Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

What a treat. When the movie started, and it was proclaimed a "Hallmark" show, I was prepared for overly sentimental fluff... what else?Was I in for a surprise. A magnificent, yet elegant look at the power of love in healing, and the power of real magic. Some movingly insightful takes on how uptight our society is, and how fearful we are of both the unknown and of ourselves. Non-violent conflict resolution is demonstrated as a fine art, something profoundly engaging and compelling to me in these perilous times. In fact, so many issues, from alternative healing to the very nature of health -- spiritual, physical, whatever you wish to call it -- were addressed with such an adroit hand. There's a lot packed into this little gem.I'm delighted to see there's a sequel. I'm off to watch it now, "The Good Witch's Gift (2010).

Old-fashioned, never-never-land fable about a mysterious woman who comes to a small town to claim an inheritance, specifically, the town's notorious haunted house. She sets up a shop full of potions and gemstones and charms, which does not go down well with the mayor's pompous wife (and tellingly, the only fat woman in the entire cast). This chubby busybody, straight out of a 1940s comedy, is convinced the new arrival is a witch (she does own a black cat and an antique broom) and spends the rest of the film trying to drive her out of town. Meanwhile, the newcomer performs a series of subtle good deeds that help various town folk with problems ranging from sterility to bullies. This Hallmark movie bears more than a passing resemblance to "Bell Book and Candle," and in fact the reputed witch names her New Age-y store Bell Book and Candle. The delectable Catherine Bell plays the mysterious woman, a woman similar to the character played by Kim Novak in "Bell Book and Candle." Since this is a Hallmark TV movie, Bell has to rein in her incredible sensuality, but she's still quite a dish even while playing more of a Mary Poppins character. I got a kick out of the cover for this one, which shows Bell grasping what appears to be a long, black phallic object, while giving us a knowing smile. The object, if you look hard enough, is actually a very long broomstick. Familiar TV actor Chris Potter plays the local sheriff, a widower with two small children who is smitten by Bell at first sight. Spending an evening alone on a couch in front of a roaring fireplace, wineglasses in hand, Bell and Potter manage one chaste kiss -- no tussling in the sheets for these two. This is a Hallmark movie, after all. So a chaste kiss is all we get. Entertaining, low-key family movie that was shot in Canada.

I think this is a take-off on the French movie Chocolat (1988). A mysterious but sweet wandering woman comes into a small town. She opens up a shop where she gives away things that magically make people better. But the conservative element tries to drive her out simply because she's different from them.A complement to the movie is that although I missed the start, I recognized the plot immediately. It did have a similar feel to Chocolat.But it wasn't nearly as good because it got distracted by a typical Hollywood love interest which wasn't germane to the main plot of intolerance. And it ended abruptly with a typical Hollywood cop-out. The question is not whether she's a witch, but could enough people in town change to accept her goodness.

The Good Witch has the same charm as Bell Book and Candle (1958). It's a benevolent look at a very kind women that seems to be a witch. Like most of us - she just wants a place to call home. To that end she helps others she meets with in the small town community in an informally magical way resolve their own problems. The show made me smile. I don't do that very often - but it felt good. The only other film has the ability to do that is Pollyanna (1960) - the original. The film is just charming. It is a film that looks for the good in people and helps them find it with in themselves. We could use a lot more films of this type. I hope to pick up a copy as a DVD as soon as possible. "My favorite line is: Life's a journey - not a destination." How's that for an optimistic outlook?