Witches' Brew

"Joshua Lightman" (Richard Benjamin) is a college professor who seems to have everything going for him which includes an attractive and loving wife named "Margaret" (Teri Garr) and an extremely rewarding career in which all kinds of good things just happen to come his way. What he doesn't fully realize is that the reason for much of this is because his wife dabbles in witchcraft and has placed multiple spells upon him which ensures his good luck at every opportunity. Unfortunately, during the course of one of these spells, he and Margaret have a disagreement and because of that she decides to revoke all of them to teach him a lesson. This, in turn, creates all kinds of trouble for him which even Margaret did not foresee. To matter matters even worse, because of his recent success, one of Margaret's friends by the name of "Susan Carey" (Kathryn Leigh Scott) becomes so concerned that Joshua's upward mobility will impact her own husband's career that she puts a curse on him to slow his progress down as well. But as bad as that is it is nothing compared to what a woman named "Vivian Cross" (Lana Turner) has in mind for the two of them. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a pretty good low-budget film which benefitted from the presence of two attractive actresses like Teri Garr and Kathryn Leigh Scott. That being said, however, it still suffered somewhat from its rather limited financial resources and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

My review was written in January 1985 after watching the film on Showtime.

"Witches' Brew", a/k/a "Which Witch is Which?" is a comedy about witchcraft filmed in 1978, revamped years later by film doctor Herbert L. Strock and finally surfacing on pay-cable after having been shelved for theatrical release and subjected to litigation. Review here is for the record.

An impressive toplined cast is trapped in this amateurish production, revolving around the sitcom premise (in the vein of the "Bewitched" tv series) of housewife Margaret (Teri Garr) helping her college psychology prof hubby Joshua (Richard Benjamin) get ahead via witchcraft. His luck changes for the worse when she lifts all her benevolent spells, after Joshua marks her aid.

Key point of historical interest is that "Brew" relies upon exactly the same premise employed years later in Carl Reiner's Steve Martin hit "All of Me": wicked witch Vivian (Lana Turner) is ailing, but contrives to shift her soul into pupil Margaret's body having willed her fortune to "Margaret". Even the differing mirror image gimmick is trotted out here.

Garr and Benjamin make a comfortable team, but entire cast is hurt by poor sound recording, unfunny dialog ("Bat jowls" is frequently repeated for supposed sure-fire laughs) and terrible continuity.

I stumbled across this movie on cable and watched for a while, thinking with Benjamin and Garr it wouldn't be a complete waste of time. Wrong! To compound the disappointment of wooden performances, I eventually realized the plot was lifted right out of Fritz Leiber's "Conjure Wife" -- a wonderful horror tale set in academia. If you go for horror and/or "weird tales", find the book (and read Leiber's "Our Lady of Darkness" while you're at it -- it's better). But forget this movie. Closest video approximation to the tone of Leiber's work is the Night Gallery episode, "The Dead Man". A student of Lovecraft, Leiber is one of the true greats in weird fiction.

Silliness about a group of faculty wives using witchcraft to advance their husbands careers. Picks up and drops ideas willy-nilly although it isn't completely without an ultimate goal. But the picture becomes increasingly ridiculous as it progresses.

Odd to see gifted comedienne Teri Garr in such as this, although it is played initially with a light touch. She's not bad but it doesn't play to her strengths, she was however still working her way up so probably taking whatever was offered. She's also a peculiar match with Richard Benjamin, who spends what seems an inordinate part of the movie in various states of undress, their styles don't mesh very well.

This was Lana Turner's cinematic screen swan song. While its not the horrifying train wreck that some Golden Age stars, Joan Crawford, Veronica Lake etc., were subjected to it's hardly the sort of film a legendary star should be exiting the stage in. She does look glamorous throughout until script dictates strip her of her trappings, an oasis of pizazz in a sea of slack suits.

Worth catching for the two lead actresses if you're a fan of either but strictly a mediocrity.

WITCHES BREW was hyped in the early 80's by the same horror fanzines that hyped SATURDAY THE 14th. OK, so I can't help it. This is a pretty lame flick.

And Teri Garr is in it. Granted, she is all right in small doses. Overbearing, yes. Annoying, yes. But she was good in last year's DICK. I can't really pick on her too much (Dave Letterman takes care of that for me).

This film has a few effects around the silly housewife hijinks, and those said effects are of the Q variety. At least the gargoyle's supposed to be made of clay.

Still, I haven't seen this picture in years, mostly by choice. It is an unmemorable, and thoroughly draining, viewing experience.