Here’s the thing about sequels: They often aren’t very good. More often than not, they fail to fully capture the spirit of the original movie, and the reviews can be harsh. So when Practical Magic 2 debuted on Rotten Tomatoes this week with a measly approval
rating of 34 percent, it was hardly a surprise. The film, directed by Susanne Bier and starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, reprising their respective roles of sister witches Sally and Gillian Owens, arrives 28 years after the original. And some critics wish it hadn’t been made at all.
The film follows the sisters’ quest to destroy the centuries-old family curse that strikes any man they love dead — particularly because Sally’s daughters Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams), just discovered they’re witches, and that the curse is real, and not just ye olde family gossip. So, when Kylie’s boyfriend (Xolo Maridueña) gets hit by a car and falls into a coma, she runs off to London to end the curse. Sally and Gillian follow her, and enlist a magic historian (Lee Pace) to help them.
Reviewers have laid out a long list of complaints: the lighting is harsh and bright, in stark contrast to the moody, autumnal glow of the 1998 original; key characters are sidelined, while others solely exist to die; CGI robs the minimalistic magic that made the first film so compelling. Even the Owens family’s enchanting New England home, which the internet has spent nearly three decades foaming at the mouth over, is barely seen, as much of the film takes place overseas. (Why the hell are we in London, anyway?) And the runtime is 130 minutes — nearly a half hour longer than the original.
The first Practical Magic, based on the novel by Alice Hoffman and directed by Griffin Dunne, was also widely panned upon release. Critics particularly hated the tonal shifts, arguing it’s unclear whether the film was a romantic comedy, horror, or drama. As Dunne told us in 2024, these shifts were absolutely intentional: “I’ve always been drawn to the light and the dark, and I like them in the same [scene], because that’s what life feels like,” he said. And though the plot of Kidman’s abusive boyfriend Jimmy Angelov (played by Goran Visnjic) felt jarring to some, Dunne personally related, as his sister, actress Dominique Dunne, was murdered by her ex in 1982.
While reflecting on the film two years ago, Bullock told us they got “eviscerated” by critics, while producer Denise Di Novi, who also worked on the sequel, recalled the rampant sexism in the industry. “Believe it or not, we actually got criticism for having too many women in the movie,” she said. “There was one review I always quote: ‘How many women can you fit in one movie? In Practical Magic, too many.’”
The movie became a cult classic anyway, a way to escape back to the late Nineties, with its chunky knit cardigans and velvet dresses. There were spoons that magically stirred by themselves and impeccably cool aunts (Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing) who served chocolate for breakfast and reminded you that, when dancing naked under the full moon, clothing is entirely optional. It’s a comfort film, one that we watched over and over again on VHS, with lines that we grew up repeating, and even recited while officiating our best friend’s wedding (at least this writer did). We knew it wasn’t Citizen Kane, and we never wanted it to be.
This is what serious film critics don’t quite understand: Practical Magic 2 was not made for you. It was made for the lovable geeks who buy rearview mirror decals that read “the belladonna is in my bag,” and host their own midnight margarita parties every Halloween. It was made for the fans who have waited nearly three decades to see these witchy sisters together again onscreen — the stoic, protective, at times uptight Sally and the no-fucks-given, charming, sometimes careless Gillian — taking down that old curse. (R.I.P. Gary Hallet, the extremely foxy Arizona police officer played by Aidan Quinn in the original. No one will ever flip a saguaro cactus-shaped pancake like you. You would have loved True Detective.)
Obviously, Practical Magic 2 isn’t perfect. Evan Rachel Wood and Alexandra Artrip, who starred as Bullock’s daughters in the original, were recast to King and Williams, due to the fact that the book the film was based on (2021’s The Book of Magic: A Novel), required the daughters to be the age of college graduates. But not having them make at least a cameo is a disservice to fans, and the actors who would have happily been a part of the project. And the fact that Maridueña spends much of his time in a coma is a waste for the Cobra Kai alumni, who is such a delight onscreen. And Pace …scratch that. We don’t have any negative comments for Pace. Maybe that he’s too good looking?
Practical Magic received a lot of hatred back then, and it’s still happening now. (“The worst version of Kidman the actor is when she performs as a ditz,” one critic recently wrote. “So guess what version of her we get in this film.”) When you think about lines like that, it’s a goddamn miracle this film got made at all. So we’re going to embrace every second of it. 130 minutes? Hell, we wish it was longer. We’re currently flying into theaters now, singing Stevie Nicks and Olivia Rodrigo, ensuring the sequel earns $30 million opening weekend and giving it a 92 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. And guess what? We didn’t even need magic to make it happen.
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