Name: Retro Film Review: Rough Magic (1995)
Item: Rough Magic
Rating: 15
Author: @drax

(source: imdb.com)

We should judge individual movie's success based on the impact on future generation of viewers, critics and film scholars. In other words, the only way for films to succeed is to be remembered. There are various ways to measure films being memorable, none of them particularly objective. But few are as effective as the example of a few years old film featuring one of currently hottest Hollywood stars yet being almost totally obscure. This film is Rough Magic, fantasy comedy directed by Clare Peploe.

Plot is set in early 1950s and deals with Myra (played by Bridget Fonda), young and beautiful magician's assistant who is about to be married to wealthy businessman and US Senate candidate Cliff Wyatt (played by D.W. Moffet). The tycoon actually doesn't love the girl and wants to marry her only to improve his family image in the public. Myra's mentor (played by Kenneth Mars) knows this and doesn't approve of marriage, which would cost him his life during the altercation with Wyatt. Myra has photographs the incident and runs to Mexico. Alec Ross (played by Russell Crowe) is ex-reporter hired to track her down. In Mexico, Myra meets Doc Ansell (played by Jim Broadbent), alcoholic doctor who wants to use Myra's talents to get his hand on magical Maya potion. This encounter is only the first in the long line of strange, surreal events that would change Myra's life and lives of people around her.

One reason why Russell Crowe's performance in this film is forgotten could be found in total lack of chemistry between him and Bridget Fonda, otherwise more than fine actress, but unsuited for the role of Myra. But the terrible miscasting (with the exception of Jim Broadbent in one fine role) is just one of this film's many problems. The most visible is bad genre mix. The filmmakers wanted Rough Magic to be classic film noir, romantic comedy, fantasy and politically charged drama in the same time. They could have gotten away with it if they had marginally more coherent plot and better-drawn characters. Here they hadn't got anything - characters pop in and out of the film, their motivations change without any reasons, plot has craters instead of hole. To say that Rough Magic is confusing for the audience would be understatement. The one thing that isn't confusing is the reason why Rough Magic sank into obscurity.

RATING: 2/10 (-)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on November 18th 2002)