbox for a year. Yeah. All right. And you know, what else has been making me happy?

Stephen:

I do

Steve:

not do. Starting off horizon forbid and west on the PS4.

Stephen:

That is a CQL is it not? Yes. To

Steve:

horizon zero Dawn, which I played through. You enjoyed watching bits and pieces of it. And I only am in the prologue kind of city chapter right now, waiting to. Reconvene and meet up, but there's a lot of new elements fall, a lot of the same and they're kind of mixing well together. I took a brief break when they had some sort of like chess, like board game. And I'm like, I can't pay attention to this right now. Cause that was Friday afternoon and I just wasn't feeling it. But yes, I planned a jump back into the game because I want to see what, what awaits alloy in the forbidden wet. And

Stephen:

it's a beautiful, beautiful game.

Steve:

Yes, it certainly is. Now, before we jump into the movie, practical magic, my level. Why did you choose a for March to be magical March?

Stephen:

First I love alliteration. Yes. So after we did final girl, February, I was like, what can we do that? M for March? And so I started going through things and I was like, you know, I had been wanting to do practical magic and I'd been wanting to do the craft and it was. Let's just make it a theme. And then once I did that, then a couple other movies just fell into place. I was like, this is fun. It's going to be whimsical. It's going to be exciting. It's going to be a good time.

Steve:

Yes. And for a movie that had all the makings to be a blockbuster, it was not as successful as one of my things. Why do you love practical magic so much? So

Stephen:

I love practical magic because it has my favorite girl, Nikki Kidman, my other favorite girl, Sandy Bullock. It's got some Stockard Channing, Diane weest. It is funny. It's romantic. It's got that other worldly ness about it, and I do know why it didn't succeed. I remember the whole scandals when it came out middle America was not ready to watch witches. Oh, no, because it wasn't, it didn't seem as harmless as Samantha and Bewitched. This seemed. A little more real to them. And so there were, you know, a lot of middle America was not having it.

Steve:

Oh, that's unfortunate because it is a very nice movie for those unfamiliar. It's a 1998 American fantasy romantic comedy film based on the 1995 novel of the same year. The novel was written by Alice Hoffman while the movie's directed by Griffin Dunne and produced by Denise Denovi.

Stephen:

I don't know those names

Steve:

Mo Griffin is not just a director, but is more known for being an actor. He was Jack in 1980. One is American werewolf in London. I do know that and Denovi is most known for producing both of the sisterhood of the traveling pants, movies, as well as the romcom. Crazy, stupid

Stephen:

love. Crazy stupid love. So good. So you do know them, I guess I do. I just did not have an association with their

Steve:

names. Now the two main stars you've already mentioned Sandy Volak and Nicole Kidman are two powerhouse actresses. What's your favorite works of them?

Stephen:

Both. Okay. So for Sandra Bullock EV America came into love her in speed. And but one of the ones that I really liked. Just took my love of her to a new level. Was she and Ryan Reynolds in the proposal?

Steve:

Yeah. That's one of my favorite, like romcoms of that time. Yeah. What about you?

Stephen:

What's your favorite Sandy movie?

Steve:

Probably my first ones, which were miss congeniality one and two. She just did such an amazing job in them. And that's when I fell in love with her. And of course I love me some good horse. So bird box was very fun and took the world by storm when it came out, bird

Stephen:

box was so

Steve:

well done. Yes. And meanwhile, Nicole, Kidman's been in probably just as many, if not more things than Sandra Bullock, what are some of your favorites of hers?

Stephen:

So funny shout out, there was this movie that we recorded off of TV when we were little Cub BMX bandits, that was. Kind of like the Goonies, but set with a bunch of teens on BMX bikes and it was out of Australia. Had we loved it. We watched it on VHS, my brother and I all the time. It wasn't until I grew up that I found out that the li the lead teen girl from BMX bandits was

Steve:

Nicole. Kidman's. That's your favorite? Nicole came in, made it is not just your first.

