Gideon Gets the Extended Stay Treatment in Practical Magic 2
A sequel built on cult following goodwill, the same as Hocus Pocus.
From the Cheap Seats — What’s That?
I use an A-List membership to see movies — up to four a week for $26 a month. That means I’m not paying $18 a ticket, and I have zero financial obligation to be nice about anything I watch. “From the Cheap Seats” is my running commentary track: the things I was thinking in real time that didn’t make it into the recap but absolutely needed to go somewhere.
Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) are back, and as you may have guessed … still cursed.
If you’re like me, you probably thought hoped Gary made it past the curse, but, in retrospect, I guess they never said the curse was broken when we last left the Owens sisters.
At the start of Practical Magic 2, they definitely let us know for certain … Gary is dead.
He didn’t survive the curse, and Sally can’t deal with the heartbreak, so … she’s done with magic … again. And done with love … also again. Only this time, she’s gone as far as wiping her daughters’ memories, so they don’t know they’re witches at all. Because that always ends well.
While Sally is working at the library (what happened to the apothecary shop?), and planning Aunt Jay’s not so surprise party, Aunt Jay is sneaking around and grabbing hot raven books from a secret nook. That’s hot as in to the touch, and hot as in she stole it and took it home to leave for Aunt Fran, but more on that later.
Back at home, Sally and Gillian are in the kitchen whipping up a fantastic looking birthday feast, while Aunt Fran thumbs through the stolen book to discover how to break the Owens’ curse. Unfortunately, she can’t get the pages to pull apart. Whomp, whomp. She gives up the book endeavor because she’s run out of time … literally and figuratively.
She goes down to join the rest of the family, and we learn the death beetle has been chirping around, signifying this will be her last meal and moments to share with her family.
After her death, they have a gathering at the house where Kylie shows up with her longtime boyfriend, Gideon, which sends Sally into a bit of panic. Well earned, considering Kylie and Gideon share “I love yous” later that evening, which all but seals his faith. The next morning, while on a very familiar bike ride through town, he’s hit by a vehicle and … goes into a coma.
From the Cheap Seats
Not going to lie, no one else seemed to get the extended stay treatment, where it was possible some fix could have been found if they could just hold on long enough. Everyone else died instantly. As heartbroken as Sally was after the first, you’d think she would have tried harder the second go round, but … what do I know.
After Gideon’s predicted by all but her accident, Kylie learns what she really is, and as you may have guessed, she doesn’t take it too well. She storms off, stealing the book Aunt Jay left for Aunt Fran, and eventually ends up in England in search of a way to end the curse and save Gideon’s life. Sally and Gillian follow, where they meet up with Ian, a professor Aunt Fran tells them to find once they’re there.
Ian appears to be paralyzed with some sort of black magic curse that’s been placed upon him. With her magic hidden away, Sally isn’t of much help, so Gillian uses her magic to free Ian, who eventually uses his magic to set Sally’s magic free. While this is going on, Kylie is loitering around Lockland Manor in Thornfield Village, Maria Owens’ birthplace, and finds Tom.
We learn Tom is a guy who’s spent years studying magic and believes it’s owed to him by blood. He encourages Kylie to pursue breaking the curse to save her boyfriend, but really, he’s waiting to take what Kylie has for himself.
Being able to sense her, Sally and Gillian also travel to Thornfield Village with Ian. At this point, we can feel the connection between Sally and Ian (why doesn’t Gillian ever get a real love interest?), but she’s approaching that situation with much trepidation given the circumstances. I mean, can you blame her?
They make their way to Tom’s house and find some pretty suspicious things dealing with black magic. They also find a picture with Tom and Ian, learning Tom was Ian’s protege, which leads them to think he’s a bad guy, so they knock him unconscious and make a run for it to save Kylie.
Good thing because, back at Lockland Manor, Kylie is continuing to show her lack of street smarts by reading a spell that Tom has pointed out to her. You’d think the way he went from being a bit unsure of things to correcting her pronunciation while casting the spell would have been a clue he wasn’t exactly who he was purporting to be, but … nope. At least not until it was too late.
Tom knocks Kylie out, ties her up, and puts her in the star of fire to be burned to a crisp, just like Hannah Owens, Maria Owens’ mom.
Kylie comes to just in time to hear Tom mansplain how she’s taken her gift for granted, doesn’t deserve it, and he knows how to use it. Of course, he plans to use it to make everyone who was/has been/is mean to him pay … typical.
He pierces her in the heart with a needle, and starts absorbing her life force magic as Sally and Gillian creep up from the back.
From the Cheap Seats
I was quite confused why they both stood back there watching as though they couldn’t hear him nor see the epidural length needle in his hand as he waltzed toward Kylie. Like … what are you doing? You came all the way here to save your daughter, just to stand there and watch someone kill her. Okay, I guess.
Eventually, Sally comes from the shadows, and Tom throws her around like a rag doll before she gains the strength they say mothers get when their child is in danger, and is able to hold him off long enough to lock hands with Gillian and Kylie (a la Practical Magic, the original) to defeat him.
Before they return to Massachusetts, Sally finds Ian in a pub, where she apologizes for knocking him out, and they stare longingly into each other’s eyes, while Sally lets him know it can never happen because when the pages unstuck on Aunt Jay’s book, they learned a witch has to give her life to defeat the curse. Oof.
Just when we thought no one would possibly volunteer as tribune, back across the pond, Aunt Fran has decided her time is up. She swipes the book from Kylie’s book bag and goes on a walk into the lake where she meets up with ghost Aunt Jay before they all disappear into witch dust. Simultaneously, Gideon awakens, and all is right with the world.
Fast forward a year, Gideon and Kylie marry, Sally and Ian kiss, and Sally, Gillian, Kylie, and the daughter who may as well have not even existed, Antonia descend from the roof with their umbrellas.
What actually works
Bullock and Kidman still have the chemistry that made the original worth revisiting on cable for 25 years. The England setting gives the movie the change of scenery it needed, and the sisterhood from the three different generations gives you the nostalgia you’re looking for. When Sally and Gillian realize they’re the aunts now, it leaves you with a bit of a smile seeing how things have come full circle.
What doesn’t
Some reviewers have called it unnecessary franchise expansion leaning on source material that wasn’t that strong to begin with, and I don’t think that’s a completely unfair assessment. The pacing sags exactly where it can’t afford to, in the stretch where Tom needed to feel like a real threat instead of a plot device that shows up because the story needed one. The stakes feel more procedural than earned this time around, like the movie is checking curse related boxes instead of building new tension.
So should you watch it
If you loved the original, yes, watch it, but lower your expectations slightly. If you’ve never seen the first one, you don’t need to watch it first, but some blanks will definitely remain empty without doing so. For instance, you’re definitely wondering who Maria Owens is right about now.
The Verdict
It’s a sequel built on cult following goodwill, the same as Hocus Pocus. Unlike Hocus Pocus, I feel like they did a better job with the follow up. Even with that said, I think this would be lovely to watch in October once it likely hits home streaming options, snuggled up in bed after watching the first one.
The Rowd Rating
★★☆☆☆
2 out of 5 — the nostalgia is there, and I even shed a tear at the deaths of Aunt Fran and Aunt Jay, but the story probably didn’t need to be continued.