I recently rewatched two of my three favorite Sandra Bullock movies: Miss Congeniality and Practical Magic. (The third one, While You Were Sleeping, needs to wait a month or so. Christmas/New Years’ Eve, you know.) All three are oldies but goodies.
The thing that struck me about both of these movies is that there was no chemistry between Bullock and Benjamin Bratt (Miss Congeniality) or Aidan Quinn (Practical Magic). The romances were unbelievable. Okay, Quinn was a little more believable than Bratt, but neither one knocked my socks off. So I don’t consider either of these movies RomComs, even though the internet says they are. I am here to tell you they are not.
Miss Congeniality is about female empowerment. Grace (the main character) comes into herself once she stops trying to be one of the guys in her FBI world and discovers her feminine self. Doing so makes her stronger and allows her to kick some serious butt when butt needs serious kicking.
Practical Magic echoes this theme: once Sally (the main character) accepts her true identity and embraces her inner magic, she is able to break the family curse and find true love. That can’t happen until she stops trying to fit into the “normal” world.
Both movies have pivotal scenes of female bonding. In Miss Congeniality, Grace takes the other women out for a night on the town, where they finally relax and let loose. Paint spatters, drumming, and Jell-O shots ensue. Practical Magic? Midnight maragitas with Sally’s sister (Nicole Kidman’s performance in the movie is Oscar-worthy) and their aunts. Any kisses exchanged with male leads are overshadowed by these groups of women coming together in celebration.
And that is why I love both of these motion pictures.
Of course, movie plots are just as subjective as books, so your opinion of these two movies could be vastly different. Feel free to comment if you agree or disagree.