Stephen:

Yeah, it's my first my favorite has to be move on. She, you know how I always say when an actor and actress commits to a role, even the silly things. Yeah. Her performance and move on Rouge. And especially when she's doing the, oh, Jody was saying your dirty words and just rolling around and screaming. And she it's just like the name game in American horror story. She's fully committed and it's, you know, a lesser actress. It wouldn't have gone over. I also love her and the others guests you do. And another Bosler man movie, like Moulin Rouge, Australia with Hugh Jackman. She's fantastic.

Steve:

Gotcha. Meanwhile, I've come to love her more recently with both big little lies where she did some powerhouse performance and my gosh, even in the second season, which story-wise, wasn't that great that performances in the second season were right up there with the first. And I just love how bad shit crazy she was in nine. Perfect strangers. So good. I would go on a retreat and let her drug me anytime. 100%.

Stephen:

Sign me up.

Steve:

Yes. Now both of the ants were covered in our previous episodes, a stocker Channing was known for her role as Rizzo in grease. Yep.

Stephen:

While who else? Diane weest was also Louise Keely in the bird cage, which was such an underrated performance, but she did such, such a good job with that. And that was actually the first time. New Diane weest and came to love her. And then by the time I saw this,

Steve:

I was sold. Yes. Meanwhile, Aiden Quinn was Benny and the 1993 movie, Benny and June, while Gren Vish, Nick close enough was Luca on E R and R Montse and the U S lesser version of the girl with the dragon tattoo, correct. On

Stephen:

the lesser version. And most people know him from. And he was the good guy. So this was definitely a departure for him.

Steve:

Yes. Now the magic of this creative team was lost on its original audience. As we mentioned, with a budget of$75 million in a box office of 68.3 million from its release on October 16th, 1998,

Stephen:

it has more than made up for it now through DVD Blu-ray sales and streaming rights. But back in the day, it was considered a failure.

Steve:

Yes. And I am summarizes the movie as to which sisters raised by their eccentric ants in a small town face closed-minded prejudice and a curse, which threatens to prevent them from finding everlasting love. Have they, did

Stephen:

I kinda like that? Because this is another one of those that has so many moving parts, that it would be hard to really summarize. Properly. And I would say this is close enough.

Steve:

Well then since it's hard to summarize, why don't we just dive into a deep discussion about it? Let's do it now. It starts with the Owen's women having been blamed for everything that's gone wrong in the town that they live in for over 200 years.

Stephen:

This goes all the way back to Maria, the first, which in their family, she had dalliances with many of the husbands of the women on the hanging. That doesn't bode. Well, no, but she used her own magic to save herself from hanging. She stepped off the hunting platform and as the rope became taught, it just snapped and everyone freaked out and ran away. And, but even though she had survived her punishment, which means they weren't, they couldn't legally kill her again. She was banished to a small island nearby. And it turns out she was pregnant.

Steve:

Yes. I remember she had hoped the baby daddy would find her, but then when he didn't, she casts a spell so that she would never know the pain of love again, but as her bitterness grew that spelled warped and turned into a curse on any man who dared to love and Owen, this woman. Oh, that

Stephen:

seems like foreshadowing. Yeah.

Steve:

And it sucks balls that that's what happened like that. She did, she brought it on herself, like, no, Intentionally, but you know, it, she wasn't, I know you have to be careful what you wish for in these magical movies. That's pretty much going to be a theme I'm sure. Throughout the month, but you know, in, in terms of hoping never to be loved again, it ends up at the turns into that. Anyone who they fall in love with dies. Yeah. It's just, it's rough because that, if anything, I would think that, that, that kind of means that you're more likely to hurt every time you fall in love, rather than never falling in love. Again.

Stephen:

And that takes us to a fast forward so that we find out how our two lead sister's father died. Because when you hear the sound of the death watch beetle, it means the man you love is doomed to die. And the family was out at the beach and they heard the death watch beetle and. It doesn't it glosses over it real quick, but the father died and then the girl's mom died of a broken heart.

Steve:

Yes. Since then their aunts Francis and jet have raised the

Stephen:

girls. And I love aunt Francis because she sets the tone for them right away in this house. We have chocolate cake for breakfast and we don't bother with silly things like bedtimes of brushing our teeth

Steve:

and dentists and oral hygienists are rollover and their graves. There's

Stephen:

probably magical. Herbs and things that they have, the girls chew that keeps their teeth. So now I would hope so

Steve:

because both actresses grew into be beautiful women with great smiles. So it's definitely sending a message if you're like, and you don't have to brush your teeth and you'll end up with a smile, just like Nicole Kidman.

Stephen:

And we have an entire generation of girls with their teeth falling out.

Steve:

Yeah, exactly. Now the girls are bullied just for who they are by the children. Which which y'all wrote, which very unoriginal, but it still hurts them. Cause they're little, a young Sally's natural magic while Jillian's gifts are promised to come later, they then see a crazy town. Women pay their aunts, a visit to put a spell on a married man. She was in love with and Sally vows never to fall in love while Jillian can't wait to fall in love.

Stephen:

And it right then like even watching it, you can be like, Sally is totally going to be. The Sandra Bullock character and Jillian is totally going to be the Nicole Kidman character first

Steve:

store. And the way that Sally decides to protect yourself from falling in love, as she prepares a true love, spell creating a guy she believes will never exist. And if he doesn't exist, then who'll never die of a broken heart.

Stephen:

He'll hear my column mile away. He'll whistle. My favorite song, he'll be able to flip pancakes in the air. He'll be marvelously kind. His favorite shape will be a star. And it'll have one green eye and one blue eye. Yeah.

Steve:

Now besides his personality and kind of interests cracks of the spell involves that this man will have had our chromia Iridium, which is, comes from the Latin hetero for different, and chromia for color. It's a harmless condition in which one Iris has colored partially or completely differently than the other Iris. Although it's fairly rare in humans, there are some celebrities we know with this. Like Kate Bosworth, Mila Kunis, and Kiefer Sutherland. Just to name a few.

Stephen:

Interesting. Do you know anybody in real life that has two different colored eyes?

Steve:

No. I think that if you end up having a, you become a celebrity.

Stephen:

Oh, damn. I knew that there was something missing in my plan to become a slow.

Steve:

No, but in all seriousness, I don't think I've ever met someone like that in real life. Have you? No, I haven't either. Now as young adults and Jillian falls into. And again, and again, and again, it seems, and she runs off with a guy who doesn't even care enough about her to talk to her sister before running away.

Stephen:

Yup. But, and Sally, doesn't like the idea of a running away because they're supposed to be there for each other. And so Jillian promises that they'll roll together in the house and they'll die together on the same day

Steve:

because that's totally a normal promise that you make between siblings. So did you and Barry do something similar to that? Do you think Mickey and I did no. No. I don't think that this is normal sibling behavior, but okay. They say my blood, your blood, our

Stephen:

blood, and they take the knife and the scar from when they do that never heals. And they both have that scar on the Palm of their hand for the rest of them.

Steve:

And if that will come into play later, does yes. Boiler. Now, all Sally wants as a normal life, which leads to your favorite quote.

Stephen:

Aunt Francis says my darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather donates a lack of courage and I couldn't agree more. Yes. Being normal is boring. Don't try to fit in be

Steve:

you. Yes. Meanwhile Sally then does fall in love with Michael and has two girls, Kylie and Antonia while Jillian falls for a guy named Jimmy Angela, who seems to have a supernatural hold over her Sally then wakes one morning to the sound of a death watch beetle. She tears up the floorboards all over the house, looking for it, but she's unsuccessful. And we see Michael get hit by a truck.

Stephen:

Sally goes to the aunts that night pleading for. To bring him back from the dead and the answer fuse, because it wouldn't be him that comes back. It would be something dark. They do admit that they cast a spell for Sally to find happy. But they never, ever expected for her to actually fall in love with that, man.

Steve:

Especially since he wasn't the one from her true love spouse. Exactly. Now she begrudgingly moves in with the kids, to her aunts and vows that our daughters will never do magic. Not even little Evan, Rachel

Stephen:

blood. Yeah. It goes on to have a wonderful career later in her life, but it's really cute to see her as a pre.

