When I accidentally caught this on HBO many years ago, I wasn't paying very close attention at first; but as the movie continued, I became increasingly intrigued by its quirkiness. Based on the 1944 book 'Miss Shumway Waves a Wand', the story takes place in L.A. and Mexico, and follows magician Myra Shumway (played by Bridget Fonda) as she escapes from her sleazy, wealthy fiancé and falls in love with detective Alex Ross (played by a young Russell Crowe). Things become more surreal as elements of film noir begin to mix with magic realism. Much of the focus is on what Myra describes as "that terribly empty space between my heart and my head" – that is, the balance between the power of intuition and emotion on one side and calculating rationality on the other. Practical thinking alone, we learn, leads nowhere good. Love, on the other hand, is a liberating force. Unfortunately, in an effort to invoke 'magic' in the film, the word is repeated too many times with an irritating lack of subtlety, especially by a snake-oil salesman played by Jim Broadbent. And that's the film's main weakness: too often it spells out its intentions and gives away its tricks. This said, I was still charmed by director Clare Peploe's daring playfulness. While the film isn't perfect, it has a lot of heart and feels a bit like a strange dream at times. The story takes some wild, unexpected turns and I was entertained throughout, even upon a second viewing. I couldn't disagree more with those who suggest Bridget Fonda isn't right for the role. She's fantastic! I find her quite believable and sexy as Miss Shumway. Russell Crowe is appropriately suave and Mexican American comedian Paul Rodriguez occasionally steals the show.'Rough Magic' doesn't take itself too seriously. Its kind of fantasy feels both mainstream and eccentric in a way that reminds me of HBO's Tales From The Crypt, only it's romantic, rather than macabre. Check it out one lazy evening, perhaps with the company of some magic potion.

And giving it a two was a real struggle. Almost magical on my part. This is the sort of lamebrain thing that has brought on Hollywood vomiting all over its own shoes. Or rather that has always had the place doing it to itself. It just loves mindlessness. Though in this case it has outdone itself. You had the feeling it felt restrained from being so earthbound. Needing a flying camera from 30000 feet through clouds. With an occasional reverse point of view underwater. Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of film and Jack fell down and broke his splicer and Jill came tumbling after it and went home with her for a long tall dry martini.About the only thing I have seen this bad recently was Spielbergs The Terminal. Avoid both like the Bird Flu.

I've tried 3 times to give this movie a chance to get it's point across. It doesn't. As in most films Russell Crowe is in he gives his all but the story is pretty convoluted and doesn't give you much to care about. It gets pretty stupid towards the end. We kind of understood the owl showing up but never could understand the green lizard. The saving grace is the scene between Alec and Myra in the church and of course, somehow, Russell winds up dancing with his leading lady, something that happened in several of his earlier films. The beginning of the film Russell and Bridget are very Bogart & Bacall and the banter flows pretty well, even if we have heard it before. If you have the need to see Mr. Crowe there are better films to choose from. I'm still waiting for Russell to be cast in a good romantic comedy, something like "Bringing Up Baby" and Lauren Graham can certainly throw out the Katherine Hepburn lines to him.

When I first saw this movie I knew I liked it immensely, but I didn't really know why. I had to see it several times before I really "got" it. It's a very very different movie. The symbolism was a treat! Things which were shown in a fantasy-type way are things which happen in real life--e.g. bitterness being shown as an egg being laid that when hatched, is a venomous spider. In this movie, just about anything can happen! Love is magic but love can't happen with bitterness in the way; likewise, magic can't happen without love. The actors exuded the '40's style with finesse with the witty lines, and Bridget Fonda's costumes were exciting. I will surely watch this movie again and share it with others.