Teen Witch (1989)

An unpopular teen finds she has inherited magical powers that could help her make her dreams come true,  but magic is not always easy to control! 

Starring: Robyn Lively, Dan Gaulthier, Dick Sargeant.

Director: Dorian Walker

I came across this whilst looking for something similar to say… Kiki’s Delivery Service or Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which I was kind of in the mood for. I kind of like that kind of thing sometimes. This film had popped up a few times during different kinds of searches for films, and I thought, why not?

From the moment the film opened… it was just weird. But weird in a really wonderful, 80’s way. The opening sequence is a dream scene on a rooftop with 80’s music playing, huge hair blowing in night time breezes, and a romance between a guy and a girl… and it goes for ages.

And it’s just a taster!

I mean, this film has the odd psychic lady from Poltergeist in it. It has funny scenes of the girl Louise figuring out her powers and it going wrong, turning her brother into a dog for example. It has random musical scenes, though the film is not actually a musical. It has Dick Sargent, who played Darren for a while on Bewitched in the 70’s. And it has 80’s fashion. It’s truly terrible and amazing. I can totally see why people love this movie!

What really elevates it into something special is that even though it’s all really cliche in plot, (unpopular girl makes herself popular but finds out that friendship is what matters) it is kind of all over the place in a really great way. The scenes with random 80’s rap battles or music have poor sound and lip syncing. There’s a scene about sex ed that’s kind of pointless, other than saying the word sex, which was I think quite edgy for the time. The wise older mentor woman, the psychic that Louise meets, seems to have her own agenda, and yet that doesn’t really develop as a plot line in the way it seems to foreshadow. And there’s a sequence at the end where Louise and her best friend meet their favourite singer. And everyone is acting like they’re going for a prize for the most eighties performance (big hair, big dreams…).

I’m attaching some clips from YouTube for your amusement, they are truly hilarious. If you’re not interested in watching the film for a laugh, then these will definitely lift your afternoon.

See It If: You love the eighties or really awkward performances. Epic.

Top that…  Really awkward but must watch “rap scene”. Must watch. I’m not sure this was even cool in the eighties.

I like boys. A musical number with none of the main characters that doesn’t further the plot in any way, but it damn catchy. And weird.

And of course, the trailer.