Steve:

Yes, we don't always see that Jimmy is very possessive of Jillian in a non-sexy way. He doesn't even want her to go to the bathroom without him. So she asked to use Belladonna to drug him and escape, to go back home, to help a grieving. Sally, the sisters can feel each other's thoughts through their scars from the night that Julie ran away.

Stephen:

I love that. I love that, you know, half a country away Jillian can feel what Sally's going through. So she drove all night and day. To get to Sally, to be with her, to help her heal. And Sally said she had plans to open a health and beauty apothecary, and Michael would have gotten the plant ingredients for, and Julie talks about how intense Jimmy is and how she feels weak in comparison, and then jelly sneaks away in the night. Her job done and soundly does open up the apothecary shop with the amazing actress, Margo Martindale, working for her.

Steve:

Yes. Now during the exchange with the sisters, Sally does point out to Julia, like you love him so much that you need to, to drug him. Is that how, how love works?

Stephen:

Sometimes I just need to sleep. And you know, I think that Jilly is just so trying to live in the moment that she's not realizing how bad it is that she's not getting. For me to be able to sleep. I have to drug him like she's not getting

Steve:

yes. And for listeners who have to drug their loved one to get some sleep, that's not a healthy relationship. And you should maybe talk to us, someone for. Agreed. You can reach out to us@happylifepodatgmail.com.

Stephen:

We are not professionals.

Steve:

Now Sally's daughters were still taunted by the town kids with the same rhyme, which, which y'all wrote witch and Kylie points a finger at one of them and hexes him with chickenpox to the horror of the mothers in the embarrassment of Sally. I

Stephen:

love that when she does that, she could do not point your

Steve:

finger in. Yes, Sally's daughters are obviously much keener to their magical abilities than Sally would like them to be. And they even are questioning the answer later at home about their magic and the curse while also throwing shade at their mom for not using her magic.

Stephen:

And, you know, Sally is trying to come out of her broken heart from Michael and she writes to Jilly that, you know, she's kind of done with love at this point and, you know, alludes to the magic man that never was and never could be. And and you know it, and it's a good transition point because Jillian's up calling Sally in a panic and Sally goes off direct.

Steve:

Yes. The answer that I'll watch the girls and take them to the solstice ceremony. I do

Stephen:

not want them dancing naked

Steve:

under the moon. No deer. The nudity is totally optional as you well remember

Stephen:

exactly. Now at the hotel, they note it like once somebody gets to the hotel where Jilly is, they notice there's blood on the moon. And even though they have that perfect moment to get away, Jilly goes back to get her tigers and I for good luck from the car. Where Jimmy grabs Jilly and hold them captive and make Sally drive. Yes,

Steve:

he is drunk on tequila saying I'm very into sisters right now. I'm Betty and the

Stephen:

sisters that I had to now

Steve:

maybe begin singing.

Stephen:

You were always on my mama.

Steve:

They drug him with Belladonna and accidentally overdose him. Oops. We now have a dead Jimmy. Oh. They bring his body back to the ANZ to bring him back. Sally says, no, he'll come back darken on natural.

Stephen:

He says, that's fine. He's already darken

Steve:

unnatural. Yeah. They don't care what he comes back. Like as long as he comes back. So they don't get blamed for his murder.

Stephen:

They use this spell invoking Hekaton to reverse his

Steve:

death in the spell. They use whipped cream to make the pentagram on his chest because you work with what you have. And as they're about to put the needle through his eyes to finish the spell, his eyes open, he comes back to life and immediately begins attacking Jillian. So they have to kill him. Again, again, this time giving up and burying him in the yard and vowing not to tell the ants. Sally tells Julie, you have the worst taste in men. So

Stephen:

they mentioned hecka tag, which is one of the few. Spiritual data is that they mentioned in the movie and hackathon is actually a Greek goddess of witchcraft, the moon, and all that rums at night heck day is dark and mysterious goddess of great magic. She was the only child of the Greek Titan per CS and Asteria, and despite her tightened parentage, heck they actually fought alongside Zeus and the Olympians in the battle against them. Hackathon is known as the gatekeeper between realms, which makes sense why the Owen sisters were invoking her. She's often shown, guarding the crossroads and all those in-between places with the ability to see and commune with the dead hackathon was per Stephanie's friend and guide and her yearly journey down to Hades for the winter.

