Hocus Pocus 2

Director: Anne Fletcher
Starring: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Sam Richardson, Doug Jones, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Lilia Buckingham, Tony Hale, Hannah Waddingham, Taylor Paige Henderson, Juju Brener, Nina Kitchen, Froylan Gutierrez
Running Time: 103 min.
Rating: PG 

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Disney's eagerly anticipated nostalgia fix, Hocus Pocus 2, comes out on the higher end of audience expectations, successfully picking up where the '93 original left off. Those who loved it will probably enjoy this, unless the first film stands as such an impeachable childhood classic for fans that rose-colored glasses prevent them from embracing any sequel. And that's not a criticism since everyone has those favorite titles on which their formative movie experiences and memories were built. Having only seen the original a few years ago, this isn't that for me,  but as far as sequels go, it's a silly, inoffensive no-brainer, with the biggest surprise being that it took this long. So even if some viewers find it doesn't match their lofty expectations, many others are likely to still be delighted with what director Anne Fletcher cooks up. 

It turns out the screenplay does contain some inspired ideas that move the story forward while playing proper respect to a beloved property. The fun, cheeky tone remains, as the returning leads don't miss a beat slipping back into their familiar roles nearly thirty years later. While it's kind of perplexing more wasn't done to reunite the entire supporting cast, it is a new entry and the three actresses that matter most are back. And they do a good enough job establishing the new characters by effectively just throwing them into the mix, showing rather than telling. Still, there's no mistaking who this is all really about, as it should be.  

It's 1653 when a young Winifred Sanderson (Taylor Paige Henderson) is banished from Salem by Reverend Traske (Tony Hale), escaping into the woods with sisters Mary (Nina Kitchen) and Sarah (Juju Brenner). While there, they meet the Mother Witch (Hannah Waddingham), who gives Winnie a magic book, teaching them to kill other children to retain their youthfulness, but warning against ever casting the dreaded Magicae Maxima spell, which could carry disastrous consequences.

Flash forward to 2022 and Salem teens Becca (Whitney Peak) and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) turn down a Halloween party invitation from estranged friend Cassie Traske (Lilia Buckingham), opting instead to celebrate on their own. After a stop at Gilbert's (Sam Richardson) magic shop, they leave with a Black Flame Candle, unintentionally resurrecting the Sanderson sisters, back after twenty nine years to wreck havoc on Salem. This time, Winnie (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary (Kathy Najimy) set their sights on Mayor Traske and Cassie, planing to cast that forbidden spell to take revenge for their mistreatment. Now it's up to the three high schoolers to stop them before it's too late.

There's a seamlessness to the story that's very much in the vein of the original, almost to a fault, as if a committee gathered and cherry-picked all the key elements from the last film and updated them. Of course, this time we all know the kind of material they're dealing with so there's a certain sense of discovery missing that can't be completely replicated. It's also not actually shot in Salem this time around, giving the surroundings a slightly different feel that's reminiscent of those popular 2000's Disney Channel movies, which isn't terrible considering the original was essentially a precursor to those anyway. And clocking in a few minutes longer, it does seem slightly less compact than its predecessor, which flowed a little better.  

At the time, no one knew the first movie would be talked about and quoted decades later, only gaining popularity through the years with subsequent viewings. But realizing this sequel is more of a calculatedly self-aware attempt at recapturing that magic makes everything go down easier. Not that there isn't already plenty to enjoy, as Midler, Parker and Najimy remain as delightfully over-the-top and campy as possible as the Sandersons. Midler's role as the singing, self-absorbed Winnie is arguably iconic at this point, Parker's great as the flaky, airheaded Sarah, and Najimy again nails it as comedic suck-up Mary. An impromptu Walgreens outing and a Halloween costume contest rank as the most entertaining sequences, enabling the sisters to really lean into all the hijinx. 

