Review of Hocus Pocus (1993) by Jake M — 21 Oct 2017

Man I must have watched this movie a lot when I was a kid. I remember seeing it a lot, but damn, re-watching it I realized I basically have this thing memorized scene for scene. Funny thing is, it still made me laugh.

Speaking in a critical sense, it's definitely got its problems. It's got a lot of weird moments, the virgin talk is pretty uncomfortable, and it has a few of those annoying 90's clichés like the kid who hates his new home and the bullies so campy they'd be more likely to be the ones getting bullied in real life. These things are a little annoying, and they keep me from calling it a great film, but the stuff that's good is just so good. The kid and teen actors do a pretty good job, especially for young actors, but the ones who steal the show are the witches themselves. This is the only movie I've seen where Sarah Jessica Parker was enjoyable, Kathy Najimy is the cliché frumpy one but she totally owns it, and Bette Midler, oh my god, Bette Midler. This is one of the most entertaining performances I've ever seen from an actor, period. It's like she knew the film was goofy and just took it as a chance to go all-out weird. It's over-the-top for sure, but it's so joyously over-the-top it's amazing. Not to discount the other two witches, they're great as well, but good god Midler just owns this role. I also have to give a shout out to Doug Jones as Billy the zombie. He's not in much of the movie, but he's such a weird presence and give so much personality just in his facial responses he's a delight.

This seems to be a guilty pleasure for a lot of people, and it really is for me too. It's got flaws, definitely, but the stuff that's good is just so good. It's a fun celebration of the holiday with a cast that is clearly having a ton of fun, and that fun is infectious to the audience.