Review: ‘Practical Magic 2’ casts a familiar sisterly spell for a new generation

Odds are you or your astrology-guided aunt have had run-ins with the witchy Owens sisters of the original Practical Magic film, a sparkling cult classic that blessed our screens in the late ‘90s. For me, the movie came out the year I was born, so that magical run-in didn’t find me until years later, as a full-frontal-lobed adult. But like many cult classics of our time, that’s also the best part of their magic: That no matter when they might inevitably find you, and where in your life they meet you, the movie can still find somewhere true and personal to reach. And for the world of Practical Magic, that feeling remains their ultimate spell.

Watching as a woman in my twenties, Practical Magic taught me to always hug my sister a little tighter and to believe in the fierce powers of feminine intuition—no matter how many centuries of people have historically tried to sour it. And while Starbucks’ pumpkin spice lattes may disagree, the Owens witches have become a primary bat signal that the fall season has officially begun—with that first crunch of leaves beneath my feet ciphering a magical craving to visit the Owens sisters once again. And now, nearly three decades later, that autumn ritual is getting a nostalgic upgrade with the release of Practical Magic 2. 

Returning to the Owens family dynamic with all the familiar ingredients (and cast members), Practical Magic 2 picks up rhythmically similar to where we first met this ensemble in the first movie. The famous curse—which finds any man whom the Owens women love meeting their inevitable death—is still haunting, the ’90s skirts and dresses are still lavishly present, and Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian’s (Nicole Kidman) complicated sisterhood is still sweet. For better or worse, this older-sister sequel is casting old spells like a veteran who knows exactly what magic pulled audiences into this world the first time around.

But what’s new in Practical Magic 2 is that the Owens curse has now found its weight on younger generations, seen within Sally’s two daughters—Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams). Kylie remains the focal point of that burden in Part Two, while Antonia is a confusingly muted talent throughout the film. That’s unfortunate, as any Game of Thrones lover knows just how far Williams’ talents can reach.

Nonetheless, King’s portrayal of Kylie Owens brings an entertaining performance to the world of Practical Magic, after her college boyfriend tragically (and “fatefully,” as Sally might suggest) gets hit by a car. It’s in this central plot point that Practical Magic 2 seems to want to become something more than just a nostalgic return trip, gesturing toward generational questions like what happens when women inherit the curses of women before them and what that looks like when those parts have been otherwise suppressed and ignored.

And while a profound idea, the film never knows exactly what it wants to do with that conversation. Instead, it feels like it works almost too hard at trying to say something resonant in order to appeal to the multiple generations of viewers who have found love for the original film throughout the years. This results in a movie that doesn’t seem to know exactly what it wants to say at all, other than being a big bite into Hollywood’s nostalgia craving. 

I do wish Practical Magic 2 had delved deeper into what the famous Owens curse means for its new generation of women, but instead it feels like the movie gets stuck repeating the same structural issues that cursed the first movie. Which also could be weirdly symbolic, since the challenges of being a woman are still enduring. So maybe that is the point? It truthfully gave me a headache trying to figure out what this reboot might be trying to say, but about halfway through I decided to let go of whatever secret spell this movie might be trying to cast. And that’s when I actually started having fun with it.

Why this movie came back for a sequel is unclear, no matter how much I try to dig for meaning. But that circles back to one of the first film’s lessons: something has power only if we believe it does. Sometimes movies like this are more about the community that loves them than any other deeper meaning that may or may not exist.

In a political climate that often feels more determined to divide women than unite them, the roar of women laughing, crying, cheering, dressing up, and embracing each other at my New York City screening was proof that sisterhood is still, and always will be, an undying spell. So even if Practical Magic 2 does fail itself in plenty of ways—an obvious “how to end the curse” book, underwritten characters, and forced comedy bits—I’m willing to bet the magic this movie creates for the witchy sisters watching it surely won’t.