'Practical Magic 2' Is a Cursed Adaptation of 'The Book of Magic'
It Was A Book First
Sophie and Rudy dive into 'Practical Magic 2,' the long-awaited sequel to the beloved 1998 film, now adapted from Alice Hoffman's novel 'The
Key takeaways
- The sequel fails to honor the magic and emotional depth of the original film despite a strong literary foundation.
Main topics
- Practical Magic 2 film adaptation
- Alice Hoffman's 'The Book of Magic' novel
Notable quotes
"It feels like there was a low bar and they just refused to meet it."
Conclusion
While 'Practical Magic 2' underperforms as an adaptation, the episode celebra
Transcript preview
Speaker 1 (0:09) I'm Sophie and I love books. Speaker 2 (0:11) I'm Rudy and I love movies. And this is It Was a Book First, the podcast about new book to screen adaptations. Today, we come to this podcast for magic, practical magic. Two, the long awaited sequel to the 1998 Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. Fantasy, rom-com, drama, practical magic. Yes, it is many, many different things. The new film adds Lee Pace, Joey King, and Maisie Williams to the cast and is based on Alice Hoffman's 2021 novel, The Book of Magic, the fourth and final chapter in her Practical Magic series. Speaker 1 (0:46) If you're new here, Rudy and I are culture reporters. And on this podcast, we discuss the page-to-screen adaptations that everyone's talking about. I read the book. We both watch the TV show or movie. And then we dissect the differences and what we thought of the new adaptation. And yes, that means there will be spoilers for out for both Practical Magic 2 and the Book of Magic. Speaker 2 (1:05) And I guess Practical Magic 1 as well and maybe some of the prequel books too. Yeah, Speaker 1 (1:10) we're going to talk about a lot of the series. So if you're dying to read the whole Practical Magic series or see all the movies and you want to be unspoiled, maybe hold off on this episode. Speaker 2 (1:19) Next week, we're going to look ahead to the rest of the year with a special episode previewing the adaptations we can't wait to see, and then maybe in some cases are dreading to see, this fall, and we'll be covering over the next three months. Speaker 1 (1:33) Reminder to like, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on Instagram at It Was a Book First. Watch this episode on YouTube at It Was a Book First Podcast, or visit our website at itwasabookfirst.com. Have a question for us or want to reach out about something, email itwasabookfirstpod at gmail.com. Speaker 2 (1:50) Before we start casting spells, Sophie, it's been a while since I've seen you. We haven't recorded in two weeks. And you were jet setting. You were at the Venice Film Festival. Yeah, Speaker 1 (2:05) that was the purpose of my trip. You were hiking the Speaker 2 (2:08) Dolomites with Timothee Chalamet. Speaker 1 (2:11) Yeah, I didn't want to tell you before I went because I did have to sign an NDA. But now that it's all come out. No, I was in Venice during the Venice Film Festival and in the Dolomites with my boyfriend at the same time as Timmy Chalamet was hiking with his dad. Your boyfriend Speaker 2 (2:26) who is not Timothee Chalamet. My Speaker 1 (2:27) boyfriend who is not. I am not Kylie Jenner in case that wasn't clear. But yeah, I was in Italy for the last like nine-ish days. I had such an amazing trip. I spent the entire trip shopping around. I got a 600 page copy of East of Eden, which I cannot wait to discuss with you in a couple of weeks. Spoiler alert, I loved the book so much, but it was just an amazing trip. I had so much fun and it was really nice to take some time away. And Speaker 2 (2:57) for those of you who don't know, East of Eden is going to be a Netflix series that we'll be talking about a little bit next week before we actually cover it in October. Speaker 1 (3:07) Now, Sophie, when you were in Italy. Speaker 2 (3:09) Did you do any like book or movie related things? Did you go to any like Italian bookstores or anything like that? Speaker 1 (3:18) I did. When I was in Venice, I went to, I think it's called Libro Alta Acqua, which is a really, really beautiful bookstore like on a canal. So of course I like. geeked out and took photos there and had a great time. I did see a poster for Tony in Italian, which we discovered on a recent episode. So I was glad to see there enjoying Anthony Bourdain's biopic in Bolzano specifically. Speaker 2 (3:45) Okay. Speaker 1 (3:46) Yeah. Did you Speaker 2 (3:47) buy any books? Were all the books in Italian? Speaker 1 (3:49) I did not buy any books. I was already over my poundage allotment on the way there. So the goal was to leave with less than I came with. Okay. Speaker 2 (4:00) Okay. Okay. Fair. Fair. Yeah. This is Speaker 1 (4:03) probably the least I've like ever read on a vacation. 1000 % my boyfriend's fault. But you dedicated Speaker 2 (4:09) it to a whole book, which is great. I Speaker 1 (4:11) did. Yeah. I, it was a really worthwhile cause. Yeah. Speaker 2 (4:15) You'll always associate East of Eden with your trip to Italy. I Speaker 1 (4:19) really will. Yeah. Speaker 2 (4:20) So while you were gone, you also had a really cool. article come out that might be relevant to listeners of this podcast? Speaker 1 (4:29) Yeah. So I had the absolute pleasure of getting to interview Emily St. John Mandel, who I have mentioned before on this podcast. She is the author of Station Eleven, The Sea of Tranquility, The Glass Hotel, and several other novels that you might've heard of. She has a new book out, which is called Exit Party. I think it actually might come out today, the day that we're recording this, September 15th. Oh, nice. She is... possibly my favorite contemporary author and interviewing her for Elle was just like a reporter's dream come true. But related to this podcast, we actually talked about several screen adaptations that she has coming up. So I'm going to just chat a little bit about them because as a Emily St. John Mandel fan, I was so excited to hear how many of these are coming. And some of you may have seen Station Eleven, which was an HBO miniseries that actually came out. During the pandemic, it is an adaptation of a pandemic novel. I could not watch it at the time, but it is now possibly one of my favorite book-to-screen adaptations. It is such a beautiful adaptation. I recommend it. But she actually didn't work on it. She was busy writing her next novel. And on these ones coming up, she's very intimately involved. So there is, let's see. Last Night in Montreal, which is her first novel, wonderful book. There is like a very hyped up, like noir feature film version of it coming with Semi Cellis, who was a writer on, sorry, a producer on The Audacity and Mad Men that has a director and producer attached is moving forward. She has a pilot script of her third novel, The Lola Quartet. So that is attached to an unnamed production company. That might be the one of her books I have not read yet. So I Speaker 2 (6:15) hope Speaker 1 (6:16) to have an excuse to do it in the near future. There is a pitch for an adaptation of Sea of Tranquility with Sam Esmail's production company. He did Mr. Robot and the adaptation of Leave the World Behind, which is a Roman Alman book, which is... Wonderful. And then most recently, she's been writing the pilot script for an adaptation of Exit Party, this new book, which sold to Laker Studios, which is known for things like Coraline and Kubo and Two Strings. But they actually have a new live action division coming out where they're going to do other projects. And I Speaker 2 (6:50) should just say that studio has a very anticipated kind of kids or at least teen adaptation called Wildwood coming out as well. Speaker 1 (7:01) Yes, thank you. And yeah, so that was a huge bidding war. And Emily herself has actually been in a lot of writers rooms, she told me over the last few years. I was Speaker 2 (7:10) surprised to learn that reading your piece. Speaker 1 (7:12) Yeah, so like a lot of, you know. authors, she does more than one thing. She doesn't just make a living writing books. And so a lot of writers, like authors have gone into TV writers rooms in recent years. And so she told me all about working on like the Assassin's Creed video game adaptation for Netflix, which is just like, so cool. How are you writing these like award nominated novels and that? So I had the best time talking to her and I really hope we get to cover some of these adaptations in the future on our podcast because. They're based on great books. It's great material to adapt. Yeah, Speaker 2 (7:48) and it's a great profile. And we'll add a link to the episode notes so people can go give that a read after they listen to this. So, Sophie, I was not in Italy for two weeks. I was just kind of hanging out. How much Speaker 1 (8:03) content did you consume while I was gone? Like, I want to hear what did you see? Speaker 2 (8:07) I saw a lot of mediocre movies. I did watch Speaker 1 (8:10) all Speaker 2 (8:11) of Widow's Bay. which we'll talk about in a second. But I did finally finish Widow's Bay, watched a lot of mediocre movies, but I did want to talk about one film that I saw. Well, I'll talk about two really quickly. So first I want to talk about The Sun Never Sets, which is a new Joe Swanberg film. If you're not familiar with Joe Swanberg, he's like one of the mumblecore. kind of guys. So very like realistic conversations, very improvised. Drinking Buddies is a movie of his that I think was a Netflix movie that people would probably know. He did some movies with Greta Gerwig early on in her career. And so this new film is set in Alaska. It stars Dakota Fanning, who's phenomenal. Jake Johnson, who's really funny. And Corey Michael Smith, who is one of those guys who is like becoming a Like we need to watch this guy because he's kind of got it. He's very magnetic. And so this is a thorny kind of love triangle relationship, drama, comedy. I really enjoyed this movie. It's really small, quiet shot on film. It looks beautiful. It's a lot of people in rooms having conversations about