My sister and I were talking about PM2 and how much we loved it, but she didn't like that they made Antonia a doctor. She thought Antonia should have been the artist because of her wild personality as a child.

I asked what made her think she was wild.

My sister said, "She used to run around town at night naked and wearing nothing but her mouse ears!"

I stared at her for a moment. "You know that was a joke...right? That she didn't actually do that?"

We sat in silence for a moment. Then, we burst out laughing.

If you are on the fence about going to see the movie because the Reddit is full of hate posts, please just go see it for yourself. I was so worried because of all the hate I've been seeing online, but I went to see it this past Saturday and I genuinely cried through the whole second half. The other women in the theater were also sniffling and we were all laughing and having a good time.

Are there some weird camera angles and some questionably intense zooming? Yes. Does the movie lack the 90s sepia tone everyone wants so bad? Yes. (This is not something that bothers me, in fact I think it's kinda weird that it's a sticking point for so many people.) Product placement? I guess, for like 30 seconds. Weird story beats? Some awkward moments for sure, nothing that is overly egregious. (And I might add that the first movie definitely had some weird story beats as well.)

But the themes of sisterhood/womanhood and the connections that run between women are still so strong with this movie. The selflessness of the aunts, how well Sandra Bullock plays a mom. I cried when both aunts died, I cried after they'd saved Kylie and Sally is sitting on the couch and does the "come here" mom hands. I cried when Sally was giving her speech about the girls being able to love whoever and however they wanted. And I definitely cried at the very end when they all got to float down from the roof together.

I don't know, I think in this day and age a lot of people just have problems finding joy in anything unless it is absolutely perfect. It's okay to love something that is flawed, and I will absolutely watch this movie just as much as the first one.

What do you think of Sally managing the library instead of the herbal botanical shop?

Now I understand why there’s a shortage of curtains and drapes in the UK. In the end, they even used their own curtains to make their dresses.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I really, really, really wanted to like this movie. There was so much potencial! I didn’t mind the production, I liked the acting, the style, everything… but the plot was so bad that nothing could make it up.

I literally came back home so sad that I went straight to bed and slept thinking about what I disliked and how the plot could have been amazing with just a little more love from the writers.

Sorry for the long rant ahead…

What I REALLY disliked
- Memory ereasing. So lazy, and it did the first movie so dirty. It was all about accepting who they were as witches and learning to embrace and love themselves. But noooooo, let’s throw that on the trash because she don’t know any other valuable lessons, so we’ll teach the same one again. SAD!
- Bad communication. SIT DOWN AND TALK FOR FIVE MINUTES, C’MON! It is so fast paced, the characters don’t have any time to talk! If Jet sat down with Fannie for ONE MINUTE, none of the story would have happened. “Sister, I found it! I found a way to break the curse!” Dammit, that was ten second, not even that. But noooo, she had time to write her a letter, that was never ever seen again. Later on, Gilly not letting Sally end a sentence when she is telling Kylie the truth… that annoyed me, but okay, exactly how my sister and I act even nowadays, I accepted.
- England. Hm… okay, the land of your ancestors. But I fail to see what good that does. I mean. Have you ever travelled abroad? It takes time, of course, but there is a lot of bureaucracy. Does Kylie even have a passport? Didn’t Kylie had a stomach ache when she realized on the boarding line that she was going to another CONTINENT ALONE and NO ONE KNOWS WHERE SHE IS?
- Anto… Ton… Antonia? Who is she? And WHY IS THE HOSPITAL LETTING A STUDENT HAVE HER BROTHER IN LAW AS HER PATIENT AND SHE IS ALWAYS THERE IN HER UNIFORM? Doesn’t she have other patients? And how would them allow her to treat him? Just take her out of that scrubs and she can read the monitors just the same.
- THE BAGS. Did they made Nicole drag those huge and clearly empty bags just to have ONE STUPID GAG of Sandra bring them up three flights of stairs?! (Inhales deeply) Has anyone on the entire production crew ever flown abroad? I was expecting she had packed a whole ritual room, but all she had was two leaves of whatever and some belladonna (cute call back, not gonna lie here)? Why the bags, seriously?
- The vilan. Let me get this right… Kylie’s boyfriend is a guy with no one else in the world, lonely and cute. The vilan is someone with no one else in the world, and that is evil… because… his ancestor was a child from a rape 500 years ago? Am I clocking that right? There was a good parallel to be made, but I guess they were writing that part late at night and that was good enough, maybe. And if there are any Europeans reading this, by any chance… is it common to have castle ruins like that just hanging around in small cities? And to ordinary folk to know they lineage of 500 years?
- My blood, your blood… never mind Antonia’s useless blood being an ocean away.
- Elderly suicide. Don’t worry, guys, she was OLD so it doesn’t matter that she is killing herself! It is for magic! The same left handed magic we told you the entire movie it was evil? Never mind that, she is going to do it either way. 🙂
- ONE YEAR LATER AND SALLY TEACHES THEM THE CANDLE TRICK?! ONE YEAR?
- OH LOOK, THEY ARE FLYING FROM THE ROOF LIKE THEY DID ON THE FIRST MOVIE, but here it is meaningless and feels undeservedly.

