Practical Magic 2

When it was released in 1998, the response to Practical Magic was mostly negative. But slowly this charmingly oddball supernatural comedy, with its zany characters and message of female empowerment, has found its tribe. Three decades on and the original has become a quirky, feminist gem from ‘90s Hollywood. Fans have been begging for a sequel for years, and now they finally have one. Who says magic isn’t real?

For this oh-so-legacy sequel, director Susanne Bier (Bird Box) has wrangled all the original Owenses, the witchy heroines of the original. They’re still living in that beautiful clapboard house in Massachusetts, and the curse they thought was broken – the one that sees any man they love die a tragic death – has continued. The cast is as stacked as ever: Gilly (Nicole Kidman), Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Aunt Jet (Dianne Wiest) all return. Even Stockard Channing has been conjured out of retirement to reprise her role as the sage and eccentric Aunt Fran. They are joined by a new younger generation of Owens sisters Antonia (Maisie Williams) and Kylie (Joey King) alongside new members of the coven who include Lee Pace – playing Ian Wright, the rugged, tattooed English professor of witchcraft – and Solly McLeod, as his brooding former apprentice. 

The plot revolves around Sally reconnecting with her witchy powers after decades of suppressing them, and a quest to break the curse that leads Sally, Gilly and Kylie to quaint olde England. 

The leads handle a fairly cheesy script with aplomb. As the tortured Sally, Bullock starts off with a permanent resting-witch-face that softens into something more heartening, and Kidman is flighty and fun as Gilly. Williams and King have strong chemistry, but aren’t given enough screen time together. 

It feels too polished to achieve the first movie’s cult status

The cinematography isn’t as successful. Gone are the saturated, sepia tones of the 1998 flick, replaced with the flat, Netflix-y lighting so many films are blighted with these days. It just doesn’t hit the same without all the glorious ‘90s outfits (although Kidman gets a number of lovely silky things to wear in this one). 

The first film delivered magical realism grounded in black comedy. In this one, the witchcraft itself is the thing, taking it firmly into the fantasy realm with not much to bring the story back to earth. There are quirky and funny parts, but it feels too polished, with its most sincere moments too cloying, to achieve its predecessor’s cult status. 

Still, Practical Magic 2 has a strong emotional core. Longtime fans will be delighted to see the reunion of the sisters and aunts, along with this new generation of Owens witches. And seeing three generations of women band together in the face of tragedy did have me reaching for the Kleenex at times. The real magic is in the female fronted-soundtrack, which features bracing tracks from Stevie Nicks, Olivia Rodrigo, Dusty Springfield and Lana Del Rey. 

It’s not going to bewitch audiences for decades to come, but Practical Magic 2 is still a cosy flick that puts sisterhood at its heart. 

In cinemas worldwide Fri Sep 11.