Practical Magic 2 is officially bringing Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman back as the Owens sisters, and the first thing everyone noticed is that they look almost exactly the same as they did in 1998. Bullock is 62 now. Kidman is 59. The movie does not explain this with magic. It just asks you to go with it.
There is a bigger issue though. The original film ended with the family curse fully resolved. Done. So the sequel is already working around a plot that was tied up with a bow. Add in the fact that Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest were only in their early fifties when they played the aunts the first time, and Lee Pace at 47 is cast as a romantic interest for Bullock, and the whole timeline starts to feel like a riddle with no answer.
This is not just a Practical Magic problem. It is a Hollywood pattern. Stars over 60 are headlining major films while looking basically unchanged, which makes it genuinely hard for audiences to tell what life stage any character is supposed to be in. The agelessness is impressive. It is also confusing. So tell us: does it bother you when a sequel ignores its own ending, or are you just here for the nostalgia?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.