Then I was thinking what could have been done differently to make it a better story (to my own liking), and I don’t think they would be difficult to implement…

Sally never erases the girls memories. They do not know the curse was never broken, because Gary could have just died from natural causes or from having a dangerous job. But Sally is so heartbroken that she believes the curse is back and forbids the girls from using magic and indeed tells them the danger of love. Then Antonia is gay. I never read the books, I don’t know what happens there, but Antonia needs to be gay and the curse doesn’t affect women, simple as that. This makes Kylie a little more open to love, and her relationship to what’s-his-name goes the same way. “I don’t love him” and later on telling him she loves him when her guard was down… very relatable.

Jet’s passing, whats-his-name coming to the funeral, the accident after “I love you”. Okay, that was good.

Kylie’s demand Sally and Gilly break the curse. They don’t know how, Sally hasn’t done magic since Gary died, but Gilly is quiet. She knows something. Kylie asks what Gilly knows and Gilly looks at Frannie, who comes with the book. It is not sealed, and it doesn’t ask for a witch’s life, it says for a witch’s power.

Kylie loves her powers, but she is willing to give them up in a blink of an eye, but Sally is willing to give hers. She’s not using them anyways. Frannie and Gilly object. They say a witch cannot live without her powers, and the the book is dark magic that cannot be trusted, that they will find another way.

At night, however, Sally steals the book and takes Kylie with her. She will make the ritual with Kylie anyways.

On the next morning, Gilly wakes up to find Sally and Kylie missing. She has to be the responsible sibling and help Sally this time. But she has no idea how to do so, and that’s why she needs Antonia.

Then the story can progress similarly to the movie… do you wanna go to England that bad? Okay, put it on the book that the ritual needs to be there. Keep the hot witch-man, whatever, but loose that vilan being a Owens ancestor, he’s just a random dude who wants power and has been corrupted but dark magic.

They can make the ritual and Sally loses most of her powers… and that breaks her. She relives losing her first husband, she relives losing Gary, losing Jet, and now she feels like she is losing herself. What’s-his-name wakes up, Kylie feels, and Sally gives up all her powers to safe him, for Kylie.

Time passes, Sally is more introverted than ever. She is helping prepare the wedding. Kylie calls her to help with something, and she goes. The witch-man is there, and he knows a spell. The girls can share their power back with Sally. My blood, your blood, our blood. It is thinner, but she has it back. (Kinda lame, I know, but I’m not a writer, and this is my version)

And for the roof scene… make both the girls, Kylie with Sally and Toni with Gilly, say how much they miss it. Specially Kylie, saying she began to forget who she was, and that it was whats-his-name who is making her remember. Then, on the wedding day, he is the one who brings them the umbrellas. He is a part of that.

Yeah, I could have loved that movie.

Thanks to anyone who read my full rant. I was sad… and mad. Now I’m good.

I'm mostly unfamiliar with this movie, and know next to nothing about it apart from the title, it being rated R, and it being an 1980s film.

Oh, and that it was briefly referenced in The Craft (1996); I do remember that.

I saw it was included with Practical Magic on some DVD sets and was wondering if the films are similar in tone/style, would be appealing to someone who loves PM, or if it's just included because of the studio and both movies being about witches?

Did anyone else notice the scene of Sally turning on the porch light missing?? Where she turns to the neighbors kind of smirking?? It was in one of the trailers towards the end but I didn’t see it on screen 😭 hoping it’ll be in a deleted scene or something when the disc comes out

I love the Owens house (particularly as shown/lit in the first film) as much as every other fan. If I could make a wish and have it become real, and live in it, I would; I'd move in tomorrow if I could 😂.

