I imagine it’s quite obvious, but I’ll say it anyway: I love Practical Magic. I was 10 years old when the first movie came out, and immediately after seeing it in the theaters, simply had to read my mother’s copy. I loved author Alice Hoffman’s subtle use of magic— the way one had to ask, is it really magic? Is it intuition? Something else? The first movie obviously made changes to the novel, but what was lost was tempered by what was added, most notably that gorgeous set. Was the seed of one day having my own apothecary planted when I saw the Owens’s greenhouse? Most likely…
Sure, the movie’s pacing is strange, there are continuity errors, etc., but I loved it, rewatching it so many times that my old VHS became wobbly in areas.
To see the sequel in 2026 is to recognize that the world has changed.
Practical Magic 2 is not a Great Film— it won’t win any accolades, it won’t be taught in cinema studies classes of the future, it is most certainly not highbrow or art. It feels more like fan fiction than a next chapter, failing to deliver in meaningful ways— from recasting Evan Rachel Wood’s Kylie, to sidelining Maisie Williams’s Antonia, to tossing in an unexpected villain in the final act. The magic is no longer subtle, but splashy and fantastical, and there’s much to be said about the ways in which these leading actresses have not been allowed to age like normal human beings that I found rather depressing, a sort of “uncanny valley” feeling that was jarring to see. Did I mention the clunky voice over in parts? Director Susanne Bier is apparently of the “tell, don’t show” school of filmmaking.
Simply put, it’s not as good as the original.
And yet…
I still enjoyed myself thoroughly. I attended with my mother, the matriarch of our family and a fellow hedge witch in her own right, and in an audience comprised entirely of women in pairs— sisters, friends, mothers and daughters, lovers— we allowed ourselves to be enchanted for just under 2 hours. I am a sucker for witchy content, and so the fan fiction-ifying of the Owens family is okay with me— I spent many, many hours imagining myself in the world as a child, as have countless other fans. It’s clear that the first movie has meant a lot to many people. So is it good, truly good? Not really. But let us fans have this one, please.
If nothing else, sit back and enjoy the house…
