I anticipate the most benign feeling of deja vu when reviewing Twitches Too because it would seem all my criticisms and talking points from my review of the original Twitches will be reiterated. In short, this has been a collectively mediocre franchise from the start, with very little brains in its head or feet in its shoes. If there must be a Twitches Three in a later point in time, whether or not it included Tia and Tamera Mowry, I can only hope it goes in a better direction, preferably one I choose.
The direction I'd like for something like this would be a film that relies more on the characters of Alex and Camryn rather than the witchcraft and the modest special effects Disney employed in 2007. The direction I'd buy would be a film that respects the potential charisma of its leads and possibly utilize them in a film that shows the tribulations of fitting in in the modern school system. It's tough as a human - imagine being a witch. Instead, Twitches Too takes the same route as its predecessor, repeating almost an identical plot, capitalizing off of the pretty basic talents of the sisters Mowry, and making for easy-digestible but wholly unsubstantial, unremarkable contemporary Disney Channel-fare.
Tia and Tamera Mowry return as Alex and Camryn, two ordinary teenage girls who are really witches, born in the Coventry then separated at birth. The first film was about them reuniting and cooperating with the fact that they are indeed sisters. The sequel focuses on them now very well acquainted with the witch-life and how they go about pursuing their directions. Camryn wants to embrace the life of being a witch, while Alex prefers a calmer future with college and a career in mind. However, both their agendas are rocked when they learn that their father, who was said to have died in the Shadowlands of the Coventry may now still be alive and waiting for their return.
Here's where I anticipated deja vu in saying that Twitches Too suffers from the same issues as the original. First off, the concept of witchcraft simply isn't that interesting. At least when Disney handles the material. This is the third time I've tried to see Disney do a film with witchcraft at the center, the first time being Hocus Pocus followed by the original Twitches. The concept is very dry, the material is dark and directionless, and witch characters usually revolve around a sort of "look how weird I am" kind of mentality.
And once more, I hate to say, but the Mowry sisters really don't have characters or any special talent here. Their acting is uniformly flat and they are given so little to do it should be considered a personal insult on their behalf. They exist in that vacuous chamber Disney Channel throws their young stars and starlets in. The chamber has little room for creativity and usually possesses numerous film roles that offer no depth or substance. The Mowry sisters may be talented in serious roles, but watching them in a Disney Channel movie flatter than the ground we walk on is hardly the basis to judge their true talents on.
Starring: Tia Mowry, Tamera Mowry, Kristen Wilson, Pat Kelly. Directed by: Stuart Gillard.