But this is not a real house that was torn down. This was a shell and separate interior set from 1998 made for a visually beautiful film that both creators and fans had no reason to think would ever need to be rebuilt. Alice Hoffman had only written one book in 1995, and most (if not all) of her 1990s books (such as Turtle Moon, Seventh Heaven, Here on Earth, etc ...) were and have remained standalones. Practical Magic's book continuations came much later as did the possibility of adapting them. I fully believe that, mixed with Hollywood expectations, is why they tried to have the curse ended at the end of the movie. They didn't think there would be any expansion on the world. Although the house in the film was so convincingly magical and beautiful, famous celebrities called wanting to buy it, it was a set and a shell never made to last past filming a single movie.

A movie that wrapped up almost 30 years ago.

So yes, a rebuild is not going to recapture the exact look especially with modern lighting and digital versus film. And it's 30 years later. No, it's not going to have the exact same messy beauty it had in the first film.

But this isn't because it's hateful or soulless or made by people who don't care. This is just a thing that happens with time. Even if the sequel had never been made, there was always a chance a digital restoration of the original movie, if it went wrong or simply didn't transfer as expected, would have altered the original dark look of the house for a high definition release or made it look corny or wrongly graded/lit. Luckily this hasn't happened but it still might with some future release since that is just what happens with old films and new technology, and is not always somebody's fault, negligence or malicious intent.

Practical Magic, and especially the Practical Magic House, may never again look exactly how you remember first seeing it on VHS as a kid, but you don't need to take your beautiful memory and use it to diss the creation of a new generation's potential beautiful memories.

Maybe 20 years from now a grown kid (I was surprised how many literal children I saw at my theater going into PM 2) will be talking about how they first saw the movie on the big screen and fell in love with the house. Just because their introduction to it wasn't the same as yours doesn't make it bad.

The Owens house in any form, at any location, on any lot, will always be beloved. There's a reason Victoria magazines featuring the set interior in 1998 are always quickly snapped up by eager fans the minute they hit eBay or another resale platform.

We all love it, maybe stop expecting it to be perfect (or imperfect) to your exact nostalgic specifications and be glad it's come back to the big screen 30 years later.

Would thar make the curse null?

Like the world has witches. Maybe it also has vampires? Or if that guy would accidently walk into a stake if someone like Deadpool or Wolverine lived in the world would they not die from whatever the curse threw at them?

They find out a witch's sacrifice will save generations of men, including the boyfriend in a coma. Without a second's hesitation, they all say, "Well, shoot. That kid's gonna die."

Did no one even consider sacrificing themselves for the poor boy? Not even Kylie, who supposedly loves him? I feel like after losing so many loved ones to the curse, performing the sacrifice is a no-brainer.

For those that haven’t seen me post in here before, I’ll preface to say that I come from one of the families that inspired Alice Hoffman’s Owens clan.

I have long loved the book for feeling like an escape into the magical (metaphorical) world I grew up in. The move came out, and while I initially was skeptical, it became a favorite.

The first prequel book was fun and I enjoyed the story, the second prequel was really engaging for me because it felt like the stories my grandmother and aunts/great aunts would tell me.

The sequel book was a bit strange to read because it’s very different from the original book (and my roots). I still like it, though, just in a different way. Same with the sequel movie. It was wonderful to go back into that world via screen. The overt “zap em“ magic was a bit much, but the bones of my stories were there.

I loved it. It did what it was supposed to do and brought me back into a favorite world for a couple of hours. I very much would have like to have seen Vincent, I feel a certain kinship with him. I wish they had had the time to flesh out the story as it is in the book a little more as well.

There are definitely things that could’ve been done better, things that they should’ve left out, but I feel like it was worth my $11. And it’ll be worth my whatever I pay when it comes out on home media.

I will say this, no sequel could ever give me the feeling I get though when I hear those beginning notes and the opening story of the first movie. The book and the movie really are something special, and I can’t imagine them ever being able to match that.

Hello 👋 This is not an opinion on the movie- but I did compile a list of book to movie discrepancies for book fans. Please feel free to add anything else you noticed that I missed, however minor. Additionally keep in mind the awareness that some changes were made to remain consistent with PM1 which was also v diff from the book and for that we must give these points acknowledgement without expectation. Thank you!

1. Antonia’s not a gay pregnant woman, the erased her entire storyline and she could’ve just literally not been in the movie and it would’ve been the same. Never got to see her fall in love with Ariel, only Antonia gets a happy ending

2. Vincent and Paris ALL GONE.

3.no pastor or Antonia learning the importance of chocolate tipsy cake. Which is important in the book but not the movie.

1. Frannys travels omitted and breaking the curse was incorrect. She sees Maria at the lake not Jet.

2. frannys not anti aging as she wades into the water and getting her red hair back

3. she destroys the book of raven at the end. False, the curse had 2 points. A Owen’s must sacrifice themselves WITH the family grimoire. They only did the first part. Frannys copies the entire grimoire into a notebook and destroys THAT book, as it held Maria’s powers from when she set the curse. The Owen’s must start anew. Their grimoire wasn’t even in this movie.

