Practical Magic 2 Movie Review

“Practical Magic 2” is the sequel that has taken 28 years since the original “Practical Magic” to finally get made. The first one did not do all that well at first, but it developed a cult following. Will this continuing story of two sisters, who are both witches, cast a bigger better spell on movie audiences in this day and age?

The Owens sisters are living with the family Curse. Generations ago, their medieval ancestor started the Curse that follows even to this day. The women in the Owens family are doomed to fall in love, and then lose that man to a doomed early death. The original family Curse was born in England, but it came across to the United States.

The current sisters are Sally (played by Sandra Bullock) and Gilly (played by Nicole Kidman). After the first movie, these ladies are shown still living in the large New England house owned by their Aunt Jet (played by Dianne Wiest) and Aunt Franny (played by Stockard Channing). These are all women who were in the first movie.

Sally has two daughters — Kylie (played by Joey King) and Toni (played by Maisie Williams). Because Sally dealt with the tragic loss of their father, her loving husband, she swore to teach these girls nothing about the ‘witchy’ side of the family. Her sister Gilly also agreed to keep this part of the family secret. The eccentric Aunts did all they could, but they would still cook up a spell or two.

Aunt Jet is very secretive about a special book of spells. This book might hold the key to getting rid of the Curse. But there is a dreaded ‘death-beetle’ that makes its way to Jet. This lets her know that her time is about to be over. Jet wants to have Aunt Franny take over the research after Jet is gone.

Kylie knows nothing about the Owens family Curse. This would doom any man that an Owens woman fell in love with. She does not think it is a problem to tell her boyfriend Gideon (played by Xolo Maridueña) that she has fallen in love. Except that Gideon gets hit by the Owens Curse. And also by a minivan! Toni works at the hospital where she studies medicine. Now Kylie has a reason to be there as much and her sister.

Sally and Gilly finally come clean to the young women. They explain that they did not want Toni and Kylie to be worried about all the difficult times to come. Especially if they knew they were also witches. Kylie is furious, and gets visions of an answer to the Curse. But it is back in England. She leaves without explaining where is going.

Aunt Franny tells Sally that there is very wise professor in England. Gilly and Sally want to see if this scholar can help to find Kylie. They travel to London in pursuit of the missing daughter. They meet up with Ian Wright (played by Lee Pace), who might be able to help them. It seems he has had past experiences in learning a darker side of the conjuring world.

Sally has restricted her internal ‘witchy’ instincts in order to protect the young girls. But now it seems she must let Ian Wright help her to embrace her inmost ‘witch’ skills again. That way she can locate and help Kylie. Sally has become frumpy and fidgety, because she refuses to let herself get attached. Gilly is quite the opposite. She is free and frisky, ready to embrace all that life has to offer.

Toni is still left behind at the hospital, looking after Gideon and catching up with witchcraft lessons from Aunt Franny. But over in England, Kylie meets up with a person named Thomas Lockland (played by Solly McLeod). This is a descendant of the original owner of Lockwood Manor. It was at this place the original ‘Owens Curse’ was created.

Maybe with the help from Thomas, Kylie thinks she can investigate the origins of the Curse. Maybe she will be able end it. But with Ian’s help, Sally and Gilly are not that far behind. There are things that come to light — and these throw doubt on how much trust they can put into Ian. Kylie does not have any background in seeing that there is very Dark Side that is coming after her.

This ‘Owens Curse’ has been active for centuries. It has ruined many lives, and killed off many husbands. Can Sally and Gilly find a way to be strong enough to overcome this Curse? Are these Dark Powers that try to hinder them come from Ian? Or are they coming from somebody else? If there is a way to end this Curse once and for all, will it require a sacrifice?

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“Practical Magic 2” is a moderately decent movie in terms of performances. The bond of sisterhood between Sally and Gilly is believable. The older Aunt sisters, Franny and Jet, also seem to really care for one another. The young women, Toni and Kylie, have a sense of chemistry together. Also, there is a lot of energy in the performance of Ian Wright (Lee Pace).

Sandra Bullock falls back into her ‘Sally’ character with ease. She makes Sally uptight and anxious, but is very funny way. Nicole Kidman knows how to play ‘Gilly’ as a free-spirited lady who plays fast and loose with her emotions. Getting these two paired up with Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing (all from the initial movie) was a ‘charmed’ idea.

However, the tedious plot that breaks up these characters into groups that usually are far from each other is a let-down. The ‘magic potion’ that keeps the plot energized takes too many twists and turns to make it consistent. Some people are in the States, and some are in England. The ones in England still are broken into different groups. Then there is poor Gideon, who is kept around to be in a coma.

Setting this movie so many years after the first one, it seems many people might not remember if they liked the original. The initial release did not make a huge splash. But it went and generally built up an audience year after year. But, like the first one, this has strong performances and the chemistry between the all the lead players makes a big difference.

“Practical Magic 2” – Two sisters, who happen to be witches, looking for romance. Tag Line: “Nothing says lovin’ like two Sisters in a Coven…”