n the magical kingdom of Coventry, a dark force seeks to destroy the light. The king charges his servants, Ileana and Karsh, with protecting his twin infant daughters, while he and his queen head off to battle the Darkness. When the king is killed, Ileana (Jennifer Robertson) and Karsh (Pat Kelly) each take one of the girls and separate, barely escaping with them into another dimension.
Years later, Alex Fielding (Tia Mowry) and Camryn Barnes (Tamera Mowry) live on opposite sides of the tracks. Camryn was adopted by wonderful, rich parents, and she lives the life of privilege, while Alex was adopted by a poor but loving woman. Unfortunately, Alex's mom just died, and she's staying with her best friend's family until she finds a job.
On their 21st birthday, Alex heads out to find a job while Camryn goes shopping at her favorite boutique. Ileana and Karsh watch them from a distance, knowing that the time has come for the girls to reunite. With a little magic, Karsh helps Alex get a job at the boutique at which Camryn is shopping. When the girls literally run into each other, they know immediately that they are sisters. Camryn is thrilled, while Alex isn't at all happy at the prospect of having an instant sister.
Despite herself, Alex realizes she can't walk away from her twin sister, and when she sees Camryn's Porche, she begins to realize how different they really are. However, any doubt that they might actually be twins vanishes when they touch and magic happens. While the reunited twin witches begin exploring their powers and getting to know each other, Ileana and Karsh know the Darkness is on the way and it absolutely will not stop until it kills them, devouring everything in its path.
Double your pleasure
Twitches is a cute story that's perfectly Disney in every way. It's a light romp about sisters and magic with an obvious villain at its core. Despite the age of the protagonists, very young teenage girls will love this movie. Since that's the intended audience, this television film does just what it's supposed to. Yes, it's predictable, and the story is nothing new, but it has a sweetness at its core.
That sweetness comes courtesy of Tia and Tamera Mowry, who carry the film as Alex and Camryn. These real-life identical twins are as different as they are similar, embodying their characters with very different but equally strong personalities. The rest of the cast is fine, with Robertson's Ileana, Kelly's Karsh and Arnold Pinnock as Camryn's dad adding the comic relief.
As for the story, Twitches keeps the tone light and plays it safe. While the writers do occasionally try to give the characters some depth, the story quickly settles down into fairy-tale land. We're never worried the characters are in any real danger. We know from the beginning that this story will have a happy ending. While the villain of the piece may be obvious from the start, he doesn't present much of an obstacle for our two heroines. Unfortunately, that villain comes across as weak, and we're not sure why the twins' birth mother and Coventry Queen, Miranda (Wilson), would be taken in by him.
Still, the bad guy isn't what Twitches is all about. It's about giving the Mowry twins a good vehicle to showcase their talents against the backdrop of an old-fashioned fairy tale. No, the magic isn't very magical, and the special effects are not all that special. However, Twitches has Tia and Tamera, and they're more than enough.
