Speaking as a genuine fan, I know the original Practical Magic movie is not a cinematic masterpiece. If you’re not a fan of the slightly cheesy, witchy, and sisterhood-y, the movie might not appeal to you. But I don’t think anyone I’ve shown it to has ever called it unwatchable — this is a term I’ve only ever employed to describe Practical Magic 2.
The mAGIC OF THE ORIGINALS
As I explained above, I love the original movie. I accepted its quirks a long time ago because I love the premise so much. Practical Magic reels you in with the promise of a romcom, but you’ll soon discover it’s a much deeper and darker story that explores intergenerational trauma, family dynamics, and, more than anything, friendship. Brought to life with Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, and a Stevie Nicks song, this movie might’ve been made as my own personal catnip. To date, I think it’s my favourite autumn movie.
This past summer, I found the original Practical Magic book in the store, bought it, and read it in two days. The book predates the movie, and while I understand why the movie cut certain elements, I think that the book adds so much more depth to the story. In the book, Sally Owens’s (Sandra Bullock’s character) kids are teenagers who are at an impasse with their mother and her type A behaviour, when their carefree aunt Gillian shows up with her abusive boyfriend Jimmy already dead. They don’t live in their aunt’s house; they live in a regular suburban home a few hours away, and the aunts don’t show up until the very end. The story is strengthened by some darker elements, more complex plotlines, and a stronger intergenerational struggle.
Armed with my love for the characters, these actresses, and my exceptional knowledge of potential plotlines, I bought a ticket for the movie last weekend and convinced my friend to come.
Everything Wrong with Practical Magic 2
I was aware that there were some bad reviews about the movie before I went, but I decided not to read them so I could make up my own mind. I wish I had heeded their warning.
My first gripe is the choice of actresses to play Bullock’s children. One of the first things you notice in the movie is that her children look absolutely nothing like her. Or Nicole Kidman. I’m pretty sure they cast Joey King as her daughter Kylie first, then cast the other daughter just to look like Joey King. Why they would’ve made that decision, though, is beyond me because King gives an incredibly weak performance throughout the movie. Antonia, the other daughter played by Maisie Williams, is practically irrelevant to the plot, but I left the movie wishing I saw more of her, so I didn’t have to watch any more TikTok-level acting from King.
Next, I want to briefly address how terrible the plot and script were. I know that both Bullock and Kidman are historically phenomenal actresses, but even their award-winning talent could not save a script this cringey. Bullock’s character is meant to be motivated by grief from the death of now two husbands, but they force her into an awkward romance with another man. Kidman even says “Lock in” at one point during the movie. Everything they said and did just felt so painfully forced and unnatural.
A huge disappointment to me in Practical Magic 2 was how they chose to depict magic. What I love about the first movie is how they illustrated magic as a blur between the supernatural and normal human intuition. It was a statement on how traditionally feminine traits such as emotional intelligence, folk wisdom, and the power of belief are demonised by those who don’t understand; it connected why women were burned for witchcraft to why the Owens women were hated today. Practical Magic 2, however, fell victim to the Marvel-ication of movies and made their magic just superpowers that visibly shot from their hands. This eroded both the mystique of their characters and the feminist commentary the original movie cleverly made.
Finally, there was no reason for this movie to be over two hours. Recently, filmmakers seem to be too proud to edit their work down to a shorter length, and I don’t know why. Practical Magic 2 might have been bearable if it was a little over an hour and a half. There were so many unnecessary scenes, including the over ten-minute wedding-preparation scene at the end. To give you perspective, there were six people total in the theatre (including my friend and me) watching this movie. The other four left in the last fifteen minutes before the movie was over.
There are other elements of Practical Magic 2 I didn’t like, but they feel unnecessary to belabour here. My parting wisdom is that, when this movie inevitably falls to streaming platforms in the next month or two, save two hours of your life and skip the watch. It’s just not worth it.