Image credit: Jeremy Yap for unsplash
Sometimes you have a particular mood and want to revel in that mood, extend it, or cement it into a memory. Sometimes you need to be lifted out of a bad mood, or reminded that there are good things in the world. Sometimes you're on the brink of a huge change and need inspiration. Sometimes you just need a good movie recommendation.
My new series "The perfect movie for..." will give you a movie suggestion for a specific mood (or moods) and a quick review, plus links to streaming services for that movie (if available).
Without further ado:
The perfect movie for...
- Mid to late summer nostalgia, romance, and happiness
- Reconnecting with family, reunions, and memories
- Reveling in sisterhood, mamahood, and female friendships
is:
Practical Magic (1998)
A dreamy, nostalgic, and romantic feeling lays lightly over this modern fairy tale of a movie. Relationships, specifically female friendships, sisterhood, motherhood, and family networks, and the price and blessings of inheritance run through this delightful movie.
A rare blend of comedy, romance, drama, and very slight chills, this movie is one of my go-to summer pleasures. The sets, costumes, casting, plot...it all comes together in a seemingly effortless way on the screen.
80's and 90's movies seemed to have a certain something about them, a kind of easy, shaggy grace that the meticulously crafted blockbusters and artsy low-fi indies of today just don't have. A sparkle, a glamour, a kind of golden glow. If the 20's and 30's created the Silver Screen, the 80's and 90's created the Golden Screen. A kind of hazy, languid, champagne dust that infuses the screen and the actors with a dewy, sweet innocence and charm. My favorite movies all seem to be in that glimmering cradle between 1983 and 1999.
This movie runs on full-steam-ahead charm. Created from the same-title novel by Alice Hoffman, the plot is simple: two sisters, the children of a powerful witch in a line of witches, break apart and come together again in a series of family dramas. Throughout the movie, a magical realism lights up the screen---love spells are real, potions cooked up in the kitchen have an effect, and when a broom falls, someone is going to visit, sure as the moon rises.
The mix of romance and suspense (with one or two PG 13 level scare scenes) is unique to this movie. It's a rare achievement. I treasure this movie and only share with people I feel will sigh with pleasure at the very satisfying happy ending.
Where to buy or rent it: