Just when you thought Harry and Lloyd couldn't possibly be any dumber, they go and make "Dumb & Dumber To". Nostalgic feelings for a time when Jim Carrey was actually funny resulted in a $38 million opening weekend despite a 25% approval rating on RT. I'm afraid the Farrelly bros. formula has been abused far too often in the twenty years since this crude duo were first unleashed on a rather genteel comedy landscape WAY back in 1994. The original was lightning in a bottle. If it had been released any other year with any other pair, it fails and fails miserably. But audiences were ready for lowbrow toilet humor. They sure got it.
Let's be honest, comedy sequels rarely work. There's a reason we never saw Ferris Bueller or Cher Horowitz in college. The sight of Dustin Hoffman or Robin Williams dressed in drag wouldn't have been nearly as much fun a second time. I started feeling sick after my third slice of "American Pie", and seven "Police Academy" movies was the equivalent of police brutality. I'm not trying to trash every comedy sequel. Most of us are glad we met Mini-Me and Goldmember(well, maybe not Goldmember). We had a nice time with Kevin McCallister in NY and a great Christmas with the Griswalds. But then there's the little matter of the Wolfpack turning into those party guests that stay long after everyone else has left, eventually falling asleep on your couch at 4 am. Nobody wants to deal with that, and nobody needed to see Bradley Cooper and company in Bangkok.
This blog will take a look at several one-off attempts at comedy franchising and the decidedly mixed results. Just to make one thing clear, a franchise consists of three or more films. Anything less is just a sequel to a successful film.
"Horrible Bosses 2"(2014)
Wow, I didn't have to look far for another example. Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day were an unlikely hit in 2011, delivering broad laughs as they plotted to kill their boss caricatures. They were REALLY lucky they got away with it the first time.
This needless sequel contains more cheap laughs and wildly implausible situations, and your appreciation level for the varied talents of the trio pictured above is the real determining factor. For me, a little Charlie Day goes a long way. Jennifer Aniston is back because she's Jennifer Aniston, and I guess the idea of her playing a man-eating, sex-crazed slut is supposed to be funny in itself. I'm sure Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx were paid handsomely to reappear, while a villainous Christoph Waltz joins the list of slumming Oscar winners. It isn't horrible, but don't mistake that for an endorsement. You have to pick your battles in life, and we were all too busy renouncing Harry and Lloyd to notice these three bozos breaking in the back door.
"Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde"(2003)
The 2001 original was a pleasant surprise that launched Reese Witherspoon. I wasn't expecting to fall for her cheery ditz Elle Woods as she improbably made her way through Harvard Law, but that's exactly what happened. It was "Clueless" meets "My Cousin Vinny", and proof that you should never judge a book by it's cover. But I decided to break things off on the Fourth of July weekend in 2003 when she showed up on Capitol Hill to save her pet Chihuahua's birth mother. Reese pocketed a paycheck equal to the first film's entire budget, and Sally Field and Bob Newhart presumably signed on without seeing a script(or at least, I hope). Even Luke Wilson looks slightly embarrassed. Memo to everyone involved- when your movie's plot is this insultingly stupid, YOU DON"T HAVE A MOVIE.
Witherspoon wisely put away her pink ensemble and bounced back with a Best Actress Oscar win for 2005's "Walk The Line". She'll get nominated again this year for "Wild". Let's hope she never does anything this wild ever again.
"Nutty Professor II: The Klumps"(2000)
Has any comedian ever squandered more of the public's trust than Eddie Murphy? With all due respect to the latex-wearing wunderkind, the answer is no, I'm afraid. Eddie was flirting with irrelevance("Vampire In Brooklyn", anyone?) going into his ribald 1996 remake of the 1963 Jerry Lewis classic that scored a career-saving sum of $128 million domestically in the summer of "Independence Day". However, Murphy has apparently never heard the word 'overkill' nor does he believe in having too much of a good thing(more on that later) because he donned the fat suit again four years later as the brilliant but obese Sherman Klump and all the members of his cheerfully vulgar family. The first film's message about being happy with yourself is replaced by a series of lame, gross-out gags more obnoxious and off-putting than Buddy Love himself. I knew I had no interest in a "Nutty III" the moment I saw Larry Miller violated by a giant hamster. Nobody stepped in to inform the future "Norbit" star that none of this was particularly funny. Murphy was indeed headed down a dark path.
"Nutty II" made money, but after a hefty $42 million opening weekend, malnourished viewers weren't sitting down for any more meals with the Klump clan. Janet Jackson added almost nothing to the pitiful proceedings(where was Jada?) besides her inescapable, deceptively sweet soundtrack contribution "Doesn't Really Matter".
"Blues Brothers 2000"(1998)
Oh, lord. Where do I begin? How about the title and the fact that the movie was released in 1998. The untimely death of original star John Belushi sixteen years earlier should have been an insurmountable roadblock. Did I mention that the first film came out in 1980? That's the year I was born. Sure, it was successful, but was there any human being on the planet wanting for a sequel the year I graduated high school?! Not according to the pathetic box office tally. Most of the films on this list are comedy gold compared to this calamity.
Dan Aykroyd and director John Landis went back to the well in a desperate attempt to resuscitate their dying careers, while the normally reliable John Goodman was certainly blackmailed into accepting this gig on his way to the set of "The Big Lebowski". Unfortunately, whenever Aykroyd really has his heart set on an idea, it's usually a bad one.
"Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls"(1995)
Jim Carrey is revealed to be a repeat offender as we turn back the clock. This Canadian cut-up was the hottest comedic performer of the Clinton era, and it's all because the first "Ace" dropped the same year as "D&D"("The Mask" made it a hat trick). Appreciative young moviegoers were literally willing to accept ANYTHING Jim Carrey did by 1995 and he took full advantage of that.
His inauguration as the wacky pet detective was a make-or-break-type scenario, and he's clearly reveling in that film's shocking success a year later as the ensuing anarchy made Adam Sandler's big screen career possible. The Africa-set "Ace 2" also cleaned up at the holiday box office, but Carrey must have felt some guilt afterwards. It wasn't long before he started making movies like "The Truman Show", "Man on the Moon" and "The Majestic" in a futile effort to transition into a Tom Hanks-style leading man. The existence of "Dumb & Dumber To" indicates that his crisis of conscience is over and Brentwood property taxes must be pretty high. So go ahead and make Ace Ventura 3, Jim. I dare you.
"City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold"(1994)
Billy Crystal peaked as cinema's unlikeliest cowboy in the immensely enjoyable and resonant 1991 comedy hit that filled more theater seats than his iconic courtship of Meg Ryan two years earlier. Everyone's favorite Academy Awards host was really rolling back then, and he got to watch co-star Jack Palance pick up the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his memorable role as grizzled trail-boss Curly. Comedy is typically treated as inferior to drama, which makes any sort of recognition on Hollywood's biggest night a rare and special occurrence. Lightning wouldn't strike twice, however.
Grown-ups loved the original's sharp exploration into various forms of mid-life crisis. This far less sophisticated sequel seems to be aimed at teenagers with it's contrived treasure map plot and the shameless reappearance of Palance as Curly's identical twin brother Duke. The late Bruno Kirby's absence is never explained(he hated the script), completely ignoring the firm friendship that was established the first time around. Jon Lovitz wasn't a bad substitute, though as Crystal's boorish brother and Daniel Stern gamely reprises his role as lovable loser Phil. I must admit that their antics push the film into guilty pleasure territory and caused me to stop my channel-surfing more than once. But that doesn't change the fact that Billy's stock(and the box office totals) both took a noticeable drop.
"Wayne's World 2"(1993)
I can't blame Wayne and Garth for wanting to put on a rock concert. When Mike Myers and Dana Carvey first brought their head-banging alter egos to the big screen in '92, the results were a surprise box office smash that reconfirmed the relevance of SNL. It's impossible not to think of this duo whenever Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" comes blaring on the radio. Trust me, this flick was popular and the public didn't have to wait long for an encore.
Christopher Walken replaces Rob Lowe as Wayne's buttoned-up adversary in this fast-tracked follow-up, and a host of cameos indicates that just about everyone wanted to join the party. Unfortunately, "WW2" sold significantly fewer tickets during the holidays in '93, temporarily making Myers wary of the sequel business(Shrek and Austin Powers would later cure any such fears). Some of the gags work, some don't, but any movie that boasts appearances by Heather Locklear AND Kim Basinger can't be all bad.
"Three Men and a Little Lady"(1990)
Here's a quick history lesson- Tom Selleck, Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg were all household names when they shared parental duties(and a ludicrously spacious Manhattan apartment) in their hugely successful family comedy "Three Men and a Baby". You couldn't avoid Magnum, Malone and Mahoney as they struggled to change diapers, buy the right baby food and sing lullabies in 1987 if you tried, and why on earth would you want to? It was the highest grossing film of the year, believe it or not, and director Leonard Nimoy(Spock!) even threw in a superfluous drug dealer subplot for good measure. A sequel, as they say, was inevitable.
