This movie takes an idea that might have had potential-a group of witches in Manhattan daring to get too involved with ordinary humans-and makes a rather incoherent and confusing story. It is billed as a comedy but has hardly any laughs, despite all the big-time stars including Ernie Kovacs.
A family of witches in an apartment building meet a new tenant, a major book publisher who is set to marry a woman whom one of the witches is an old enemy of-and said witch makes the man fall in love with her as a way to spite the other woman. Of course there are complications with that idea, one being that witches are not supposed to have romances with ordinary humans. Another is that this witch's brother is a childish prank-player who decides to get involved with an author to get a book published revealing the secrets of the Manhattan witch community-putting them into danger.
Based on a stage play of the same name, the movie might have been effective if done right, but somebody must have put a hex on this production. Jimmy Stewart is too old to play the part of the book publisher who is the type to marry and love in haste, all the other performers lack chemistry, and the movie fails to develop the background of the witches' community, such as why they were even in Manhattan to begin with, or what sort of lives they normally have. That might have been interesting in itself.
This scenario might have worked, but they developed it too poorly and made it into a bad rom-com.
A family of witches in an apartment building meet a new tenant, a major book publisher who is set to marry a woman whom one of the witches is an old enemy of-and said witch makes the man fall in love with her as a way to spite the other woman. Of course there are complications with that idea, one being that witches are not supposed to have romances with ordinary humans. Another is that this witch's brother is a childish prank-player who decides to get involved with an author to get a book published revealing the secrets of the Manhattan witch community-putting them into danger.
Based on a stage play of the same name, the movie might have been effective if done right, but somebody must have put a hex on this production. Jimmy Stewart is too old to play the part of the book publisher who is the type to marry and love in haste, all the other performers lack chemistry, and the movie fails to develop the background of the witches' community, such as why they were even in Manhattan to begin with, or what sort of lives they normally have. That might have been interesting in itself.
This scenario might have worked, but they developed it too poorly and made it into a bad rom-com.