relationships and aging. And yeah, I. I really recommend this one. It will probably be streaming soon. If it isn't already, it had a short theatrical one, but definitely check that out. And then my in-laws were in town. So we took David and Joanne to the National Gallery of Art to see a screening of Shoot the Piano Player, which is a French film from 1960. It's part of the French New Wave. It's a Francois Truffaut film that is actually based on a book. which was a nice, pleasant surprise. It was shot on, or it was projected on a 35 millimeter film in black and white. This is a really funny movie. It's a little weird if you're not familiar with the French New Wave. This is a style that is very influential on today. I was kind of taken aback by how modern some of the shots in the film felt for a movie that is. 66 years old. And then a friend of mine mentioned that the French New Wave, in particular Truffaut, were big influences on Wes Anderson. And suddenly everything clicked where Speaker 1 (10:34) I was like, oh, this is Wes Anderson, like how he learned how to make movies. Speaker 2 (10:37) So a lot of like voiceover, a lot of really just like comic moments that are kind of silly, but played a little straight as well. And I really just vibed with this movie. Highly recommend it. It was a Speaker 1 (10:52) lot of fun and as always, very cool to see a Speaker 2 (10:55) film like this shot on film and projected in film in a museum. So that was really cool. But I also saw a concert that I feel is very relevant to this podcast. If for only one reason, she opened her show with a song that we've talked about on this podcast. So I went to see Robin at the Anthem in DC. So jealous. If you do not know Robin. Speaker 1 (11:19) What? Speaker 2 (11:19) I don't know what you're doing. I don't know how to help you. But Robin is just incredible. One of my favorite pop stars. And this was my first time seeing her in seven years. She hasn't really toured since 2019. And so she opened her show with Blow My Mind, which is the theme song to Margot's Got Money Troubles. And Robin has just been on like... a tear, like getting her song synced in things this year. We talked about One Night Only, which had a Robin song. Apparently there's a Robin song in People We Meet on Vacation, another Netflix movie, Voicemails from, for Isabella. I don't remember if it's from or for. That one also has a Robin song in it. And I was thinking about, I mean, this concert was incredible. It's basically just Robin with her backing band kind of like shrouded behind a curtain. It's sort of a like minimalistic. arena show, although we saw it in a smaller venue than an arena because the anthem is a bit smaller than an arena. So it felt like really intimate for the kind of show that it is. But I was just thinking about how Rob and Needle Drops have been such a like part of the culture for the last like 10 or 15 years. I mean, I think I believe it's Dancing on My Own and Girls that kind of broke the dam on that. I Speaker 1 (12:37) mean. maybe one of the best needle drop moments in a television show ever. I could watch it a hundred times and feel inspired to like go out with my friends. Yeah. Speaker 2 (12:47) It's just one of those scenes that, and it's something about like, Oh, even like dancing on my own is in baby girl, the Nicole Kidman film when she's dancing at Speaker 1 (12:56) the Speaker 2 (12:56) club, which we will, we will talk about Nicole Kidman and her time at the club on this podcast. I just think that she has some of the best songs. for this purpose because especially if you know them when they hit it's like it's like this just like feeling of like I know this song so well but she also conveys so much emotion in her songs that I feel like really helps represent you know what's happening in in a story I mean in both that girl's scene you're talking about and this baby girl scene that I'm talking about dancing on my own is like a perfect fit for those scenes so yeah just like go see Robin if you can like Speaker 1 (13:39) she's incredible um Speaker 2 (13:42) she's she's so good and I just had a great time and yeah would highly recommend that um so we did mention Margot's Got Money Troubles which is a way of like nicely segwaying into the Emmys. Did Speaker 1 (13:56) you watch the Emmy Awards last night? I Speaker 2 (13:58) did watch the Emmy Awards last night did you? Speaker 1 (14:01) I did. I watched the Mariska Harkity Variety Hour as I'm referring to it. This Speaker 2 (14:05) was maybe the biggest this award show could have been an email award show that I've ever seen. Speaker 1 (14:14) This was like they took out like 80 % of the awards. Well, they took out so many Speaker 2 (14:18) of the awards, but also it was like pretty boring and pretty just like perfunctory. These Speaker 1 (14:25) shows aren't interesting. They're never interesting. I mean, Speaker 2 (14:28) I like award shows. I Speaker 1 (14:30) watch Speaker 2 (14:30) all of them. Speaker 1 (14:30) Number Speaker 2 (14:31) one, this was on a Monday