Things About Practical Magic You Only Notice As An Adult

The 1998 classic Practical Magic is the story of two sisters, Sally and Gillian Owens (played by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman), who come from a long line of witches. As if dealing with prejudice for their magic wasn't enough, Sally and Gillian also have to endure a family curse destined to kill any man that either of them love. So it goes without saying that things aren't exactly easy for the Owens sisters. Especially Sally, who just wants to have a normal life. Things get even worse when Jimmy Angelov, Gillian's boyfriend, interrupts their lives, and Sally and Gillian are forced to risk everything in order to make things right.

The film is a staple in the genre of '90s witch classics, and, while many kids have watched the movie, there's a lot in the film that young viewers probably didn't notice. Here's everything only adults noticed in Practical Magic.

Somehow, Practical Magic managed to bring all the best faces of the '90s together for one epic movie. There's the legendary Sandra Bullock, who played Sally Owens and who was just coming off of hits like Speed and While You Were Sleeping. She'd go on to do the instant classic Miss Congeniality in 2000 and the 2009 romcom The Proposal. Then, of course, there was Nicole Kidman, who portrayed Gillian Owens. Kidman spent the '90s impressing audiences in 1992's Far and Away and 1995's Batman Forever before making a serious splash with 2001's Moulin Rouge! and 2002's The Hours.

But these two aren't the only big stars in the film. Stockard Channing, who was cast as Aunt Frances, is a legend in her own right, best known for playing Rizzo in 1978's Grease and Ouisa in 1993's Six Degrees of Separation. And then there's American treasure Dianne West, who portrayed Aunt Jet and was a star in 1990's Edward Scissorhands and 1996's The Birdcage. Seriously, Practical Magic's cast couldn't have been any better.

What could possibly be more iconic than the Practical Magic scene in which Sally Owens drops her gardening tools and runs all the way into town to see produce cutie Michael, jumping into his arms as "This Kiss" by Faith Hill plays? Probably nothing. But the scene in which Sally, Gillian, Aunt Frances, and Aunt Jet dance around the kitchen, drinking margaritas and singing along to "Coconut" by Harry Nilsson is probably a close second.

The truth is that this movie is bursting with incredible song choices. From "If You Ever Did Believe" and "Crystal" by Stevie Nicks, "A Case of You" by Joni Mitchell, and, of course, Elvis Presley's "Always on My Mind," which turns into a blood-chilling anthem for Jimmy Angelov, there's a perfect song for every scene. Even Lisahall's "Is This Real" plays a big part in the movie as a sultry song that captures the danger and excitement in Gillian and Jimmy's relationship.

No movie captured the style of the '90s better than Practical Magic. Coming out in 1998, the film didn't fail to feature a ton of the most popular styles of the '90s. What's more, Practical Magic's costuming team managed to feature only the best and most flattering of the '90s trends, giving today's young fans a peek into all the best outfits that made up of the decade's fashions and giving everyone who lived through the '90s some serious nostalgia.

Just look at Sally's maxi skirts with white tennis shoes and the epic cardigans that gave the 1990s its charm. And who could forget Sally's jean shorts with cowboy boots look? It's like all of the '90s encompassed in one outfit. Even Sally, Gillian, Frances, and Jet's pajamas and robes are iconic '90s looks. And when it comes to men's fashion, it was all about the plaid shirts on both Gary Hallet and Michael.

When Gary Hallet first shows up to investigate missing person Jimmy Angelov in Practical Magic, Sally is worried. She tells Gillian, "There's a cop downstairs and he's looking for Jimmy and he wants to talk to you and I think I'm having a heart attack." And Sally is worried for good reason. She killed Angelov — twice — and she and Gillian buried his body in their yard. If Hallet were to find Angelov's body, Sally and Gillian could be arrested and sent to prison. Yikes!

Luckily, Hallet is the worst investigator ever. Not only does he spend all his time reading and re-reading Sally's letter to Gillian about how she wants someone to love her (which contains no evidence related to Angelov's disappearance at all) but then he makes out with his lead suspect. In the end, he claims Angelov's death was accidental, so that ultimately he and Sally could get together.

Practical Magic's Gillian Owens, played by Nicole Kidman, is a flawed but likeable character. She is adventurous and goes after what she wants. But unfortunately for Sally, she's basically the worst sister. It all starts when Gillian sneaks out of the house and runs away with a boy. This is especially sad for Sally because everyone else their age in their town bullies them and Sally probably doesn't have any other friends. To lose Gillian is probably a huge blow. Then, like a terrible sister, Gillian doesn't even come back and visit. When she does return, she wonders whether or not Sally's daughters will like her, so it's clear she hasn't been back in a long time.

And when she's back with her family, she depends on Sally to save her from Jimmy and to cover up his death. Sally even lies for Gillian, and, in return, Gillian chides Sally for talking too much, asking, "What is wrong with you?" Sisters, eh?

While Practical Magic might be a pretty great movie, the ending is pretty, well, iffy. Sure, it concludes with a happy ending: Gillian doesn't have an evil spirit living inside her, Sally finds love, and the town is nicer to the Owens family. But there's something that just doesn't make any sense.

During Gillian's exorcism, there's a burst of light and Maria's face can be seen, suggesting that perhaps their magic was so powerful that it ended the curse. And indeed, it seems that Sally thinks the curse has ended because, in the last scene when she and her family prepare to gently descend after jumping from the roof, she says, "Was it our joined hands that finally lifted Maria's curse? I'd like to think so." Plus, since Gary Hallet is there watching them fly, he clearly hasn't died yet. So the curse might just be lifted.

But it took Michael, Sally's first husband, years to be struck down by the curse. How does Sally know the curse was lifted? And why would joining hands and banishing a spirit have anything to do with the curse? It just doesn't make sense.