Steve:

Excellent. Thank you for that deep dive in my lab. You're welcome. Now, the ants and the girls returned from the salsa celebration with happy reunions. Well, I think they're going to be okay and nothing bad will happen and the movie will end. Right. You would be wrong. Okay. What happens

Stephen:

then? Oh, well, we get some comedy for a bit because we're going to focus on the reunion portion of it. And all Sally wants is to be part of the school's parent phone tree. Like if there's a snow day or something like that, they start at the top of the phone tree and then you call some people and then those people call some people in down. She's never selected because she's a witch and it's a popularity contest. Totally. Jilly shows up in the meeting, taunting of. Yup. I'm back ladies, hold on. Your husbands. Woo. With many of the moms gossiping about Jillian one calling her a slut and what's great is that moms binder shuts on her finger. And Julie goes that wasn't me and the sisters laughed together and it's showing how Sally actually really needs this partner in crime. And somebody back, that's going to be on her side no matter what. And of course, then Julie does use her magic to have Sally at the top of the phone tree with the line of now. That was me. I also

Steve:

do think that she was responsible for the binder. I think

Stephen:

Sally did that because somebody called her sister a slug. Totally

Steve:

true. Now that night toads begin crawling out of the grave that they've buried Jimmy. And obviously that can be Nope.

Stephen:

And then we hear the ants down on the kitchen. I have Newt toe of frog. Wing of bat tone of dog adders fork blind, warm sting, Barbados sign is just the thing. Froggy assault like a sailor stubble, flip the switch to the cauldron

Steve:

bubble. I don't know that spell. What does that invoke?

Stephen:

My midnight margaritas

Steve:

count me out.

Stephen:

That's true. And it brings the sisters down and everybody has fun dancing. And to the, you put the time in the coconut.

Steve:

Yes, but then that quickly turns as they get drunk and they start slinging insults at each other. And funny story, according to Sandra Bullock in the commentary for the movie, the actress has actually got drunk off of some very bad tequila that Nicole came and brought onset.

Stephen:

I bet you, they had a fun night that night with, because like watching the scene, it's one of, a lot of people's favorite scenes and I guess it feels really authentic. Yeah. And I think that's why. That was them actually

Steve:

bonding. Yes. Meanwhile, toads continue to come out from where they buried Jimmy in the ants, after a singing, you were always

Stephen:

on my mind.

Steve:

They freak out. Sally revealed as Keala they were drinking from, was left on the porch. Oh, the same bottle. They used to poison Jimmy with the Bella Donna, and

Stephen:

then brim fell companies coming.

Steve:

The sisters refused to tell the aunts what happened. So the ants leave the next morning to teach the girls the lesson, but not before they use rope from aunt Maria is hanging to protect the younger girls first.

Stephen:

I mean, Clean up your own messages.

Steve:

Yes. Later that morning, a Rose Bush grew overnight where the body was, where his, and at one point Jimmy's feet were even poking up from the ground, but then they went back under kind of

Stephen:

like the wicked witch of the east and wizard of Oz where her feet sink underneath Dorothy's house. Yes.

Steve:

While Sally's shopping down the roses, she's approached by special investigator from Tucson, Gary Hallett, looking to speak to.

Stephen:

That's never a good

Steve:

thing. No, he questions the sisters and Sally's a horrible liar. Makes it, makes me look like smooth on my toes. Yeah. Jilly uses her feminine Wiles, which don't work at all.

Stephen:

Like, and you could see that she's so used to being able to successfully seduce people. And she's a little thrown off that it doesn't even for a fraction of a second work with inspector Hallot.

