Practical Magic 2 (c) Warner Bros Pictures
Film: Practical Magic 2
In Cinemas
I don’t remember the original 1998 Practical Magic that well, but don’t worry, the sequel will do its best to remind you with many callbacks meant to make fans coo: “Coconut” by Harry Nilsson and songs by witchy icon Stevie Nicks are on the soundtrack, people blow candles on and an unlucky bloke gets hit by a car. And just like that, we are back with the Owens sisters. Sally (Sandra Bullock) is just trying to live a simple life as a librarian, who, like Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi, has turned off the witchy force inside her, and while Gillian (Nicole Kidman) is still doing some practical magic, she has promised not to tell Sally’s daughters, Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams), that not only are they from a family of witches, they are also cursed to have anyone they fall in love with die. That last tidbit really should have been revealed as Kylie has fallen in love with her classmate (Xolo Maridueña), and when something bad happens, she feels betrayed and takes matters into her own hands as a novice witch with an evil spells book, straight out of Marvel's WandaVision. If there’s a reason for this film to exist, it is to see the two lead actresses (as well as Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing as their aunts) giving great women-supporting-women vibe. But, nothing else really works, including a lot of corny dialogue that falls flat or people doing silly things for the plot to work, including Kylie just announcing she has a cursed book in her possession. The humor is also awkward, such as a running joke with Gillian and Sally having big suitcases to lug around. Would they even pack if they’re rushing to save Kylie from danger? Yet, this is still a comforting warm sweater of a film, directed by Susanne Bier, reuniting with her Bird Box star, and when the plot isn’t butting in, it’s just nice to see everyone in that house again. The best addition to the cast is Lee Pace as a British professor with an interest in witches, but even he has some of the silliest things to say, including one bit about molecules that is painful. Also, please watch this film at AMC Theaters so you can watch the promo where Kidman talks about cinema being a place for magic before she performs some of her own.
