Movie Review: Magic (1978)
Synopsis: A once-struggling magician, Charles "Corky" Williams, finds success after adding a risqué-talking ventriloquist dummy, Fats, to his act. Just as he is about to get his best break ever, a television series, Corky sabotages the deal by refusing to take a physical and instead flees the city to his hometown in the Catskills, renting a cabin from his high school crush, Peggy. Despite Peggy being married, they end up having an affair and she seems ready to leave her husband for him. However, it soon becomes apparent Fats is more than just a prop for Corky's act and is instead a manifestation of a second, domineering and sometimes violent personality.
Who's in it? The movie stars Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margaret, Burgess Meredith, Ed Lauter and David Ogden Stiers.
Review: I remember first seeing the film Magic on display at a video rental store (remember those?). However, despite the movie being out for nearly 30 years, I never took the time to watch the film until coming across it on Amazon Prime last night. The movie was nothing like what I was expecting it to be but still ended up being an interesting choice.
From the image of Fats (voiced by Hopkins) on the cover, I incorrectly assumed this would be yet another film about a killer doll. My wife and I even jokingly commented it was the original Goosebumps film. And I will say this, for a while, I wasn't completely sure that wasn't the case because the movie went to some lengths to at least suggest that was a possibility.
As it tuns out, however, while the doll wasn't actually alive in a traditional sense, the whole split identity thing involving Corky (also Hopkins) offered something unique. Hopkins does an awesome job selling the story to the point Fats might as well be alive, either by convincing the magician to do things he wouldn't normally do to or committing murder with Corky's help.
The romance between Corky and Peggy (Ann-Margaret) added to this story, both because of the fact she was already married to Duke (Lauter), and it was unclear just how their relationship would affect Corkey's "relationship" with Fats, especially when Corky suggested he was willing to leave the ventriloquist dummy behind. I wondered if that was even going to be an option for him given the circumstances.
On that same note, I also wondered if maybe Peggy had issues of her own because it wasn't as though Corky showed any signs of being mentally stable even when Fats wasn't in the room. The scene with the shared card trick, for example, showed Corky's abusive/manipulative side clear as day, to the point it even scared her. Yet she still ended up sleeping with him shortly after that. If I had any complaints about the movie, it would be the decision not to delve a bit more into that.
Final Opinion: It's not a scary doll movie in the traditional sense but is an intriguing film with some incredible acting from Hopkins. It's worth taking the time to watch it as a result.
My Grade: A
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