Steve:

Yes. Gary then shares that he's looking for Jimmy because he murdered a woman after branding her face. Just like what he was about to do to jelly. And before taking Jamie's car back, he takes some of the Belladonna that fell on the back seat to check into what that mysterious or was.

Stephen:

Yup. And I love when Gary questions, the townsfolk, and he gets an earful of gossip about the sisters, including we had to see the boy that Kylie had hexed previously, who now actually does have

Steve:

chickenpox. I also hear how, like, they like jump off their roof and fly on Halloween night and

Stephen:

that they're they make placenta things. Yes.

Steve:

We have a friend that makes placenta things.

Stephen:

Yes. But that's only when she's asked to do so. Well,

Steve:

hopefully she doesn't go around stealing people's placenta here. Really odd blacks. I don't know her life. Yes. The next morning, Jillian and Sally daughters are working on a spell to banish an unwanted person to send Gary away and they stumble across the spell that Sally cast as a child to remind us that the man of her dream has two different colored eyes and can flip pancakes. Highly liked jelly at that age. Can't wait to fall

Stephen:

in love. Of course. And Gary shows up for breakfast and Sally opens up to him about how our magic is like his badge Mack magic. Isn't just the spells and potions. It has the power because you believe it does. When Gary asked if they killed Jimmy, Sally says, oh yeah, A couple of times. Yes.

Steve:

Then the girls over breakfast. See how Gary is the man from Sally spelled like between the different colored eyes and the badge being a star and the pancakes. Yeah. So they,

Stephen:

They throw

Steve:

the syrup into the seat. Yes, they certainly do. And all looks like it's about to go smoothly, but then a toad burps up Jimmy's ring right in front of Gary who takes it and threatens the sisters that they better find a good. Even realizing that something must have been in the syrup. Oh crap.

Stephen:

Yeah. Every time something's about to go. Right. And you're like, oh, it's a romantic comedy. And then you're like, oh, everything's awful. And of course this causes the sisters to fight saying with Sally saying, she's always cleaning up. Jilly's messes. And Julie saying that Sally is holier than now. And at least Jilly lived arrive life while Sally just always wanted to fit in. Yeah.

Steve:

Sally runs off to confess everything to Gary while she's in the midst of confessing and taking the full blame and protecting jelly. Gary says that it is enough for them to decide what happens to Jimmy, but that he does need to be held accountable. Sally

Stephen:

says Molly has been punished. Yes.

Steve:

Gary offers to protect her and kisses her. And only then does Sally realize he has one green eye and one blue eye and freaks out and leaves?

Stephen:

Sally here's Jilly and the girls cries for help in her mind and rushed us home and back at the house Jimmy's ghost Corp's thing comes out of Jilly just as Gary rushes in after. And Jimmy goes to like squeezed Gary's heart, but his badge ends up protecting him. And then he uses that to banish him.

Steve:

Yep. Gary and myths to reading a Sally's letter a thousand times, and that he felt pulled there selling then confess us to both the murder and the spell from her childhood. She says he should leave because they can't tell the difference between love and the spell. He says, curses only have power when you believe in them. And he doesn't, but that he also wished for her.

Stephen:

Do you think it matters that if the spell brought them together or if it was fake?

Steve:

I think that it's one in the same. I mean, at this point in our marriage, you were like, Hey, I only met you because I made a spell like 10 years ago. Yeah. Well, I'm too into it. Now. It doesn't matter to me like whether it was me natural or you using the spell, I would still love you either way.

Stephen:

That's very sweet darling. There's something I needed to tell you. Okay. Well, we'll talk

Steve:

about it off here. Okay. What about you? Do you feel like it matters the difference between a love, spell and true love? Can I spell bring

Stephen:

true love? I don't think it can. I think a spell can open you up to love and I think a spell might bring the potential for love your way, but I don't think you can actually make someone love you. I think that all the ingredients were there, but. A normal, regular spell won't actually affect somebody's free will. Yes.

Steve:

Unlike in next week's episode.

