I didn't see Practical Magic when it opened in theaters back in 1998. In truth, not many people did go to see this adaptation of Alice Hoffman's bestselling novel, about two New England sisters whose supernatural powers wreak havoc on their love lives.
But over the nearly three decades since, the film, directed by Griffin Dunne, has found an intensely loyal audience via cable and streaming — and on airplanes, to judge by the number of times I've seen it pop up on in-flight video screens. Catching up with Practical Magic myself a couple of years ago, I was charmed by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman's winsome chemistry and by the film's arresting stew of genres, from romantic comedy to domestic-abuse melodrama to undead horror.
Back in 1998, a lot of critics dismissed the movie as tonally incoherent. Decades later, it feels pretty daring in its embrace of both darkness and light — and prescient in its vision of women coming together, whether to overthrow the forces of evil or to kick back with some midnight margaritas. Or both.
Like the 1993 movie Hocus Pocus, a very different tale of witchy sisters that became an unlikely occult classic, Practical Magic has accrued enough goodwill to spawn a mildly enjoyable sequel that's bigger on fan service than freshness. In Practical Magic 2, which is based on Hoffman's 2021 novel The Book of Magic, Bullock and Kidman return as sisters Sally and Gillian Owens. They're still living with a centuries-old family curse that has an inconvenient habit of striking down any man they fall in love with.
Sally, who's already lost two husbands to the curse, has given up magic altogether, hoping to keep future tragedies at bay. She hasn't even told her now-grown daughters, Kylie and Antonia, that they're witches — to the chagrin of the freer-spirited Gillian.
The truth comes out soon after Kylie, played by Joey King, professes her love for her adorable boyfriend, Gideon; he's promptly hit by a car and slips into a coma. Kylie is furious at Sally for her deception and hellbent on breaking the curse and saving Gideon's life. Through a complicated series of events, involving a mysterious spellbook that's tied to the Owens family's magical legacy, Kylie impulsively jets off to England in search of answers, with Sally and Gillian in hot pursuit. In a charmingly rustic village, the sisters meet a local authority on witchcraft named Ian, played by a dashing Lee Pace, who tries to get Sally to reclaim the powers that she long ago renounced.
Practical Magic 2 was directed by the Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier, who previously worked with Bullock on the Netflix thriller Bird Box. Bier's assignment here is pretty straightforward: Mostly, she stays out of the way so that two of America's most beloved actresses can slip back into their characters' familiar, lovingly bickersome dynamic.
They're as fun to watch as ever; Kidman's caution-to-the-wind energy still bounces nicely off Sally's tightly wound exasperation. It's also a pleasure to see Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing reprise their roles as Sally and Gillian's wise old aunts. Even in their twilight years, they have a lot of wry wisdom and even a few intriguing surprises to impart to their nieces.
And, of course, their grand-nieces, who, as characters, are more of a mixed bag. I must confess a certain exasperation of my own when it comes to stories about impetuous youth, and I lost my patience pretty early on with Kylie as she foolishly hurls herself into a world of supernatural terrors that she has no idea how to navigate.
I'd like to have seen more of her younger sister, Antonia, a diligent doctor who spends most of the movie in a hospital room, looking after the unconscious Gideon. Given that Antonia is played by Maisie Williams, who was the formidable Arya Stark in Game of Thrones, it's startling that she isn't given more to do — especially in a movie that, at 130 minutes, runs far longer than its predecessor.
Too much of Practical Magic 2 is given over to a grindingly mechanical mystery plot that takes forever to unravel, though the climax is never in doubt: In order to prevail, Sally, Gillian and Kylie will have to put their differences aside, interact with some flashy visual effects and reassert the family bonds that unite them.
Unsurprisingly, Sally will also have to open herself up to the possibility of love again, given the sparks that fly between her and Ian. For their sake, you can't help but root for the Owens women to break the spell that's haunted them for decades, even if the curse of the Hollywood sequel, in this instance, proves a lot harder to shake off.
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