and it was because of football season. Award shows should never be on Mondays. Speaker 1 (14:36) Yeah, it happens every so often. It should be legally required to be a Sunday. Speaker 2 (14:41) Never on a Monday. Why are we doing that? It just felt weird. Didn't like it. I like it at the at the start of my week, I guess, or the end of my weekend versus the start of my work week. Speaker 2 (14:52) Yeah, I don't know. I just thought this show was kind of boring. They felt like they rushed through all the awards. Mariska Harkaday, as you said, almost too much of her. I was like, she's fine. I like her. I don't have a problem with her. But when I found out she was hosting the show- If Speaker 1 (15:08) you told me Speaker 2 (15:08) you had Speaker 1 (15:08) a problem with Mariska Harkaday, we would probably end this podcast. Speaker 2 (15:12) But when- I found out she was hosting the show. I was like, huh, that's like an odd choice. And then I thought about it. I was like, okay, she's on an NBC show. She's really having a year. On Broadway. Like she's Nick's super fan. Yeah. Speaker 1 (15:25) I Speaker 2 (15:25) totally get doing this, but I was like, just not the. person you would normally have host, not a comedian, you know. Last Speaker 1 (15:32) year it was Nate Borghese basically insulting everyone and being like, I hate television. So I would always rather Speaker 2 (15:39) have- An improvement. This was an improvement. I will say that. I Speaker 1 (15:42) would always rather have someone who's super game and wants to be there and is willing to make fun of themselves. Like, I feel like a lot of the jokes they gave her were just like, not. Great. And I kind of blame the writers for that. Which was Speaker 2 (15:57) Colbert's writing team, apparently, as you mentioned. Speaker 1 (16:01) There were a couple of good ones, but I found it pretty painful. But it was just like so Speaker 2 (16:06) much her because not only was she, you know, singing songs and hosting and then also appearing in like filmed sketch with Taylor Swift, who just happens to appear randomly in this, which like totally makes sense. They're friends, whatever, named her Kat after her character in SVU. But then also she's appearing in like ads throughout the entire award show. And I was just like, are we watching the show? Is Speaker 1 (16:29) this an ad? What is happening? It was too much. But Speaker 2 (16:33) on the adaptation front, which is why we're all here today, it was actually a pretty like bad night for adaptations. Yeah, Speaker 1 (16:43) we lost Speaker 2 (16:43) big. The only real winner was Sally Field, who won for the movie Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix, which... you know, in the past probably would have been theatrical release. So I guess cool. It also won best movie. First of all, I was Speaker 1 (16:59) confused when this was like nominated for this. Cause I was like, this is a movie. Wait, what? Why is this on the TV? Well, it's like a made for Speaker 2 (17:06) TV movie. You know, it won best movie at the creative arts Emmys the weekend before. And then she won for actress in what a movie. Speaker 1 (17:16) I feel like with this one too, like. Well, you know, I cringed a little bit when she was like, what's the author's name? Shelby, Shelby. I was like, come on, girl, say the author's name. But yeah, I mean, has anyone watched this movie besides us? Speaker 2 (17:31) I think so. Yeah, I actually do think people have watched this movie. And for listeners who are like, wait, did you did you guys do an episode on this? We did. The audio quality was not great. So we have not released that episode. This was kind of as we were still. Let us know if you want it. figuring out this podcast. So we recorded this back in May, I suppose. And we've considered it a test episode. Maybe we'll talk about this movie more at length. I think we both kind of liked it and also kind of didn't. Yeah, it's fine. I thought her speech was nice. Speaker 1 (18:00) It was very nice. And honestly, like, how can you be mad about Sally Field winning an Emmy? It's like, all right. She was funny. She Speaker 2 (18:08) was, you know. Our friends at Speaker 1 (18:09) Margo's got money troubles, which was sort of like our big chance for a win. Didn't have a great night, but they look like they were having fun. Yes. Speaker 2 (18:18) Nicole Kidman was there and I had forgotten that she was in Margo's got money troubles and was like, oh, I guess she's just promoting practical magic too. I have the same Speaker 1 (18:28) thought. Speaker 2 (18:28) I guess not. She was there for the show. So yeah, before we talk about Practical Magic 2, is there anything else about the Emmys that you wanted to mention? I mean, Widow's Bay, great to see it win all those awards. Speaker 1 (18:39) Wait, so you finally watched it. I mean, I've talked about how much I love it on a past episode. I really liked it. I want to hear your thoughts. Speaker 2 (18:44) Yeah, I liked it. It's great. I mean, I think the hype was so high that at first