Practical Magic 2 hit theatres this weekend, and it’s a genuinely delightful time. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman clearly had fun playing Sally and Gillian Owens again, and their joy is infectious. While longtime fans of the first film were skeptical about the recasting of Sally’s daughters, Kylie and Antonia, the additions of Joey King and Maisie Williams were ultimately welcome. However, King was given the chance to shine while Williams was left with frustratingly little to do. Even if you disagree with the sequel’s low 32% Rotten Tomatoes score, it’s hard not to gripe over Antonia’s lack of storyline. Warning: Practical Magic 2 spoilers ahead…
In the film, Sally erases Kylie and Antonia’s awareness of witchcraft when they’re young. That included knowledge of the curse, which claims the life of all men who love Owens women. Unfortunately, the curse catches up to Kylie when she’s older. She falls in love with Gideon (Xolo Maridueña), and he ends up in a coma. She sets off to England to try and find a way to save him. Her mother and aunt follow, leaving Antonia behind.
Practical Magic 2 made different choices for Antonia than Alice Hoffman’s book series, some of which were welcome. First, Antonia doesn’t have a great relationship with Gillian in the books, which is something we didn’t need to see onscreen. Second, Antonia is very pregnant when Kylie sets off to Europe, which is the main reason she doesn’t go with her. Without the baby burden, it would’ve been nice to pair them on the adventure. Practical Magic is about three generations of sisters, and one was left out…
Sidelined
Even if the filmmakers wanted to keep Antonia home to stay more faithful to the book, it’s still utterly bizarre how underwritten she is. Kylie finds out they’re witches, and tells Antonia over the phone to ask Gillian about what’s happening. If Antonia does have that conversation with her aunt, we never see it. In fact, the movie never shows Antonia learning she’s a witch. She shares many of her scenes in Gideon’s hospital room with Aunt Frances (Stockard Channing), who performs witchcraft over his comatose body. Antonia isn’t questioning her aunt’s methods, but it’s not clear if it’s because she was told they’re witches or because she’s used to Fran’s eccentricities. Wouldn’t it be neat if she knew she was a witch and combined those powers with her medical prowess? Nah. She’s just gonna stand there and be clueless.
There’s a moment towards the end of the film when Gillian cuts Kylie’s hand to repeat the ritual blood pact from the first film. Sally, Gillian, and Kylie then join forces to defeat the film’s villain. It’s an empowering scene, but Antonia’s absence was felt. She should have experienced this pivotal moment with her family. Later, the family curse is finally broken while Kylie and Antonia are back together. Their hands shine, presumably showing that their love lines have been restored. However, the movie does not make that clear. It would be very easy to mistake this for a callback to the hand cutting, which Antonia did not experience. The audience can barely tell what’s happening, let alone know if Antonia knows.
Scrubbed
In addition to having little to do, Williams also deserves justice for being stuck in scrubs for most of the movie. Yes, Antonia is training to be a doctor. Yes, she’s presumably on the clock while hanging out in Gideon’s room. However, this is a movie that heavily relies on the suspension of disbelief. Couldn’t they have put Williams in some fun outfits while she was sitting around doing nothing? If we’re not questioning everyone’s age discrepancies, we’re not going to question extravagant costume design.
Ever since Game of Thrones ended, Williams has made her love for fashion very clear. She’s often seen in great ensembles and consistently paid homage to Bullock’s past red carpet looks on the sequel’s press tour. In a movie filled with flowy ’90s throwback attire, it’s just plain rude to make this fashionista spend more than half of her scenes in scrubs. If you can erase the character’s pregnancy, you can add a line about her being off the clock or something. This is a Practical Magic sequel, not The Pitt. Give the people what they want: witchy fits!
Supressed
The biggest disappointment surrounding Antonia is the suppression of her sexuality. She prefers women in the books, which opens up the question about whether or not the family’s curse only pertains to men. At the very end of Practical Magic 2, Kylie and Gideon get married, and Antonia catches the bouquet. There is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment when she glances at a girl near her in the crowd. We had never seen this woman before. You have to know Antonia’s book history or be super attuned to queer crumbs to clock their “romance.” There are a lot of nods to the ’90s in this movie, but hiding someone’s queer identity shouldn’t have been one of them. Even a close-up on the unnamed girl would have been something. We are mourning the queer witch storyline we deserved.
One of the biggest criticisms of Practical Magic 2 is its 130-minute runtime. Many have said that 15 minutes of the film could have been cut, but they actually should have been allocated to Antonia. It was great to see Williams on the big screen, but she deserved more. LGBTQ+ fans deserved more. Antonia deserved more.
Practical Magic 2 was directed by Susanne Bier and is now playing in theatres everywhere.
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