The Good Witch [2008]

We've had a hankering for some Hallmark, and it is spooky season so we were on the quest to find something that would allow us to scratch both itches at once. Ignoring all of those Hallmark movies that seemed to be more fall romance based, we ended up with "The Good Witch", the first film of what would ultimately become a huge film franchise and a television show. It really might be the season of the witch this year as we have plans to also watch "The Witches" on request of Sarah and do a rewatch of Kay's favorite nonsense 80s film "Teen Witch" before Samhain falls on us. We even may watch more "Good Witch" films, but it should be noted that this one was both not painful and also not especially funny. Mainly, we think this might be the best one and we would hope that the films would decrease in quality over time leading us to a funny place. We'll see.

This first film is about a widowed cop who encounters Cassie Nightingale (not a stripper), who has just moved into the spooky mansion in town. She is relentlessly positive, intuitive, and occasionally says things that are supposed to be whimsical but come off kind of creepy. She opens a shop in town called Bell, Book, and Candle even though she doesn't seem to sell bells and has very few books. Mostly she sells candles, herbs, oils, and crystals with the intent of bringing about good things. While she is referred to as a witch by others, any sign of actual witchiness is pretty muted. Think a combination of a few classic harmless stereotypes (black cat, old broom she never actually touches, old house, cauldron on the stove, dark clothes + large jewelry) and the kind of things New Age moms are into and add a dash of simply understanding how people work and you have Cassie's witchness. The film never strays into divination and especially not anything religious. Arguably, Kay is just as witchy as her if not more. But this doesn't stop the town Uber-Karen from trying to get her shop closed and run her out of town. On the side, Cassie and cop-dad have a very sanitized romance starting and since Cassie literally has the police on her side, she keeps her shop and place in town no problem. That's about it. She has a little backstory about how the spooky mansion is a family house, and both of the cop's kids have subplots about nightmares and bullying but overall there's very little to this film outside of aesthetic.

We got some laughs from the film, mostly from Cassie saying weird and occasionally ominous things or making strangely manipulative faces (mostly after cop-dad leaves), but otherwise it was just fine. As I said in the beginning, not painful but not a laugh riot. 

Best Quote: *after calming an angry dog* "I've always had a way with the fur people."

Spoon Rating: 3.5