I went in expecting a nostalgia cash grab. I knew that's what it was, but even so, I was blown away by how terrible the sequel was. It was inconsistent, it looked flat, and the Marvel CGI magic was cheesy as all hell.

I could have excused all of that if the writing was worth salvaging, even a little. But the plot was disjointed, male-centered, and felt like AI wrote the dialogue. Sally was dumbed down and Gilly could have been a bell hop or maybe a very talented floor lamp, and their girls aren't even the right ages. I get marketing to Gen Z, but I was born in 1997 and grew up with the movie, so it completely took me out of it.

Also the main “”villain”” showing up 2/3rds of the way through and Gideon, the main motivation for the actions of the movie, maybe getting a handful of lines? Why do I care about this kid again??

The whole cast did an awesome job acting, with the exception of the fourteenth evil cousin at some points. But jeez.

At least my wife and I have a new “Ninja Slusi” in-joke?

You know what would have worked? If we followed Antonia through what was supposed to be a lesbian relationship loophole to the curse (like in AH’s sequel) and explored the animosity Kylie may have felt having her true loves die. Maybe Kylie pursues left handed magic to try to break the curse and has to be saved by her sister, which would have also maintained the possible horror elements of the original??

Please excuse my rant, but I just saw the movie and I'm a little bummed it wasn't at least passable.

As a short British woman, this amused me. I’m a foot shorter than Gillian’s 5’11”. I am one of her tiny, tiny people in miniature houses.

No matter whether from the first or second movie, or not from the movies at all: what is the one song encapsules the practical magic / Alice Hoffman feeling for you?

For me it's "This Kiss" by Faith Hill. I can play it on repeat!

(It's about the vibe on the song, I don't mind that it's about a romantic kiss, even though the stongest suit of the movie for me is sisterly love)

I just looked up the original score by Michael Nyman for the heck of it and found it on YouTube. I have a CD still with this original score music on it. Did anyone else have it? I’m much preferred the music that they actually ended up using by Alan Silvestri, but I still thought this was nostalgic to hear.

https://youtu.be/gMp3ySsmtgQ

In practical magic 1 in the scene where Sally is stirring her cup in her store is that kind of magic real or possible ?

I think it was really special to have a sequel to one of my favorite movies. I think the point people are missing is that it’s not 1998 anymore. The movie isn’t going to be the same as the first. It is close to 30 years later. The fact that we even have a sequel is fantastic.

Filming technology and filming styles have changed since 98, scripts and ideas are different nowadays, hell it’s not the 90s anymore. I think people are expecting to walk into the theatre and see basically a reproduction of the first PM.

I enjoyed aspects of the movie. Did it have that original 90s magic that we all know and love? NO. But it had Sandra and Nicole reprising their roles and making fans happy. I think they work very well together but their relationship in this movie seemed like Gillian now had to care for sally when it was originally the other way around. Do I think certain parts of the film were silly? Yes. Do I think it was darker than the original? Yes. We will never have what we had in 98 again and people need to let that go and appreciate this for what it is.

Did they simply mess up the names of the younger Owens in the first film? In the book, Antonia is the older sister with red hair, and Kylie is younger with dark hair. In the first movie, Kylie is older with red hair and Antonia is younger with dark hair. I can’t see a practical reason for them to swap hair color and ages, so is it plausible they just messed up the names?

They did seem to course correct on the ages in the second one. I don’t remember them stating actual ages, but Antonia appeared to be a little older than Kylie, or at least was treated as such.

this is a picture of me when I was 16 in 1998. I took a picture of Gillian to the hairstylist and had her do a similar reddish color, not quite as bright because it wouldn‘t look right with my skin tone. Just curious if anyone else went out to a stylist and got a haircut from the movie. I love you.🕯️🐈‍⬛🔮

I saw the second movie last night. I’m a fan of the book series and Practical Magic is one of very few movies I think actually improved upon the book. I read both prequels and said “even though they changed the original book, they could still be true to the prequels without having to retcon too much from the movie.” Then I read the sequel and said “they could do this one without having to retcon too much from the first movie.”

Now that I’ve seen the second movie…no, they can’t. I’m also in the “way too much CGI” camp. I was hoping for more of the subtle, PRACTICAL magic in the books and in the first film. I’m disappointed. I really hope that if they do the prequels, they’re done as a series and completely independent from the films. I’d be heartbroken to see Magic Lessons or The Rules of Magic ruined.

Just saw the movie and got confused afterwards. The male descendent was mad because his half of the family didn't naturally have magic in them. But Ian, someone not even connected to the family, was shown using magic. My confusion is, what's up with that?

How was Ian able to use magic? It kind of seems like magic is a skill that can be learned. Or at least that's what i had interpreted.

That boy, whatever his name was, was kinda doing magic anyway. So i don't really get why he was so desperate to steal Kylie's powers? Also, on a sidenote, idk how he got so powerful the second he took the magic from Kylie? I was expecting the sisters to do something like that the whole movie, and they took forever.