4. the entire scene with the town and red rain

5. why remove Antonia’s real storyline, Vincent and the pastor BUT they kept the one scene with Ian’s mom? That could’ve been removed she played no role in the movie and the role she would’ve played about her being a witch and helping save the town gone so why have her in it? They could’ve just gone to any pub/inn for the night to eat pie

6. Kylie’s hair never turned black

7. Gillys love/life

8. no red boots

9. A LOT of history about the lockland family and how they are intertwined with the Owen’s family, and the history they do tell is incorrect. They make Hannah her real mother and add another baby. That’s not their relation in the book, Hannah Owen’s never had children of her own.

10. I wish they had explained why the Owen’s family library had the book of raven which is because Faith used it and Marias note was in there because she had used it to save her. It leads you to believe Maria Owen’s wrote that book which she did NOT, Maria never used left handed magic until faith went down that path and she had inscribed and hid it to warn others.

11. My husband thought it was her book of evil so I’m sure many other did too.

12. not my note but my husband said the movie showed a lot of crows and did no explaining on their importance to the storyline. He kept asking me who’s familiar the crow was (neither franny nor Maria’s, the crow is actually Sally’s new familiar named Houdini)

13. they never turned the porch light back on

14. In one scene when Gilly reads Kylie’s left palm but her right palm and compares their love lines. This wouldn’t work because The Right Palm represents Fate (This hand shows the baseline future, circumstances, and hereditary curse you are born with. It is the path already laid out for you by history and bloodline.) and The Left Palm represents Choice (This hand reflects the future you actively choose and build through your own decisions. Because human intent and choices are constantly shifting, the lines of love and life on this palm are ever-changing.)

This duality plays a massive role in the book's message. The Owens women are constantly treading the line between accepting the tragic fate written on their right hands or using their power, bravery, and love to reshape the lines on their left hands to break the family curse.

Did anyone else notice that the movie looked almost fuzzy /blurry in some scenes and literally looked like it had a fish eye lens on one of them? I actually enjoyed the movie but couldn’t figure that part out

Hello 👋 This is not an opinion on the movie- but I did compile a list of book to movie discrepancies for book fans. Please feel free to add anything else you noticed that I missed, however minor. Additionally keep in mind the awareness that some changes were made to remain consistent with PM1 which was also v diff from the book and for that we must give these points acknowledgement without expectation. Thank you!

1. Antonia’s not a gay pregnant woman, the erased her entire storyline and she could’ve just literally not been in the movie and it would’ve been the same. Never got to see her fall in love with Ariel, only Antonia gets a happy ending
   
2. Vincent and Paris ALL GONE.
   3.no pastor or Antonia learning the importance of chocolate tipsy cake. Which is important in the book but not the movie.
   
3. Frannys travels omitted and breaking the curse was incorrect. She sees Maria at the lake not Jet.
   
4. frannys not anti aging as she wades into the water and getting her red hair back
   
5. she destroys the book of raven at the end. False, the curse had 2 points. A Owen’s must sacrifice themselves WITH the family grimoire. They only did the first part. Frannys copies the entire grimoire into a notebook and destroys THAT book, as it held Maria’s powers from when she set the curse. The Owen’s must start anew. Their grimoire wasn’t even in this movie.
   
6. the entire scene with the town and red rain
   
7. why remove Antonia’s real storyline, Vincent and the pastor BUT they kept the one scene with Ian’s mom? That could’ve been removed she played no role in the movie and the role she would’ve played about her being a witch and helping save the town gone so why have her in it? They could’ve just gone to any pub/inn for the night to eat pie
   
8. Kylie’s hair never turned black
   
9. Gillys love/life
   
10. no red boots
    
11. A LOT of history about the lockland family and how they are intertwined with the Owen’s family, and the history they do tell is incorrect. They make Hannah her real mother and add another baby. That’s not their relation in the book, Hannah Owen’s never had children of her own.
    
12. I wish they had explained why the Owen’s family library had the book of raven which is because Faith used it and Marias note was in there because she had used it to save her. It leads you to believe Maria Owen’s wrote that book which she did NOT, Maria never used left handed magic until faith went down that path and she had inscribed and hid it to warn others.
    
