Hocus Pocus

IMDb
After three centuries, three witch sisters are resurrected in Salem Massachusetts on Halloween night, and it is up to two teen-agers, a young girl, and an immortal cat to put an end to the witches' reign of terror once and for all.


NYtime

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Review/Film; Bette Midler, Queen Witch in Heavy Makeup

By JANET MASLIN

Published: July 16, 1993

Apparently too much eye of newt got into the formula for "Hocus Pocus," transforming a potentially wicked Bette Midler vehicle into an unholy mess. That's too bad, since Ms. Midler's appearance in a role like the one she has here could have been pure witchcraft. As the foremost of three sisters from 17th-century Salem who are magically transported forward three centuries to bedevil modern trick or treaters, Ms. Midler flounces in high comic style. Not for her the cackling and hobbling of ordinary screen witches; Ms. Midler grandly plays this harpy as if she were Norma Desmond tackling the opening of "Macbeth."

Ms. Midler's performance is such a crazy amalgam of great-lady mannerisms and withering sneers that it deserves to have been shown off more clearly. Instead, the star is buried beneath a mountain of makeup, while the combined effects of prosthetic buck teeth and affected Britishisms make her hard to hear. More problematic, the movie that has been built around Ms. Midler's feisty Winifred is badly cluttered, as the witches mix with zombies, parents and teen-agers on Halloween. Entirely too diverting is the spectacle of an entire cast elaborately overdressed for a costume party.

"Hocus Pocus" is aimed squarely at the Nowheresville between juvenile and adult audiences, making its most blatant pitch for the young teen-age crowd. So despite the presence of sly Winifred, buffoonish Mary (Kathy Najimy) and cleavage-flashing Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker), who have been programmed to walk and fly together in comical team maneuvers, the film gives equal time to its nice-kid characters.

The witches' young nemeses are Max (Omri Katz), a new high school boy in town, and his cute, wisecracking sister, Dani (played by the effervescent Thora Birch as if she were an honorary member of the Culkin family). Also in the cast is Vinessa Shaw as Max's pretty new classmate. She inadvertently brings down the house by trying to explain the witches vs. teen-agers battle with a straight face.

As directed by Kenny Ortega, "Hocus Pocus" has flashes of visual stylishness but virtually no grip on its story (from a screenplay by Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert). It changes tone as casually as the actors don their masquerade costumes, and has no scruples about breaking its own mood altogether (as when the three witches suddenly perform "I Put a Spell on You" at a Halloween party).Perhaps the film's most trenchant remark comes from Penny Marshall, who has a brief cameo with her brother, Garry, as (it seems) Mr. and Mrs. Devil, and asks the witches, "Aren't you broads a little old to be out trick or treating?"

Of special note in "Hocus Pocus" are a computer-generated talking cat, whose laboriously achieved presence falls under the heading of stupid pet tricks, and a finale that drags out almost all the film's characters for a series of needless, sentimental goodbyes. When brave Max and a weepy Dani bid an emotional farewell to Billy, a zombie who has helped them out for the evening but now must return to the grave, it truly is time to say goodbye.

"Hocus Pocus" is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). It includes very mild scares, occasional rude language and a few jokes about one young character's virginity. Hocus Pocus Directed by Kenny Ortega; written by Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert, based on a story by David Kirschner and Mr. Garris; director of photography, Hiro Narita; edited by Peter E. Berger; music by John Debney; production designer, William Sandell; produced by Mr. Kirschner and Steven Haft; released by Walt Disney. Running time: 93 minutes. This film is rated PG. Winifred . . . Bette Midler Sarah . . . Sarah Jessica Parker Mary . . . Kathy Najimy Max . . . Omri Katz Dani . . . Thora Birch Allison . . . Vinessa Shaw Billy . . . Doug Jones Headless Billy . . . Karyn Malchus

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