That long-standing urban legend about a ghost boy haunting the "Baby" set was much more entertaining than anything that happened once Mary became a 'little lady'(that infamous "ghost" sighting at the window was a cardboard cut-out of Danson in case anybody is STILL wondering). Our heroes head to England to stop her mother(Nancy Travis) from marrying the wrong guy in this extended sitcom that the public had a much easier time avoiding as the '90s got underway. There's been some recent talk of a third film titled "Three Men and a Bride". Some may scoff at that notion, but we live in a world with seven "Fast & Furious" movies(so far). Go for it, guys.
"Another 48 Hrs."(1990)
Eddie Murphy is no stranger to sequels. They say he's made more than anyone in the modern era. Even if that's hyperbole, the upcoming "Beverly Hills Cop IV" will nudge him closer to that dubious distinction. Considering how hot the brash SNL alum was in the '80s, it's safe to say that we would have lapped up a second helping of Akeem and Billy Ray Valentine, too if Murphy had felt like giving it to us.
His first pairing with Nick Nolte was a December hit in 1982 that got the ball rolling on Eddie's world domination. It was as impressive a film debut as you'll ever see, and producing a sequel was as simple as sending Axel F back to Beverly Hills, which brings me to an interesting point. The action genre is definitely the most sequel-friendly and this film really belongs more in that category. Critics usually don't take kindly to continuations that don't really have to work for it, and were quick to throw out the 'lazy rehash' tag when faced with a new set of villains and not much else. That's where "Another 48 Hrs." does deliver, though. I don't need to watch "Sons of Anarchy" to see scary, gun-toting bikers because "Cherry" Ganz and co. are right here. Not to mention an absurd amount of broken glass. Director Walter Hill must have been going for the world record. Seriously, somebody needs to start the "Another 48 Hrs."/broken glass drinking game. I can't believe that doesn't exist yet.
Nolte and Murphy are no Gibson and Glover, but they're a better tag team than Chan and Tucker and Smith and Lawrence in my opinion. Whenever I come across the crusty Jack Cates and the irascible Reggie Hammond rollicking through San Fran in that piece-of-shit, sky-blue Cadillac on late night cable, I'm usually down for their impromptu fistfights and politically incorrect insults.
"Caddyshack II"(1988)
I may have spoken too soon when I handed "Blues Brothers 2000" the label of 'biggest travesty' on this list. It's like comparing a punch in the face to a kick in the nuts. In a perfect world, you never have to experience either one. But we both know that this is far from a perfect world. There's never been a kind word spoken about "Caddyshack II". As a matter of fact, it's considered so unholy and evil that it's barely been spoken of AT ALL in the last 25-plus years.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a more iconic comedy than the late, great Harold Ramis' directorial debut, also released in 1980, coincidentally. Bill Murray proved his cinematic worth in his largely improvised role of Karl the groundskeeper and Rodney Dangerfield lobbed several of his trademark zingers. Who doesn't grin at the sight of that animatronic gopher dancing to 1980s soundtrack king Kenny Loggins? Chevy Chase was the only original cast member willing to sell his soul and a significant chunk of his respectability to this lazy, laugh-free enterprise eight years later(1989's "Fletch Lives" didn't do his comic legacy any favors, either btw). Dan Aykroyd does some early reputation-ruining of his own in a cringe-inducing attempt to fill the void left by his old pal Murray. Speaking of voids, are there any Jackie Mason fans out there? I didn't think so.
"Arthur 2: On the Rocks"(1988)
If you're under the age of 30, this is Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. If you were alive and aware of things when Ronald Reagan was President, you should know that this pint-sized Brit and Judy Garland's daughter got together in 1981 and delivered a crowd-pleasing smash that received four Oscar nominations, for which it won two(Best Supporting Actor John Gielgud and Best Original Song). Warner Bros. understandably thought that audiences would show up for a few more drinks with the tipsy title character, but like most drunks, his charm wears off after a while. Seven years to be exact.
For the record, July 1988 is the third worst month in sequel history, behind July 1987("Superman IV", "Jaws: The Revenge") and June 1997("Batman & Robin", "Speed 2: Cruise Control"). You see, "Arthur 2" and "Caddyshack II" were both released in a two week span. Yikes. Fortunately, John McClane came to our rescue that summer and took out poor Arthur faster than that blonde terrorist with feet smaller than his sister. The reviews were savage and Moore's leading man days were officially numbered. However, I feel the need to point out that a recent cycle on STARZ/Encore revealed that this film isn't AS bad as it's reputation suggests. Yes, it's tired and unnecessary, but hardly excruciating. The characters are still likable enough and Arthur's hallucinatory visit from his late butler Hobson was(dare I say) touching. But that all-too brief exchange couldn't make up for an otherwise drab and lifeless affair. I should probably wrap this up now. I don't want to give Russell Brandt any ideas.
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