Director: Susanne Bier
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, Lee Pace, Maisie Williams, Xolo Maridueña, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing
Screenplay: Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett, Kelly Marcel
130 mins. Rated PG-13 for some violent content, suggestive material and brief strong language.

In recent years, the trend of turning one-off classic or cult films into a twofer has become more popular, bringing out a franchise birthing off an 80s or 90s hit that couldn’t get off the ground in its own time. Practical Magic seems, on the surface, to be a far more unlikely choice for a legacy sequel, but having been based on a series of books and in a time of more accessible fantasy fare, there’s the possibility for greatness, and the sequel does offer up a bookending of the story started in the original, though it repeats a number of familiar elements and doesn’t seem destined to bring in new fans.

The Owens sisters, Sally (Sandra Bullock, The Proposal) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman, Eyes Wide Shut) once believed that they had ended the curse that kills any man they love, but when Sally’s second husband dies unexpectedly, she swears off magic (for her and her daughters) for good. Now, her oldest daughter Kylie (Joey King, Bullet Train) has fallen in love, and the curse has struck again, leaving her boyfriend in a coma. Kylie’s off to Europe when she believes she can finally break the curse, which leaves Sally and Gillian to follow her. Along the way, they befriend the magical academic Ian Wright (Lee Pace, Guardians of the Galaxy) who may be able to help them find Kylie…if he can be trusted.

Practical Magic 2 is very similar to the recent Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in that both films were long-gestating genre sequels that manage to nicely compliment the original films, making each into respectful franchise continuations and perfect one-two double-features. For all its faults, Practical Magic 2 does feel like a logical continuation of the first, picking up with the characters close to the first film’s ending, catching viewers up to the events in the interim, and the tone and energy matches the original and the time frame of its release. I love that it gives more time to the daughters (well, one of them), and it gives more attention to Aunt Jet (Dianne Wiest, Edward Scissorhands) and Aunt Frances (Stockard Channing, Grease), who I assumed would get swept under the rug for this follow-up. In fact, I think I was most fascinated by the character arcs of Jet and Frances and I wish we had even more time with them in the forefront.

Bullock and Kidman still have great chemistry, and I was surprised at how much the inclusion of Lee Pace added to the dynamic. He initially seemed rather out of place, but the three of them on an adventure together really worked, which should shock any fan of Pace’s. He has excellent romantic chemistry with Bullock’s Sally, though the narrative working a bit too hard to prove that. There’s a conversation between the two in which Pace’s character laments that, “We’re all just pallbearers of our ancestor’s pain” that is particularly lovely.

What’s most disappointing about Practical Magic 2 is the screenplay’s reliance on rehashing old plot threads and the rather bloated run time. There’s a moment early on where Sally states that any good story changes the character from how it begins to how it ends, but then they immediately negate the ending of the original movie. I think placing these interpersonal relationships could have been explored just as well with a new story instead of rehashing elements of the original’s plot. Even so, it’s only a noticeable problem because, following a lovely and emotional opening act, the pacing slows to a crawl. Now, the first film had an unusual pacing as well, but there was so much going on for the whole of the run time, but the sequel plays a bit too familiarly to require a two-plus hour run time.

Practical Magic 2 doesn’t have enough magic to win over new fans, but there’s a good enough time to be had for returning viewers with nostalgia for the original. It furthers the characters and has plenty of following up on the Owens family again. It recycles a bit much from the original and is way too long for its own good, but I still had a good enough time with it, and I feel like it will pair nicely with the original film for a good spooky season double-feature.

3/5
-Kyle A. Goethe