After the screening: Practical Magic 2

It hasn’t been long since I started going to the movies again. Since moving to Canada, I’ve only been to the cinema four times: Ready or Not 2, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The End of Oak Street, and Practical Magic 2. Except for the third film, I find it funny that all the others have been sequels and, honestly, I don’t regret going to see any of them.

Practical Magic is one of my favorite movies of all time. I’ve watched it more times than I could ever count, and when I saw the trailer for the second one at the cinema… that was all it took for me to start counting down the days until its release. Back when I still wrote fanfiction, I always, always, always wanted to write something inspired by this movie, but I could never come up with a story that felt good enough to do justice to what it means to me.

I have to admit, I was surprised by how many people wouldn’t want to live in the Owens sisters’ house. How is Practical Magic considered such a bad movie? The actresses are beautiful and talented, the story is fun and interesting, and the cinematography is so cozy! I swear, when the reviews and ratings for the first movie started resurfacing after the second one came out, the shock burst a bubble I didn’t even know I was living in.

That said, I get it. You can’t please everyone and blah, blah, blah.

But you, who probably watched the movie when you were a little girl too, never tried to light a candle by blowing on it? Never imagined the perfect man or woman and wished you could write a spell under a full moon to make that person come to you? Maybe even dreamed of living in the little town where the movie takes place? Because I certainly did!

When I recently rewatched the original, though, I realized that beyond all the magic of the movie - which can so easily enchant any child - what really stands out is the relationship between the Owens. Love and friendship, if those two things can even be separated in the way they’re portrayed here, are present across all three generations.

The duos of Bridget and Frances, Sally and Gillian, and Kylie and Antonia may differ both physically and in personality, but I can’t imagine anything ever coming between them and destroying the sisterhood and connection that all three pairs share. They can disagree, grow apart, and be completely different from one another, but there’s this invisible force between them that never lets them drift too far apart. I remember this scene close to the ending being my favorite part, when that love between them is made so beautifully clear.

"Don't die on me, Gillian Owens, please. 'Cause we're supposed to die together, remember?" Sally Owens

And, really, it was almost impossible to imagine one without the other. Maybe that’s why, when Warner Bros. decided to bring them all back, my desire to be a witch was reignited, along with my urge to learn more spells. But what I missed most of all was seeing such a beautiful bond between two women, sisters and best friends who are each other’s first priority.

In Practical Magic 2, that was exactly what I wanted to see: my little witches being sisters and doing magic together. And I can happily say, with a huge sigh of relief, that the movie did not disappoint me in that regard.

Sandra and Nicole are still unquestionably talented actresses and, to me, it doesn’t even feel like they left these roles for so long. The same can be said of Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing, who remain just as incredible.

But the new additions? Well…

Of the things that were lost between the two movies, I’d say that connection between the sisters across all three generations was one of them.

I didn’t find Kylie and Antonia to be as connected as they could have been, or as they were when they were kids. Of course, they’re adults now. Antonia works at a hospital; Kylie has her life with her boyfriend, but I felt like something was missing there. Something that showed that the sisterhood and loyalty that run in their family’s blood would continue for a long time.

Unfortunately, the film’s climax makes this loss painfully clear.

I even commented to my friend during the screening about how much Sally’s youngest daughter was left out, especially when she could have been given so much more to do. And I don’t blame Joey King or Maisie Williams for that. Joey actually surprised me. Maisie? I thought she was… meh. But is that her fault, or the script’s? For now, I’m blaming the writing.

Why did she have to stay behind with her sister’s injured boyfriend? She missed the biggest opportunity of her life to do something extraordinary with her powers. To watch her mother and aunt use theirs. It would have been so much more interesting to see Sally and Gillian teach her how to sense her sister, especially since Sally herself could no longer do it.

I wanted to see mother, aunts, and daughters doing magic together. I wanted that connection I saw in the first movie to be there too, only now between women who had grown up, changed, and still chose each other.

Still, the sequel didn’t disappoint me overall. The references to the first movie gave my heart that lovely little flutter. Gillian has matured so much without losing her essence. Most of the jokes were actually funny. I even cried toward the end when we got that beautiful sacrifice to break the curse… some decisions were really well made.

But, technically speaking, there were a few aspects of the movie that didn’t quite work for me. I found the soundtrack all over the place, with no real sense of cohesion. The lens used in some scenes left the images looking distorted. Some scenes could have been significantly shorter. And the biggest complaint I’ve seen so far: Where’s the contrast? Where are the shadows? Where are the colors? The lack of all that took away some of the coziness of the movie. But what really annoyed me the most was the way they handled the cuts referencing the Book of the Raven or the past. I found them tacky, ugly, and honestly, even unnecessary.

As for the story itself, it was a little more of the same. Men being at the center of everything. Some annoying guy wanting something he had no right to have. I bet they could have found other ways for him to become a witch, or simply given him a different desire altogether. But I don’t know if that’s how it happened in the book, and if it is, well… What can you do, right?

In the end, if you loved the first movie, I find it hard to imagine you not loving the second. Despite a few things (nothing is ever perfect), it takes you right back to that same place your younger self visited when you first watched Gillian and Sally. Especially when you hear the first notes of Amas Veritas again.

Practical Magic is a classic afternoon movie for me, and it’s exactly the kind of familiar, fun, and lighthearted movie I love watching (and writing). Being back in that iconic kitchen, in the garden, and in the Owens sisters’ greenhouse was such a joy. I don’t regret seeing it on opening night one bit. I laughed, I cried, and I raised a toast to that little girl who once wanted to write that spell herself, or stir a cup of coffee with her own magical powers.

If you haven’t seen it yet and want something to take your mind off things, have a few laughs, or simply spend two hours with a whole bunch of gorgeous women on your screen, what are you waiting for? We have a roof to climb and a crowd waiting to watch us jump off it.