Name: Retro Film Review: Magic in the Water (1995)
Item: Magic in the Water
Rating: 30
Author: @drax

(source: tmdb.org)

The saddest thing for any film reviewer is to watch a film that in the beginning looks better than expected only to be worse than expected at the end. Magic in the Water, 1995 family adventure directed by Rick Stevenson, is one such example.

The plot begins when divorced radio psychologist Jack Black (played by Mark Harmon) finally takes some time to spend with his two children - 14-year old Joshua (played by Joshua Jackson) and 10-year old Ashley (played by Sarah Wayne). He decides to spend holiday in Northern Canada, at the Lake Glenorky, where local legends tell about monster called Orky. For Jack this legend is nothing more than a clever way to take money from naive tourists. But Ashley, who always had talent to spot unusual things, becomes convinced that Orky exists and that she can communicate with her and Joshua. Communication with the monster turns out to be much better than communication with workaholic father, who even at the vacation prefer writing books than spending time with his children. But suddenly he would become childish again, and this is just one of many strange events that would culminate in Blacks' adventure of a lifetime.

What was supposed to be just another Americanised version of the legend of Loch Ness monster is actually ambitious and, at times, quite intelligent celebration of childhood ideals and family values. Of course, script by Stevenson and Icel Dobell Massey, can't fail to use "politically correct" stereotypes (nasty capitalist who wants to poison lake with toxic waste, Indian shaman as voice of wisdom etc.), but Stevenson's direction and few interesting characters and plot elements make this film more bearable. The best thing about this is Stevenson's decision not to show the monster, thus allowing the audience to make its own conclusion and view the monster more like a metaphor than real mystery. Unfortunately, Stevenson at the end decides to show the monster, and the result is one of the worst examples of bad special effects in recent times. After that, Magic in the Water ceases to be magic and becomes just another Hollywood product, with all of its flaws painfully visible. The only thing that somewhat improves general impression of this film is an excellent performance by Sarah Wayne. Interestingly enough, her older colleague Joshua Jackson, who didn't leave such a good impression, later had much better career in films and television, so his fans are probably the most numerous group of people who would have some interest in watching Magic in the Water. RATING: 3/10 (+)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on December 10th 2002)