We've all been there; Browsing in Blockbuster, the HMV sale or the bargain-DVD section in Sainsbury's, and we come across a plastic case which gives us an involuntary tingle of excitement. Someone's made a sequel to that movie we like! How did this slip under our radar? Why wasn't this on at our local cinema? Why are we only hearing about this now? Well, there's only one way to answer that question; it involves spending the requisite £3 and usually ends with the question 'Why did this get made, never mind how?'.
The rules for selection are as follows: 1) The film needs to be a poorly received sequel to a generally successful film (so no crap sequels to crap originals, and no crap remakes of originals), 2) Films from longer series are fine, but the choice needs to be part two of that line, 3) I'm not intending to watch any of the associated part-ones as part of this run (whether I'm familiar with them or not), so there'll be extra pressure on the crap sequel to work on its own terms. So join me as I delve into some of the crappest, most unwarranted follow-ups of all time (hopefully with a couple of underrated, misunderstood gems thrown in).
How bad can it be, right? I mean, the original was good…
#CrapSequels: Dumb & Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd
Cert: 12 / 84 mins / Dir. Troy Miller
Year: 2003 (9 years after the first movie)
The general feeling: RT Score: 10% / IMDB Score: 3.4
This film was released in the same year as Kill Bill Vol. 1. Think about that for a second. Groaning into the cinesphere a whole nine years after the Carrey/Daniels original, this is the first of the #CrapSequels season's shite prequels, as the titular Harry and Lloyd meet as new students in high school in 1986 (apparently. Although there's little-to-nothing in the film to suggest that this takes place in any specific timeframe).
It becomes apparent from the very first scene, set inside Mimi Rogers' vagina, that the film will be full of ideas which must have seemed absolutely hilarious on paper, but which completely fail to translate to the screen. Maybe the problem is the lack of connection between the Farrelly's writing and Troy Miller's direction, but despite the near-constant shrieking of the ensemble cast, Dumb And Dumberer is just not funny. The plot (well…) centers around Eugene Levy playing Eugene Levy With A Moustache™ as a corrupt/inept school principal, who sets up a fake special-needs class in a bid to extort money which he intends to embezzle in order to abscond to Hawaii with a dinner-lady. This scheme is thwarted in true whacky-comedy style by the aforementioned class of misfits, like some tasteless bastardisation of The Breakfast Club and Mind Your Language.
A calculated insult to the original movie, there's even a section where the writers have aped the 'embarrassing / early-stages-of-a-date / I can't come out of the toilet because there's shit everywhere' scene from last time, in a shameless attempt to remind audiences of the film they're not watching. Except this time, the punchline is a comedy-straight-man standing in the bathroom shouting "Everything's covered in shit". You can't buy class.
The only good things about When Harry Met Lloyd: 1) Eric Olsen makes a pretty fantastic Jim Carrey. The looks (aided by makeup and wardrobe, of course) are already there, and he's got the voice and mannerisms down pat, and 2) At 84 minutes including credits, it's mercifully short.
Shite.
No, I have not.
Seen it, loved it.
Well, I suppose it'd help a bit, although it'll also raise your expectations unrealistically.
Lin Shaye is back from the first film as a different character. That's it..
Well, a sequel-threequel is in the works, due for release later this year.
I am reserving my judgement.
None of these. You don't need to see this.
I didn't hear one, but I was banging a metal tray against my head for a lot of the film's runtime.
Why would you wait nine years and then do this?
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
No comments:
Post a Comment