Review of Hocus Pocus (1993) by Hollie C — 07 Oct 2012

Over here in Utah, we have something I like to call "Utah classics", one of which is HOCUS POCUS. Some of them are good, others are not so good, but the all have a devoted cult following in the central areas of Utah.

They're severely over-quoted and people gasp with delight when they hear the title. Some of the better ones include THE PRINCESS BRIDE and THE SANDLOT. HOCUS POCUS is one of the lesser ones. Whether good or not, it's definitely an interesting film product from Disney, a studio whose stamp is evident, yet the film also ventures where they rarely permitted pre-PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.

The macabre elements are edgier than other 90's Disney fare, and sometimes they're downright freaky, and the humor occasionally has a little salt in it, i.e. jokes about "yabbos" (breasts) and virgins.

Although all this would suggest family fare more friendly to older audiences, there's an awful lot of obnoxious, Disney Channel-esque overacting masquerading as comedy, especially from the three leads; Midler, Parker and most of all, the atrocious Najimy who sniffs out children and barks when she isn't mugging at the camera.

The protagonists are uninteresting and at times feel like the child characters from "Barney the Purple Dinosaur", while the writing is uninspired with most of the jokes landing dead flat, and although the film was marketed as a comedy, it works far better when playing as a spooky supernatural fantasy, including some pretty gorgeous and flavorful production design.

There are glimmers of potential awesomeness such as pre-Del Toro Doug Jones, covered in makeup as usual, as a 17th century zombie, but every time Midler and company (remarkably, Parker is more tolerable than her cohorts here, if barely so) appear, which is a lot of the time, their hammy scenery chewing drags things down to the level of a Disney Channel special.