The Mosley Review: Practical Magic 2

And so continues the trend of making a sequel to a fan favorite film 20 plus years later. As you all know, there are some successful and well written sequels that truly evolve the characters once they reunite and few have payoffs to story arcs that were left open. Then of course there are those that were made just to slam characters together once again in a nonsensical story that has no fathomable reason for existing. Well, this film sits right in the middle, but leans more toward the latter. The first Practical Magic was a great 90's film that had all the correct ingredients needed for it to be empowering, spiritual, and charming as it became a generational event for many women around the world. There was a jovial narrative that wasn't afraid to explore the darkness and consequences of a certain lifestyle. Now comes a sequel that I was partially interested in seeing, but something told me this wasn't gonna have anything that made the first film standout. Unfortunately I was right. The fun and emotional reunion was cut short once the plot or plots stepped forward, but were immediately pushed back by the constant horrible filler dialogue, unfocused objectives and lack of urgency. This film really didn't know what to do with its characters and that was a real shame.

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as the loveable Owens sisters, Sally and Gillian. Their chemistry was fantastic and truly the reason you came to see the film. I did like that Sally was trying to live a normal life while fighting the connection with the supernatural. Gillian continues to be the fun sister rebellious aunt. And therein lies the problem with the characters. While Sally has regressed, Gillian never progressed as a character. As the plot progresses, they become the matriarchs of the family, but they never really step up to the plate until the last shot of the film. I found myself annoyed by how much fumbling around Sally does as Gillian rarely takes things seriously and just repeats everything Sally or other characters just said. I do love the banter between each other, but it got so tiresome halfway through the film. I really wished these two matured more as characters. Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest return as the Owens aunts Frances and Bridget and they were so lovely and they carried the most emotional weight of the film. The four of them together again was great to witness once again. Joey King and Maisie Williams join the cast as the Sally's daughters, Kylie and Antonia. Both were really good together as they felt more like bestfriends instead of sisters which was great either way. Kylie truly takes the spotlight as her romantic story is almost a direct mirror to her mother's as she begins to discover the truth about her family. Antonia unfortunately gets the shortest end of the narrative stick as she had really nothing to do. There was an opportunity to play with a thematic element of magic vs medicine that was barely touched upon with her. Lee Pace is always great and as the warlock, Ian Wright, he was fantastic. Through him, the story opens up the world to more possibilities when it comes to the study of magic and I enjoyed that momentary exploration. The chemistry between him and Sally was off the charts and played into the slight romantic aspect of the film.

The score by composer Rupert Gregson-Williams was serviceable as it brought out the more magical and emotional tones of the film. Rupert brings back Alan Silvestri's theme and uses it wisely and evolves it to fit the more connective moments of the family. When I say this film had terrible dialogue, I mean its the repeating of the of another characters’ words and certain place holder words like "yeah, yeah" or "umm, okay, umm" that drove me up the wall. At times I even wondered if there was even a script at all because everything felt improvised. Also, there is an unnecessary running gag with luggage that had no payoff and I couldn't stand how much it was used for comedy. This film really just felt like it was at war with itself on what type of film it wanted to be. After the first 20 minutes or so, it tries to be a coming of age story, romance driven quest that also wants to force you to recognize the whimsy. Some might like this film, but overall, I think this wasn't the worst case scenario for a sequel, but it was a sad and disappointing one. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!