Nearly 30 years after Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman first brought the Owens sisters to the screen, “Practical Magic” returns viewers to the world of witches, family curses and midnight margaritas.
The sequel follows Sally Owens (Bullock) and her sister Gillian (Kidman) as they face the same curse that has followed their family for generations, this time through Sally’s daughters, Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams).
Based on the books by Alice Hoffman, the film introduces a new generation of Owens women.
For the most part, “Practical Magic 2” is a fun movie. It has a nostalgic atmosphere, familiar characters and enough magic to make it feel connected to the original. The problem is that the sequel seems to forget what made that family so interesting in the first place.
The original “Practical Magic” was not simply a story about witches. At its center was the relationship between Sally and Gillian, two sisters who could not be more different but were always connected by their blood and shared history.
That sense of sisterhood was what gave the movie much of its emotional weight. “Practical Magic 2” tries to pass that on to the next generation, but it does not give Sally’s daughters enough space to develop that same bond.
This is especially noticeable with Antonia. While Kylie becomes the main focus of the story after her relationship with Gideon is affected by the Owens family curse, Antonia is left behind. The film introduces both sisters as the next generation of Owens women, but spends far more time developing Kylie’s story.
That choice makes the relationship between the sisters feel undeservingly less important. If the movie is supposed to be about the legacy of the Owens women, it would have been more interesting to see Antonia and Kylie actually experience that journey together.
Instead, Antonia often feels more like a supporting character in her own family’s story.
The sequel also spends more time than necessary on the men surrounding the Owens women. Sally, who already experienced the loss of her second husband, Gary, is given another romantic storyline with Ian Wright, played by Lee Pace.
Professor Wright is the first man we see produce magic in this reality. Before this, magic was always connected to women, especially those in the Owens family. While this is not a bad addition to the story, it feels unnecessary. Especially when the film justifies it with the line, “It’s the 21st century. Men can do anything women can do.”
Almost three decades later, “Practical Magic 2” proves that there is still something special about the Owens family.
But the sequel spends so much time trying to create a new story that it loses sight of the relationship that made the original worth revisiting. The magic is still there. The sisterhood, unfortunately, is less spell-binding.
Rating: 3/5