The Witches of Eastwick Knew the Perfect Man Was Suspicious

Three women describe their ideal man. The universe sends Jack Nicholson. There were signs.

Nearly 40 years after The Witches of Eastwick arrived in 1987, witches are having another very good year. Practical Magic 2 has the Owens women back in the conversation. American Horror Story is returning to Coven territory. Spells, covens, witchy wardrobes, female power, and the general suspicion that your friends might solve several problems if everyone simply gathered around a candle are culturally thriving again.

Eastwick was already having that conversation in enormous hair. Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie are three friends whose conversations about the man missing from their lives appear to summon Daryl Van Horne, a mysterious newcomer with a mansion, unlimited confidence, and an immediate interest in all three women. Desire gets louder. Strange abilities start surfacing. Eastwick gets a lot more interesting.

But describing the plot only gets you so far with this one. The movie is glamorous, strange, funny, grotesque, theatrical, and extremely aware that putting Cher, Sarandon, Pfeiffer, and Nicholson in the same movie was not an occasion for restraint. Some parts are unmistakably 1987. Other parts feel suspiciously ready for the current witch renaissance. Tubi's Witch, Please collection has plenty of modern spell-casting nearby, and seven witch movies and shows for the Practical Magic 2 era can keep the coven occupied afterward.

For now, we're going back to Eastwick. The cherries alone deserve a revisit.