Stephen:

Yeah. That's that's a good example. Stay tuned for the craft next week. Yes. Julie is still possessed by Jimmy. It turns out and she pulls Sally in close and says I'm Varian to sisters right now. And Sally knocks the Jilly Jimmy hybrid out just as the aunts come home. And they're like I guess not in the Nick of time and they talk about how they need a new, a coven to cast Jimmy out. So Sally uses the phone tree coming out as a witch officially while the aunts and the daughters prepare for the spell.

Steve:

Surprisingly, all the women's show up, even the nasty ones, all with the intent to truly help healing some childhood wounds on

Stephen:

both sides. Yeah. And it's a really good scene that it's some levity for a moment while you know, some of the women are acknowledging. You know, I always wished I could have seen inside your house. And it, it really like at that moment, you know, while Sally is focused on other things, it is kind of a. You know what, maybe they can accept me after all type a moment.

Steve:

It's a much needed levity while Jilly's in the next room over slowly

Stephen:

dying. Yeah. And when Francis says, grab a broom and form a circle, the women realize it is very real and very serious, and they begin to chant and try to channel. Jimmy out with their vibrations rising and it's all reaching a fever pitch and jellies in the middle of it. Just riving and screaming. Yeah.

Steve:

Sally can't handle seeing Julie like that, the spell isn't working and jelly is dying and she asked Sally to let her die and let this be done. Sally begs her to stay. We're supposed to die together at the same time. And this is not that day. So

Stephen:

Sally has a plan. She gets the tequila and they create an opening in the circle. Cause while the brims were closed, Jimmy, Jimmy couldn't get out of the circle. And Jimmy goes for the tequila and some of the women grabbed Jilly and holder while Sally uses the, my blood, your blood, our blood. And the coven grabs hands in a really dramatic way that still gets me every time where it's like the clasp clasp, clasp, clasp, and it's so powerful. And then a flash of light, Jimmy is banished into a cloud of dust.

Steve:

Yes. They then take that set pile of dust and take their brooms and shoe it outside on top of his grave before dousing it with the gross.

Stephen:

Ah, Sally gets a letter from Gary that Jimmy's death has been ruled an accident, and that they use the ring as an identifier for his body after a fire, letting us know that Gary falsified an entire death and body. And it makes you wonder what body did he use? Did they dig it? From under the rosebush and he took it back with him or it's kind of unanswered, but you can see that he broke the law for them. Yes. Have romantic. Yeah. In the letter he did return the ring which they add to the burning pile of the Rose Bush. And Sally says, what would you do Jilly to which Julie responds with a hint of growth on her part. What wouldn't I do for the right

Steve:

guy later, Gary arrives and kisses her in front of the rest of the women in the family who all cheered.

Stephen:

Sally provides voiceover narration at the end. Did our spell travel back in time and heal a broken heart. Did our joined hands break the curse? I'd like to think so. Here's what I do now. Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep Rosemary by your garden. Plant lavender for luck and fall in love whenever you

Steve:

can. Yes. We then get to see the women dressed as like traditional, like black ARB, which is on the roof of their house on Halloween. And they fly with umbrellas, just like the town rumored them to all do while the town looks on and cheers. So

Stephen:

good.

Steve:

Yes. What are your final thoughts on the movie? My love,

Stephen:

As time goes on, I actually enjoy it. There is sincere chemistry between the four lead actresses. The story is really good. There's chemistry between Aiden Quinn and Sandra Bullock. It all really works and I was kind of shocked that the movie didn't do better because whenever you watch it, it's one of those things. All the pieces really

Steve:

do work. Yes. Maybe it just was a bit ahead of it. Yeah.

Stephen:

Could be, what about you, darling?

Steve:

I enjoy it as a romantic comedy. I forget how dark parts of it are, but that's okay. Because obviously we don't mind the dark parts. Yeah. In fact, next week's movie is going to be a little, even darker than this. As we dive into the craft. Yay. Yes, but before then we'd love to hear what you think about this movie and about the idea of magical March. In general, you can do that by emailing us@happylifepodatgmail.com or

Stephen:

you can get in touch with us on all the socials, whether that is Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Tik TOK at happy

Steve:

life pod. Yes. And until next time everyone stay happy.