The supporting cast is gamely along for the ride, with Whitney Peak making Becca a sympathetic protagonist and her friendship with Escobedo's quirky Izzy and Buckingham's newly popular Cassie organically complimenting the bond between the Sandersons. And while Tony Hale and Sam Richardson provide some laughs along with a returning Doug Jones as zombie Billy Butcherson, Taylor Henderson shines brightest as young Winnie. In the opening sequence she so uncannily channels a junior Bette Midler that you actually start hoping that this film will be entirely focused on her, or at least function as an extended preview for one that would.  

Some may not like the idea that the wicked sisters have supposedly been "softened," to an extent, but this is Disney, and while their characters have sometimes gone in surprising directions for a family release, it would be silly to claim we were ever expected to take them too seriously as "villains." They're goofy, comedic antagonists with a mean streak whose worst antics usually resulted in laughs. The sequel exists because fans love the Sandersons so its ending should best be viewed as the filmmakers finally acknowledging this fact, informally granting us permission to root for them.

Hocus Pocus 2 kind of neatly wrap things up in a bow with more of a message than the original, but even that feels more earned than cheap given what came before. The opening prologue is sure to be cited as one of the film's bigger highlights, and it is, though the rest isn't too bad either, making this a worthwhile follow-up for the diehards without excluding anyone else from the fun. For a sequel that may have taken a while to arrive, it's at least smart enough to stay clear of unnecessarily trying to fix what wasn't broken.                 

Smart People

Director: Noam Murro
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Hayden Church, Ellen Page, Ashton Holmes
Running Time: 93 min.
Rating: R

**1/2 (out of ****)

It’s funny how our perceptions of certain actors can influence how we watch a film. Had Ellen Page not given her Oscar nominated performance as the sarcastic, wisecracking pregnant title character in Juno before Smart People was released no one probably would have thought twice about her work in it. But because she did make that previous film and garnered too much publicity for it, many will go into this one wanting to rip her apart. If you’re one of them you’re going to have a field day because her role is much larger than even the trailer indicated.

Then we have Dennis Quaid playing a depressed, burnt-out college professor. Had another actor been cast we also wouldn’t have cared, but because it’s Quaid (who has a longstanding reputation for playing man’s men) we pay attention. I mention all this because the cast is the best thing Smart People has going for it. The title is supposed to be ironic. I think. These people really believe they’re smart but in reality they’re not. That same description could apply to the film itself.

Despite some fascinating (if not all necessarily good) performances when the movie ended I wondered what the point of it was. I was never bored and couldn’t stop watching but found it was an ordeal spending time with these unlikable, irritating people. I also question the benefits of releasing another one of these low-budget indie “human comedies” that expect us to break out in a fit of giggles over issues like incest and repressed homosexuality…then have a good cry.
I really wanted to like this (and came close) but the tone felt way off and when I compiled a mental checklist I realized it failed in its primary goal of getting me to care what happens to the characters. I just couldn’t root for them and all their various emotional transformations rang false. Part of the problem is that everything is painted in such broad strokes that these people don’t feel real and instead came off as a screenwriter’s somewhat narrow vision of what “real” is supposed to be. As a result he film becomes a parody of what it’s trying to be and ends up being almost as arrogant and condescending as it’s protagonist.

To say that Carnegie Mellon University English Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Quaid) is full of himself is like calling the sky blue or proclaiming the sun will rise tomorrow morning. A recent widower, he hides his pain and depression with sarcastic remarks and a side helping of witty insults. He’s one of those jerks who you actually have to think how to get along with and worry the next word you speak might set him off. He doesn’t care who his students are (even giving them name tags so he doesn’t have to) and is justifiably despised by his co-workers. Even his half-hearted desire to be head of the English department stems from massive egotism and a desperate need for attention rather than any kind of motivation to improve the academic program.

The real victim of Lawrence’s selfish behavior is his lonely, over-achieving daughter, Vanessa (Page) who is very much a chip off the old block and emulates his obnoxious, arrogant behavior. His college-age son James (Ashton Holmes) was smarter and just escaped into his own world, avoiding the situation entirely. On top of Lawrence failing miserably to find a publisher for his latest book, his adopted slacker brother, Chuck (Thomas Hayden Church) moves in and must act as his makeshift chauffer when he suffers an unfortunate head injury trying to retrieve his towed car. The accident causes an introduction to Dr. Janet Hartigan (Sarah Jessica Parker) a former student he doesn’t remember who used to have a crush on him. They begin dating. And so begins the redemption of Lawrence Wetherhold.

