''Half Magic'' is a 2018 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy '' License to Drive'' (1988), followed by the critically acclaime ...

. The film stars Graham,

Angela Kinsey Angela Faye Kinsey (born June 25, 1971) is an American actress. She played Angela Martin in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013) and appeared in the sitcoms '' Your Family or Mine'' (2015) and ''Haters Back Off'' (2016–2017). Since ''The ...

Stephanie Beatriz Stephanie Beatriz Bischoff Alvizuri (born February 10, 1981) is an American actress, model and singer. She is known for playing Detective Rosa Diaz in the Fox/NBC comedy series ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' (2013–2021), and voicing protagonist Mi ...

Thomas Lennon Thomas Patrick Lennon (born August 9, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, director, and novelist. He plays Lieutenant Jim Dangle on the series ''Reno 911!'' Lennon is an accomplished screenwriter of several major st ...

, Luke Arnold, Jason Lewis, Alex Beh,

Michael Aronov Michael Aronov (born May 4, 1976) is an American actor who has worked in film, television and theatre. In 2017, he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role as Uri Savir in the Broadway play ''Oslo''. He is also known for p ...

Molly Shannon Molly Helen Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress and comedian who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ...

Rhea Perlman Rhea Jo Perlman (born March 31, 1948) is an American actress. She played head-waitress Carla Tortelli in the sitcom '' Cheers'' (1982–1993). Over the course of 11 seasons, Perlman was nominated for ten Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting ...

and

Chris D'Elia Christopher William D'Elia (born March 29, 1980) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and podcast host. He is known for playing Alex Miller on the NBC sitcom '' Whitney'', Danny Burton on the NBC sitcom ''Undateable'', Kenny on the ...

. The film was released in theaters and through video on demand on February 23, 2018, by

Momentum Pictures Momentum Pictures is a film distributor and a subsidiary of Entertainment One, itself part of Hasbro. Prior to 2013, it was a brand of Canadian distributor Alliance Films used for its releases in the United Kingdom, and was one of the leading in ...

Plot

Three women meet each other at a “Divine Feminine" workshop. Honey is a screenwriter who has a casual relationship with Peter, an arrogant

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

star who makes misogynistic comments. Eva, a dress designer, is a divorcée whose ex-husband left her for a college student. Free-spirited Candy is in a relationship with Daniel, a

TED Talks TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

enthusiast who refuses to be exclusive with her. The three women bond over their shared frustrations and make a pact to date “good guys only” and improve their love lives.

Cast

as Honey *

as Eva *

as Candy *

as Darren * Luke Arnold as Freedom * Jason Lewis as Mark *Alex Beh as Daniel *Chelsea Mark as Chandra *

as John *

as Valesca *

as Linda *

as Peter *

Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), best known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ...

as Father Gary

Production

On June 4, 2015,

, Jason Lewis and

joined the cast of the film.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

began on June 4, 2015.

Release

The film was released in theaters and through video on demand on February 23, 2018, by

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, it has a 62% approval rating based on 34 reviews, with the consensus: "''Half Magic'' never quite fulfills its apparent goals, but this comedy from writer-director-star Heather Graham is still occasionally affably diverting." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Frank Scheck of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' wrote, "''Half Magic'' is a lighthearted ode to female empowerment, and its theatrical release feels perfectly timed to the MeToo movement. While the pic proves too frivolous to make its satirical and social points fully register, it offers diverting pleasures along the way...due to the talents of its appealing female leads, who score consistent laughs, and the well-earned authenticity that Graham brings to the milieu.” Writing for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', Amy Nicholson wrote "Graham’s dialogue is a master class in macho mind-warping where creeps use the language of female empowerment to get what they want.” Nicholson added "Graham’s passion is sincere, even if her tone and rushed pace — the byproduct of cramming in every idea in case she doesn’t get a second chance — teeters on sitcom.” Wes Greene of '' Slant Magazine'' observed, "Through its depiction of the humorous sexual misadventures that Honey, Eva, and Candy endure, ''Half Magic'' gets at how any new lifestyle change is accompanied by a period of insecurity and self-doubt", and that "this is a film that understands that not all female desire is the same." Susan Wloszczyna of '' RogerEbert.com'' criticized the film's script as dated and wrote, "Half Magic''' is a stumble backward in its cartoony portrait of modern-day womanhood. But I must give props to Kinsey, whose comic timing, amusing self-deprecation and grounded likability allows her to be the only cast member to come close to resembling an actual human being."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 4738776, Half Magic *
Half Magic
' at AllMovie 2018 films 2018 comedy films 2018 directorial debut films 2010s buddy comedy films American buddy comedy films American female buddy films 2010s English-language films Films scored by Alex Wurman 2010s feminist films 2010s female buddy films 2010s American films