SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH

US, 1996, 91 minutes, Colour.
Melissa Joan Hart, Sherry Miller, Charlene Fernetz, Michelle Baudouin, Ryan Reynolds, Tobias Mehler, Lalainia Lindbjergh.
Directed by Tibor Tokacs.

This film has a place in popular American television. It was a standalone production in 1996 but proved so popular that it was developed into a series which screened from 1996 to 2003, starring Melissa Joan Hart as a young woman who discovers that her family are witches and that she has magic powers.

In fact, this film is very much an example of the Mean Girls kind of popular entertainment for a teenage female audience who can identify with the characters – although the young male audience, through the heroes and jocks of this film, could also identify with the situations.

It is the story of an outsider who wants to become popular, has some close friends but is tempted by the school hero while she neglects the young student devoted to her. Then there is the very popular group of young women, the blonde leader, catty, vengeful. Sabrina is in the care of her two witch hunts who are debating when to reveal her identity to her and shall have the book of spells. Unfortunately, Sabrina decides to use the spells to attract the attention of Seth, the school popular hero, cheating in a race by putting a spell on her runners. She has to learn that the witches had expelled this particular practice long since!

So, there is the popular story of the dating, the dance, Seth proving that he has feet of clay, Sabrina discovering the devotions of Harvey. He is played by Canadian Tobias Mehler. The big surprise of anyone looking at the film in later years is that the school jock is played by a 20-year-old Ryan Reynolds!