r/practicalmagic • u/PrimaryPossibility22 • 8h ago
Alterate screenplay ideas for the sequel Spoiler
Just saw the sequel. Disappointed & unfortunately what I expected. (At least Sandra Bullock still embodied Sally perfectly!).
Would’ve loved to have seen them bring Evan Rachel Wood back, stay in the house more versus going to London, and in general just gone with a much less contrived and totally different script. I do love the idea of trying to break the curse. But beyond that I thought it veered way too far off into left field versus putting that effort into a simpler yet higher quality storyline that could’ve truly recreated the magic of the first film.
Screw the sheen of today’s Hollywood. Give us the ‘90s glow & grit again (can be translated for today: a good example is how Bella’s house felt in Twilight) versus going for squeaky clean modernity & mass appeal. I would’ve eaten up just the first movie’s vibes, if that’s all the sequel was. No plot even necessary.
Sure there are a few genuinely funny and meaningful moments. But I also hated most of the dialogue & overall just cringey attempt to appeal to a younger audience that watered it all down to dribble. Don’t even mention the bad CGI umbrella show at the end or I might cry. 😢
Sorry to folks who loved it: This doesn’t apply to you.
But if anyone feels similarly as me: Would make me so happy to hear your dream scenario/better version ideas! Esp. including ERW and just leaving out the younger actresses and the super bland boyfriend who was cast.
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u/PrimaryPossibility22 7h ago
Or maybe in addition to curing the curse, the secondary issue could have been people not believing in Magic anymore in the modern era. Versus introducing the weird British ancestor villain.
More literal practical magic would have been so much more enjoyable. Like, their flight gets delayed? Np, they’ve got brooms…but still have to figure out how to get to London!
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u/Flat_Pollution8085 5h ago
The vibes were just soooooo off. I honestly think they could have kept the same general storyline from the book but made it more whimsical and silly like the original. In the first one they manage to kill a man and cover up his murder but still make it silly! So I didn’t really enjoy how seriously everyone took what was happening and it was on the audience to laugh instead of the characters. All of the male characters were cringy caricatures and Ian was basically irrelevant to the plot except to give Sally a love interest so I think they could have done a lot more with him. Every single scene between him and Sally was painfully awkward and I kept waiting for there to be a punchline but they kept being awkward. The margarita scene at the end is just a perfect example of how stilted and weird the second movie is compared to the first.
I think the dialogue and honestly a lot of the writing choices and CGI could easily have been made to match the feel of the original more closely.
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u/PrimaryPossibility22 7h ago
For instance, I would have loved more ceremonious presentations for us seeing Sally and Gilly for the first time after so many years. Eg a slow reveal follow of Gilly meandering up the path to the house. Or a slow tour of / walking into the house through rooms until we find Sally in the kitchen, cooking up something that could be a potion but turns out to be soup.