Greenwich Village, New York. A large, residential neighborhood steeped in history. The upper middle class families who live there, snug in their beds, go to sleep. They feel happy and secure. But little do they know........
.....there are -record scratch- WITCHES living amongst them!
Thus is the setting for the romantic comedy "Bell, Book and Candle", starring Kim Novak and James Stewart. These two had previously starred together in the classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller "Vertigo", released earlier the same year.
"Vertigo" is often considered one of the greatest scary movies ever made. The romance between Stewart and Novak is deep and turbulent, and ends up being even more complicated by the jarring plot twist at the end of the film.
I enjoy using food analogies; if "Vertigo" is a rich, velvety chocolate cake, "Bell, Book and Candle" is a bag of Keebler's Frosted Animal Crackers. A treat, but nothing substantial.
The protagonist is witch Gillian Holroyd (Novak), owner of an art gallery specializing in tribal masks. She lives in the Village with her goofy creeper aunt Queenie (also a witch), and her bongo-playing brother Nicky (a warlock aka male witch).
Gillian is a bored, icy woman. She's icy because witches apparently lack the ability to cry or blush, but also because her life sucks. "It's such a rut. Same old thing, day after day" she laments to her cat, "same old people."
Despite her background, Gillian chooses not to practice witchcraft any longer. Her aunt and brother, however get into all sorts of "mischief". I use quotation marks here because their idea of mischief is positively lame. Aunt Queenie uses her powers to lurk in strangers' apartments.
Gillian's newfound disapproval of magic does a heel-face-turn when a handsome neighbor (Stewart) asks to use her telephone. He is Shep, book publisher. She is drawn to him, like a mosquito to my bare ankles. *itches*
They become fast friends. Gillian invites Shep to a local haunt, Club Zodiac. Club Zodiac actually looks pretty righteous, there's a fast talking French guy moving his hands in a strange fashion and everything!
It's quite refreshing.
Anyway, Shep finds the club and comes in. Gillian is pleased to see him, but is NOT so pleased at seeing his fiance hanging on his arm. To add insult to injury, his fiance is a former schoolmate of Gillian's and a total bitch.
One thing leads to another (which is another way of saying that the plot advances a little in another direction; don't worry about it), and Shep ends up at Gillian's pad. She entrances him with her husky voice and abundance of wine. As Shep chatters about his fiance, he doesn't notice Gillian's humming, sudden change of eye color, or the fact that she's holding her cat in front of her face.
Three minutes later and the two are making out. Gillian and Shep, not the cat. Gillian totally cast a love spell on this handsome publisher! "Hilarity" ensues.
I have again used quotation marks to illustrate a beef I have with this movie. This romantic comedy is basically romantic with instances that may be funny. Sometimes. I'm not sure how to describe the humor in "Bell, Book and Candle". I'm not even sure what I consider almost humor in this movie is even humor (if that makes any sense).
Is it the French guy? The way the goofy aunt talks? James Stewart's exaggerated facial expressions?
That's probably it.
In all, "Bell, Book and Candle" is pretty good. The acting is believable, the sets are beautiful, and the score is jazzy and fun. It's entertaining, and I don't regret watching it. The only things holding it back are the simple, predictable plot and the skimpy use of humor.
SCORE: 4 out of 5 approval points
(Have any questions or comments? Gimme some love. )
