Despite the presence of two major movie stars as the leads, 1998's Practical Magic received weak reviews and ticket sales so lackluster that it lost money. However, apparently the film generated a solid cult audience over the years, enough to lead to a sequel slated for September 2026 as well as this August 2026 4K UHD release.

Like most people, I missed Magic in 1998, and memories of its meh reception back then meant I never felt compelled to see it until now. Better late than never!

Raised by aunts Frances (Stockard Channing) and Jet (Dianne Wiest), sisters Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Nicole Kidman) live in small-town Massachusetts. Part of a clan of witches, an ancestor (Caprice Benedetti) cast a spell that means any man loved by an Owens woman will die.

Obviously this causes problems in terms of the ladies' romantic lives. However, Sally and Gillian persist and hope they can find a way to break this curse.

For the first half of the 1990s, Magic producer Denise Di Novi worked with Tim Burton. I can’t help but wonder if this project meant to go to Burton, as it feels like something that would fit his style.

Instead, we get actor-turned-director Griffin Dunne behind the camera. A look at Dunne’s directorial career finds nothing of note, with Magic as his only film that maintains any kind of popular profile.

I can’t help but wish that Burton – or anyone else, really – got the assignment instead. Though Magic comes with promise, it ends up as a scattered mess.

Perhaps I shouldn’t blame Dunne, as the screenplay might exist as the source of these woes. Even with three writers, they can’t pull together a coherent tale.

That said, a good director can correct for problems with the source. If the text created the flaws, Dunne failed to compensate.

Honestly, Magic makes sense mainly as a rom-com with a sisterhood theme. Instead, it follows a dark path too much of the time that simply doesn’t suit it.

The filmmakers can never quite decide where they want the tale to go. Scenes veer from brutal and unpleasant to wacky and comedic in the blink of an eye.

In addition to the romantic domains, Magic wants to deal with judgment from close-minded people. This comes as a not-veiled comparison to bigoted views of homosexuals.

All these themes plod along awkwardly and clumsily. The film wraps them up in cheap ways that don’t seem natural.

I can’t fault the work of the flick’s casting director. In addition to Bullock and Kidman, we find support from Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing, Aidan Quinn, Margo Martindale and even a young Evan Rachel Wood.

Though I think Kidman and Bullock fail to mesh as sisters, all do fine. Still, none of the actors can manage to redeem this mess.

Why did Magic earn the aforementioned cult audience over the last 28 years? Beats me, as it exists as a disjointed collection of scenes and not much more.

Practical Magic appears in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. The movie came with a pretty solid Dolby Vision presentation.

Sharpness worked fine. A few slightly soft shots materialized – mainly thanks to the nature of the 1998 film stock - but the majority of the film boasted appealing delineation.

I saw no jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes didn’t manifest. Grain seemed natural – albeit heavy at times - while the image lacked print flaws.

Magic featured a palette that leaned toward oranges and blues. The hues came across as well-rendered, and HDR added punch to the tones.

Blacks were dark and dense, while low-light shots demonstrated good definition. HDR gave whites and contrast extra oomph. Within the constraints of the source, this wound up as a satisfying image.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the Dolby Atmos remix of Dolby Atmos worked well. That said, the film didn’t really lend itself toward a vivid soundscape.

Some supernatural sequences opened matters up, though, and thunder/street scenes added zing. Music showed appealing presence but I couldn’t call this a dazzling soundfield.

Most of the time the track stayed with general ambience, and it delivered those elements well. We got positive reinforcement from the rear channels.

Audio quality sounded good. Speech was natural and concise, while music demonstrated nice clarity and range.

Effects appeared accurate and full. The louder bits presented solid depth and punch, and no problems came with the track. The mix suited the story and came to life well.

A few extras appear and we get an audio commentary from director Griffin Dunne, producer Denise Di Novi, composer Alan Silvestri and actor Sandra Bullock. Di Novi and Bullock sit together for their running, screen-specific chat while Silvestri’s and Dunne’s separate sessions gets edited into the end product.

The track examines score, the source's adaptation and path to the screen, cast and performances, collaborations, various effects, visual design, sets and locations, editing and connected domains.

While it may disappoint some that all four participants didn't record together, I don't mind, mainly because we get an efficient and informative discussion. The track moves well and covers the film in a positive manner.

Two featurettes follow and Casting the Spell spans nine minutes, 46 seconds. It brings info from Dunne, Di Novi, Bullock, and actors Nicole Kidman, Aidan Quinn and Goran Visnjic.

As implied by the title, “Spell” looks at the film’s actors, characters and performances. A few minor insights emerge but the reel usually feels fluffy.

Making Magic goes for five minutes, 55 seconds. This one involves Dunne, Di Novi, Bullock, Kidman, Quinn, Visnjic, novelist Alice Hoffman, and actors Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing.

The piece looks at story and characters as well as the source book’s adaptation and Dunne’s impact on the shoot. Like “Spell”, “Making” lacks much substance.

Inconsistent in tone and purpose, Practical Magic wastes an excellent cast. Director Griffin Dunne seems unable to figure out what to do with the material so we wind up with an awkward and disjointed tale. The 4K UHD provides solid picture and audio along with a few bonus features. Maybe Practical Magic 2 will fare better than this clunker.