If you had told me going in that amongst these world-class Oscar nominated actors, Sarah Jessica Parker would deliver the best performance in the film I wouldn’t have believed it. It’s not that everyone else does a bad job per se, just that Mark Poirier’s familiar script turns them into indie film caricatures and there’s only so much they can do to overcome it. The worst of which is Page’s Vanessa. Anyone who hated the character of Juno MacGuff better brace themselves. Vanessa is just like her except for the fact that she’s mean, nasty and completely unlikable. Why? Because she’s a REPUBLICAN and this is Hollywood. The portrait of Ronald Reagan on her wall kind of gave it away, as did her talking about Dick Cheney in glowing terms. Her political beliefs are completely irrelevant to the family pain she’s going through which is why it feels like a cheap shot that it was thrown in there. She’s also carries an S.A.T. study guide around with her in case we don’t quite get the message that she’s an overachiever.

It's worth mentioning there’s a development with Vanessa at the midway point that’s just disgusting. It was creepy, awkward and unnecessary. I wanted to throw up. I was a fan of Page’s work in Juno and thought she deserved all the praise and recognition she received so if I found her irritating in this I can only imagine what everyone else will think. I hate to agree with her detractors because she is a big talent, but unless she starts finding some different, more challenging roles other than the “wise well beyond her years” sarcastic teen, her career will start to fizzle out.Thomas Hayden Church does what he can with the slacker brother role and had another actor been cast it could have been a disaster. It’s one-dimensional part but Church brings some real dimension to it.

The chief selling point of the film is the emerging relationship between Quaid and Parker’s characters and the best thing I can say is that the two have great chemistry and I wanted to see them in a movie more deserving of it. It’s just impossible to believe that anyone could stand to be in the same room with a narcissistic emotional cripple like Lawrence much less be involved in some kind of meaningful relationship with him. At first she can't but then, of course, she begins to warm up to the idea. I didn't. Despite the best efforts of the actors his transformation was just too much of a stretch for me to buy in the context it was presented. That Quaid and Parker even come within a striking distance of pulling it off proves how much more they could have done with a stronger script. Parker’s Janet is the only character in the film who seems like a normal, grounded human being and seems so intelligent that I was almost willing to go along with her idea that this relationship could possibly work. Parker at least made me care what happened to that character and I probably would have rather watched a film about her.

This is a huge departure for Dennis Quaid and despite being miscast he mostly does a decent job, but I found myself distracted by some of the physical choices he made. During the film I found myself asking: "Why is he walking like that?" Supposedly, Quaid traveled to college campuses to study the professors but what purpose does it serve to imitate how they walk? Unaware that college professors are some strange species that walk differently than humans, I found myself concentrating on his duck-like shuffle throughout the film. He also has a middle-aged paunch, a shaggy beard and his head wanders all over the place while talking.

Rather than worrying how professors look it would have made more sense to inhabit how they act. Quaid does do that well, which is why I found the other things so distracting. He’s an underrated actor and it was great to see him in a different role like this but everything didn’t need to go so over-the-top. I wish director Noam Murro trusted him more to tell him the physical stuff wasn’t necessary and added little to the character. Michael Douglas’ work in 2000’s Wonder Boys is a good example of more restrained work in a very similar role.
I counted about four times the movie could have come to an end but kept going. That’s scary when you consider it’s only an hour and a half long, which I can’t believe because it sure felt a whole lot longer. It was one manufactured crisis after another with these people set to one of those pretentious indie soundtracks where every song sounds like it comes from a guy who’s strumming an acoustic guitar in a coffee shop. I love movies set in academia and ones featuring dysfunctional families so with this cast you’d figure this would be a slam dunk for me. Instead, it misses its mark by trekking through familiar territory with nothing new to say. It attempts to make up for it by trying too hard. Smart People is just a little too smart for its own good.