By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
"PRACTICAL MAGIC 2" IS FILLED WITH MARGARITAS, MAGIC, AND SISTERHOOD
Well, surprise, surprise.
"Practical Magic 2," the long-awaited sequel to the 1998 fantasy hit "Practical Magic," turns out to be the summer-ending crowd-pleaser we didn't realize we needed.
Bringing back Gillian (Nicole Kidman, TV's "Lioness") and Sally (Sandra Bullock, "Bullet Train"), as the beloved Owens sisters once again prove that a little sisterly bickering, a bit of romance, and a whole lot of margaritas and magic can make for an irresistible combination.
Based on
Alice Hoffman's 2021 novel ("The Book of Magic"), director
Susanne Bier (TV's "The Perfect Couple"), and screenwriters
Akiva Goldsman (TV's "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds"),
Georgia Pritchett (TV's "Succession"), and
Kelly Marcel ("Venom: The Last Dance"), understand that the easiest thing to do with a sequel like this would have been to simply recycle the first movie's formula. Thankfully, they don't settle for a lazy retread. Instead, they bring back a story couched in those warm, fuzzy nostalgic feelings that made the original so memorable, while giving Sally and Gillian another family crisis that forces them to confront the magic they tried to leave behind. The result isn't revolutionary, but it is charming, funny, and sincere.
Sally now has two daughters, Kylie (a terrific Joey King, "A Family Affair") and Antonia (Maisie Williams, "Ignition"), and she has made a pact with Gillian to keep their family's magical history a secret. But secrets have a funny way of bubbling back to the surface, especially in the Owens family. When Kylie falls in love with her charming boyfriend Gideon (Xolo Mariduena, "Killing Castro" and "Blue Beetle"), Sally and Gillian's decision to hide the truth about their family's curse comes back to haunt them.
Gideon is soon struck by a car and left in a coma, sending Kylie on a desperate search for answers and putting the entire Owens family back in the business of breaking curses.
Bullock and Kidman remain a delight to watch. Their chemistry is still the secret sauce with the two playing their characters as crafty, cunning sisters who drive each other crazy, but instinctively know when to rally around one another.
Bullock brings Sally a grounded, slightly frazzled quality, while Kidman gets to have a little more fun with Gillian's free-spirited personality.
Equally funny are Sally and Gillian's eccentric aunts, Franny (Stockard Channing, TV's "Knuckles") and Jet (Dianne Wiest, "Closing Night"). Channing and Wiest bring an effortless, offbeat warmth to the film, and their scenes provide some of the movie's most welcome comic relief.
Jet's discovery of the Book of Raven sets much of the story in motion, while the sisters eventually must turn to the family's history and their magical inheritance to figure out how to break the curse once and for all.
Lee Pace, (TV's "Invincible" and "The Running Man") meanwhile, is a particularly welcome addition as Ian Wright, an academic who studies the history of magic and becomes an unexpected ally--and eventual love interest--for Sally.
The movie eventually sends Kylie, Sally and Gillian to England, where they begin uncovering the darker origins of the Owens family curse and the tragic history surrounding one of their ancestors.
What works best in "Practical Magic 2" is that beneath the spells, curses and supernatural shenanigans, this is still a story about sisters, mothers, daughters, and the sometimes-messy ways families try to protect one another.
There's enough new material to make the return worthwhile, but enough familiarity to satisfy anyone who has been waiting years to step back into the Owens household.
If I have one minor quibble, it's the running time. At roughly 130 minutes, "Practical Magic 2" occasionally feels as though certain portions have been stretched a little longer than necessary. A tighter version probably would have given the movie an even better rhythm and allowed some of the middle material to move along more briskly. But this is a relatively minor complaint in a sequel that otherwise knows exactly what kind of movie it wants to be and succeeds in casting a nice spell over audiences.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Watch This Trailer For
"PRACTICAL MAGIC 2"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
