This review was made possible by Popped attending an advanced screening of Practical Magic 2.
Put your wands away, put your brooms in order and check out your favourite spellbook from your local library because the witches are back. In this day and age of revivals and legacy sequels, why wouldn’t they be?
Behind the Scream
The local town has always had a problem with the Owens family, ever since their ancestor Maria Owens came to the shores of what would become the United States of America. Their problem is that the Owens family are all witches. But that’s the least of the Owens’ worries, because the women of the family carry a dreadful curse: when they hear the tapping sound of the deathwatch beetle, their love is going to die.
Practical Magic 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the 1998 cult classic based on Alice Hoffman’s novel, with this instalment drawing from her sequel novel, The Book of Magic.
It has been twenty-eight years since the Owens family broke their curse, or so they thought. Soon after marrying the delicious ’90s-era Aidan Quinn, he succumbs to the curse, leaving Sally (Sandra Bullock) so grief-stricken and traumatised by the loss of her second husband that she gives up magic and makes her daughters forget all about it, hoping they will not be affected by the curse.
Now, everything is seemingly hunky-dory. Gillian Owens (Nicole Kidman) is still the accomplished witch and their aunts Jet and Franny still rule the coolest house in town (dessert for breakfast and midnight margaritas will do that), but a mysterious book of spells opens the door for a new adventure and possibly a way to end the curse once and for all.
Practically No Magic in the Story
As with many legacy sequels (if you count Practical Magic 2 as such a thing), this movie gives the next generation of characters a large role, and by characters, I mean one: Kylie (Joey King), who takes it upon herself to stop the curse and save the family.
We don’t waste much time waiting around for the plot to kick off as it starts off pretty quickly, which was a saving grace because it certainly got the movie over quicker (more on that later). Unlike the original film, which mostly takes place in Massachusetts, the sequel splits the action between Massachusetts and London, England, where the book has led Kylie. Since Kylie doesn’t know how dangerous the book is and because, until recently, she had no memory of magic or being a witch, she is in a lot of potential danger. So, mother Bullock and Auntie Nicole fly over to save her.
Now, I am writing as a big fan of the original film, but I am trying to be as fair and unbiased to PM2 as possible, but they haven’t made it easy for me. The first movie was a simpler tale, mixing themes of love, sisterhood, revenge, and right and wrong. The sequel takes all those themes and stretches them out into a plot that only becomes more and more meandering and generic as it goes.
What was wrong with staying in Massachusetts? Readers curious about the film’s eventual home release can find our guide to when Practical Magic 2 could arrive on HBO Max. Going to London seems like fun on paper, but once our witches get there, it really feels like they could’ve just gone anywhere. But those British tax credits are just too much to pass up.
Another issue is just how big the movie tries to be. This sequel makes the first movie look like an indie film, what with how big they make it. We’ve got more active and visual spellwork with CGI-heavy effects, unlike the first, which kept the magic at a more grounded level, reminiscent of folk magic. Practical Magic 2 throws most of that out of the window in favour of a more action-oriented, Harry Potter-style of magic, which… just did not work for me.
Sally’s daughters Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams) show up.
At Least They Got Paid
Only four of the main Practical Magic stars return for the sequel, with Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest joining Bullock and Kidman as their delightful aunts Franny and Jet. That poses another issue with the movie…
Many cast members are WASTED! Completely wasted!
Bullock and Kidman are great in reprising their roles and were sorely missed. But do you know who else has been missed? Franny and Jet, who are relegated to glorified cameos, especially Wiest. Their characters did leave and come back in the first movie, but their roles here just feel too minuscule. Channing is given more to do, but her role seemed pointless until the very end when they gave her a reason to be there.
A lot of talk has been stirring about the recasting of Sally’s daughters, Kylie and Antonia, originally played by Evan Rachel Wood and Alexandra Artrip in the first film. I assumed the recasting was because of there being little to no time jump, but watching the movie, you’ll see there is a time jump (twenty-eight years), so I don’t understand why the actresses, particularly Wood, have been recast especially when Joey King gives one of the most mediocre performances of the year and definitely the worst in the movie.
Is she bad? No. But is she good? Also no. The movie wouldn’t have been better without her because the movie is already so middling, but casting younger actresses for “the plot” when the fact that they’re in college is so inconsequential that it makes the casting even more egregious. Maisie Williams is fine, but it’s hard to judge a performance for a role that could have also been cut. She’s in the movie throughout but she may as well not be because her scenes do nothing but pad the runtime and give Stockard Channing some (deserved) screen time.
Lee Pace is the final main member of the cast, with a role that confused me even more. Pace plays an academic somewhat proficient in the craft, who helps Bullock and Kidman during their travels in England. Pace was one of the better things about the movie, and he, Bullock and Kidman make a good trio. The only negative thing to say about Pace is that his fake English accent was a bit spotty in places, but otherwise fine.
Finally, the villain, and yes, there is one. You won’t know for the most part, though, because it’s as though they wrote 90% of the film and forgot to include a villain. The villain is practically thrown into the script at the eleventh hour in such a way that makes it incredibly obvious that they must be the villain despite the ominous reveal later on.
‘Practical Magic 2’ Review – Final Thoughts
Practical Magic 2 is an okay film, but it goes too big for what it is. It has too many unnecessary additions, a depressingly mediocre performance from its leading actress and is ultimately a big disappointment compared to the first movie.
Do I want a Practical Magic 3? Well, I wanted a Practical Magic 2, but after this instalment, I think I’ll just wait for the in-development musical adaptation of Practical Magic.
I say wait for streaming because this movie feels like it was made for streaming.
Practical Magic 2 is now playing in cinemas. Check out a trailer below:
