https://twitter.com/liturgicalqueer/status/1163599989181825024
People chimed in with their personal cinematic masterpieces: Ever After, 13 Going On 30, The Goonies, and even National Treasure. Pretty much anything that airs on a Freeform movie weekend sponsored by Proactive.
Just like everyone else, I have those movies that may not have won an Oscar but it won my unrelenting devotion. I can unabashedly recite whole scenes from Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Go ahead and test my trivial knowledge about Reality Bites. I still giggle like a tween when Tom Hanks discovers that Meg Ryan is the object of his virtual affection in You’ve Got Mail. However, there is one film that I will essentially drop anything and everything for just to watch, no matter what I’m doing:
Practical Magic
The film that brought us amazing set decor, maxi skirts, midnight margaritas, and belladonna has a permanent rotation in any of my themed movie binges. Having a Sandra Bullock movie night? It fits perfectly in between Forces of Nature and Two Weeks Notice. Watching movies about the complexity of family dynamics? Um, hello ancient family curse that kills your true love. Need ideas for your upcoming home renovation? Say hello to your new kitchen…
Based…okay, let’s be real and just say loosely based on the novel by Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic at its core is about the unshakable bonds between sisters and finally accepting who you are. It’s been 21 years since we last saw the Owens sisters on the big screen, and while the film provided a satisfying denouement for both Sally and Gillian, fans of both the novel and the film have always wanted more time with the Owens family.
In 2017, the author granted that wish with The Rules of Magic, a prequel that centered around the younger Aunt Jet and Aunt Frances. However, with no movie deal or production news following the release of the prequel, I lost hope in seeing the Owens women on the big screen again. That was until this week…
The Rules of Magic is Coming to HBO Max
The streaming service that is bringing Circe to life is also continuing the complex story of the Owens sisters, only this time it’s Jet and Frances’ story. Please hold my midnight margarita while I put my Practical Magic soundtrack on repeat. Yes, I do own it, thank you very much.
What We Know About The Rules of Magic So Far…
Um, it’s not much. We don’t have actors, a premiere date, or even an episode count. What we do have is this:
- The show will be set in New York City in the 1960s, and will feature the eccentric aunts as well as their brother, who never appeared in Practical Magic.
- Apparently, we’re going to find out more about the witch who started the Owens family curse: Maria Owens.
- Melissa Rosenberg will be the show’s creator. While other outlets are citing her work on Netflix’s Jessica Jones, we know Melissa as the one who made Bella and Edward come to life with her work as a screenwriter for the entire Twilight Saga. #EGBTT
What We Hope the Show is Brewing Up…
See the witch pun I made? It’s lame, but I don’t care.
- The return of the original cast – Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Evan Rachel Wood, the other child actor who played Sally’s youngest daughter and please, let her still have the mouse ears. I know that this is a prequel, but to have the film cast return in some flash-forward capacity would make me cry tears of unadulterated joy.
- An all Stevie Nicks soundtrack. Sure it’s been 21 years, but her “If You Ever Still Believe” is still one of my favorite songs of all time.
- The ages of the aunts. If you’ve seen the original, you know that both Sally and Gillian have no idea how old their aunts actually are.
- How midnight margaritas came to be and the actual recipe. Please and thank you.