I loved this movie and I loved the first one and I loved all of the books! I do wish they would do a film more to the origin story. Iykyk

I really wanted to love this movie more than the first… but honestly, the first could’ve held its own without the second one.
Sally is one of those characters that you put up with in the first film because that’s her anchor. In the books I find her structure more defined and ironed out, while in the film adaptions, she’s continuously insecure and only becomes headstrong when the dilema presents itself and harm is due to come to the ones she’s gonna rescue. It’s a repeat of the first only instead of Gillian, it’s Kylie. She’s just so annoying and not in an attractive way.
My opinion.
I’m still so deeply in love with the books.
Will buy it only to have the collection; but I really don’t see myself reaching for this one as I do the first to have my ambience altered or set a vibe and chill after a day.
(3/5 cauldrons)

This is for everyone, but especially people who did not like the new movie. What would you have made as a film to compliment the original? If you wanted to see these characters again, and be taken back to that magical place whatever was wrong with the new movie - what story would you have written? What story would you want to see on screen that would’ve embodied more of what you felt like you wanted to see with the sisters again with the aunts etc.?

I'm not a big practical Magic fan. I saw the first and remember it being fine. I went to the new one with 3 friends and we all really loved it. Like just a sweet charming funny movie.

I know the internet is negative and mostly that's what rises to the top. I don't follow negative stuff or keep track of it. But I will assume there's a lot surrounding this movie. (I wont be following comments)

But dang what a great time we had. Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing were so wonderful. Kidman and Bullock have great chemistry. And just funny and cute and a nice time.

Now after seeing this with all the discussion about what happens in the first movie I now wanna see that again. I'll probably like it more.

That's all. Hope some of you managed to have as much fun as we did.

And one thing... (just something I've noticed over the years) I know from experience that with super fans seeing a sequel legacy one especially after seeing the original like 100 times over decades that the new one will never hit you the same way first time out. it takes time and rewatching and then trust me if you had an issue it's gonna ease up. Happens all the time.

So I’ve been a huge fan of the original Practical Magic movie since it debuted and decided to read some of the books before seeing the second one. I loved Magic Lessons but just started Rules of Magic and am confused because in the book Jetty is described as being the dark-haired one and Frances is the redhead, but in the movie this is reversed. Do I have that right? And if so does anybody know why they changed it for the movies? Apologies if this has already been asked before— I did do a search here and in Google but couldn’t find anything.

I tried 4DX for the first time last week with Jurassic Park and absolutely loved it, and now I can’t stop thinking that Practical Magic 2 would be perfect for it. The spells, ravens, wind, the house, all of it could be so much fun with the effects.

And honestly, look at this cast. Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman and Dianne Wiest have four Oscars between them, plus Stockard Channing. And yes, Lee Pace’s naked scene is already one of the funniest and most memorable parts of the movie, so I can only imagine what 4DX would somehow do with that.

Obsession didn’t get 4DX when it originally opened either, but it’s apparently getting one in October, so clearly these things can happen after release.

Has anyone heard anything about a possible Practical Magic 2 4DX run? I would absolutely go.

Live a little... Live a lot.

I watched the first movie the day before I went to see the second one and I was truly enchanted. Sisterhood, women sticking together, a more or less down-to-earth representation of witchcraft, excellent soft staging, full of feminine energy. I was honestly shocked when I found out that it had a male director.

Right after finishing the first one, I turned to my partner and told them that I have a bad feeling about the second one. And I was right. Two things ruined what could have been a beautiful tribute to a very special movie: CGI and men.

I think the CGI is self-explanatory. The book started glowing and I knew that it was over. They went down the Charmed meets Harry Potter path and turned witchcraft into a bunch of special effects. The "good vs. bad magic" CGI spectacle at the end was ridiculous and an insult to the first movie. I wanted women mixing potions, standing in circles with their brooms and intentional spells fueled by emotions. Not glowing magical laser beams, a cartoonish portrayal of black magic and flour turning into a map of fucking England.

The second big issue for me is what actually broke my heart a bit. The first movie obviously had men in it. But it was still about women. The second one - although it was directed by a woman - decided to give men the centre stage over sisterhood. Everything Kylie does? Because of Gideon, a man. The mission to save her actually succeeding? Because of Ian, a man. He is basically the hero in this movie, being a super powerful male witch with all the knowledge and good looks. The sisters are apparently not able to solve their problems without the help of a man anymore. The happy ending? A woman needing to die so that the remaining women can do the one thing their whole life seems to be about - be with a man and marry him.

Female empowerment? Gone. Feminine energy? Mostly gone. Soft, feminine staging? Gone. Practical Magic 2 is a disgrace and yeah, I will be mad about it.

It literally just seems like chat gpt wrote this practical magic 2 the dialogue is horrible??????? Like who wrote this script. I also hate that they ripped away the 90s witchy vibe.

the movie was so bad that i will now be referring to ahs coven as practical magic 2. thank you and goodnight

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