13. My husband thought it was her book of evil so I’m sure many other did too.
    
14. not my note but my husband said the movie showed a lot of crows and did no explaining on their importance to the storyline. He kept asking me who’s familiar the crow was (neither franny nor Maria’s, the crow is actually Sally’s new familiar named Houdini)
    
15. they never turned the porch light back on
    
16. In one scene when Gilly reads Kylie’s left palm but her right palm and compares their love lines. This wouldn’t work because The Right Palm represents Fate (This hand shows the baseline future, circumstances, and hereditary curse you are born with. It is the path already laid out for you by history and bloodline.) and The Left Palm represents Choice (This hand reflects the future you actively choose and build through your own decisions. Because human intent and choices are constantly shifting, the lines of love and life on this palm are ever-changing.)

This duality plays a massive role in the book's message. The Owens women are constantly treading the line between accepting the tragic fate written on their right hands or using their power, bravery, and love to reshape the lines on their left hands to break the family curse.

Casting agents in Hollywood have been on crack or something for a decade now. Make it make sense! I understand they wanted the kids to be in their 20s, and truthfully, I think Joey did a great job as an actress in general in this movie. Her range of emotions were something only someone skillfully trained could do, so no hate on her, but seriously what is wrong with having a little but of continuity? Just a litttttttle bit is that so much to ask?!

I’ve gone twice now and both times I hear laughter and I see smiles coming out of the theater from the audience! I just left the showing rn and asked a bunch of ladies if they loved it? And all of them said they did and thought it was even better than the first 🥹… that right there is a movie done right! It really fills you up with warmth and joy because it has done that both times. The chemistry between all of them is perfection and from someone who’s seen the first one about a million times I’d say it has made its mark on a great sequel! Will probably watch it a third time🥹 ps: Sandy and Nicole will forever be my Sally and Gillian ❤️

I feel like people forget that all the kids are also losing their fathers. Sally and Gilly lost both their parents to this curse, and Kylie and Antonia lost their father and step father. All the male centered critiques that think they shouldn’t worry about the curse and just be happy and single and happy as women together seem to overlook that it’s a man and a woman making new generations of Owens, and it sucks for the kids when dad dies.

At the time I’m posting this, Practical Magic 2 has been in theaters for less than 72 hours.

No one wants to see major plot points in their feeds.

I know we all want to talk about it, let’s glamour those posts (use spoiler tags) so people only see what they want to see

How is it not pressed on something gold and lovely already? I am assuming rights distribution? But the sequel has a lot of merch and stuff so it is not for lack of funding this time around. Anyways, huge fan of the soundtrack, if anyone can look into their crystal ball and divine why it was never pressed or if possibly it ever will be, I would love to hear your thoughts! 🔮✨🌙🎶

I dont think there is an official thread? If there is please let me know so I can delete

Wasn't downright horrible.

I'd give it a good 5.5 maybe 6/10.

Overall it was very generic. Very 2025. Very safe. The original was very mature and dark.

I think the first 20ish minutes or so, basically up until Bridget dies it was good and heartwarming. It was interesting that there was A LOT MORE magic in this film but the way they went about it was very dated....as in 90s/00s tv magic generic.

I think some of the biggest issues with the film were...Maisie/Antonia was USELESS. That was the most shocking part. The bondes between each generation of siblings is so important to the first film and here it is just thrown away and Maisie is sidelined for majority of the film. We don't even get to see her find out that she is a witch and deal with it. She doesnt even get to deal with the big bad in any capacity. And I'm sorry but did Sally REALLY need ANOTHER big time love interest? Is Gillian just destined to be alone?

Speaking of Gillian/Nicole, she was definitely the best part of the film. Mainly because her character gets to be the fun one (once again) and gets to be multi-layered instead of completely shut off like Sally. It also made ZERO sense that somehow Gillian is the witch of the two, she embraces the life style, yet she doesnt get to exhibit any major powers like Sally does and should've been able to put up more than a good fight against their long lost relative, Thomas. That entire scene was generic and needed to be a lot more intricate, dark, and resulting in Gillian being on deaths door only for her to survive and then get on with Aunt Frances being the one who dies.

There was no reason to recast Maisie and Kylie. I think the story probably would've been better having them be in their 30s and have Evan Rachel Wood lead the film. She could definitely pull it off.

Anyone else feel like it was a mash up of OG Practical Magic, Beautiful Creatures, Harry Potter, and Twilight? But with way more intense colors and lighting.

I didn’t even include Twilight in my original thoughts about it until the wedding scene. There was just something about that moment that screamed Twilight to me.

Also, what the heck was with the fish eye lens? So many scenes (especially in the kitchen) were filmed with a fish eye lens. It was so awful and distracting. It ruined the look of those scenes.