Comedy sequels: The Good, The Bad and the Strange
It was announced last month that cult classic comedy Anchorman is confirmed to have a sequel in development. One of the most quotable films of all time, it has one hell of a reputation, and the sequel is going to have to pull some serious punches in order to live up to that standard.
It isn’t the first time that a comedy sequel has been required to live up to high expectations, and some might argue that they rarely do. With that in mind, let’s have a look at some sequels that did well, did terribly or are just plain odd:
The Good:
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls:
The first Ace Ventura cemented Jim Carreys status as a comedy star, and was a pretty good film in it’s own right. However, it’s sequel went all out ridiculous. Rather than basing the pet detective in the middle of a city, it has Ace trying to solve a case in the heart of Africa. As silly a film as they come, there is an early raccoon rescue in the mountains, a bizarre rhino birth and a rare white bat that turns out to be the only animal that Jim Carreys character wasn’t fond of. One of the silliest films ever, but pretty hilarious all the same.
Best bit?
Ace being subjected to the many challenges of an African tribe, as seen here
Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear:
The film version of the highly successful Police Squad TV show was incredible, and this sequel continued down that same road. Not so much a better film, but rather the two are so very similar (and hilarious) that it is often difficult to differentiate between the two. A classic spoof, back when spoofs were actually funny
Best bit?
Any of the casual throwaway comments made by Frank Drebin, such as this.
Wayne’s World 2:
Again, not necessarily better than the original, but it did a good job of living up to it’s predecessor. The first Wayne’s World was so good that a lot of people were clamoring for more adventures of the rockers/tv stars. And more is what they got. The narrative was a little ridiculous, with the pair trying to put on a concert to satisfy Wayne’s inner turmoil which was represented by a naked India and Jim Morrison. However, this was completely in sync with the ridiculous tone set by the original and generally hailed as for being a success.
Best bit?
Like the original, the best parts of Wayne’s World 2 are the bits that feature the slightly unhinged deli owner Glen, portrayed here by Ed O’ Neill
Hot Shots: Part Deux:
One of the few sequels on the list that is actually funnier than the original, Hot Shots: Part Deux isn’t that widely known because the original wasn’t all that good. The sequel, however, went completely crazy in comparison to the first film. The humor is crude, as you can probably tell from the film poster, but it’s the kind of ridiculous humor that just works perfectly with a few friends, a pizza and a few beers.
Best bit?
Apologies for the terrible quality, but the greatest moment in this film is by far the moment when Charlie and Martin Sheen meet during a lull in the film, seen here.
Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey:
A genuinely admiral sequel that managed to advance from the original in a way that was similar but also original. Back when Keanu Reeves was best known for having long hair and saying ‘Excellent!’ a lot, this film also features what I consider to be one of the scariest moments in a comedy film (the scene in which Bill meets his grandmother in his personal hell). It also has an utterly epic closing act, with an awesome Kiss tribute.
Best bit?
Death plays a major role in this comedy, and the best bit by far is when Bill and Ted challenge him to a variety of games to save their souls, as seen here.
Shrek 2:
A helluva lot hype surrounded the release of Shrek 2, as it’s predecessor was critically hailed as being both a triumph in animation and comedy. It raised the bar for films everywhere, which meant that this sequel had a lot to live up. Luckily, it was just as good and many consider it to be an even better film than the first. Whether that’s true or not, it certainly did a lot better than the films that followed it.
Best bit?
Not just because of the hilarity of the situation, the best bit of this film has Mongo and Shrek attacking the castle in Far, Far Away in a stirring scene, all to the soundtrack of ‘Holding out for a Hero’! See here.
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me:
Another film that went along the track of ‘like the original, but bigger!’, the Austin Powers sequel saw Mike Myers taking even greater liberties with his many roles in this film. While this resulted in the unfortunate Fat Bastard, it also meant a lot more of the wonderful Dr. Evil, who was what made the original so very great.
Best bit?
Just about any of the moments featuring Dr. Evil, such as the example seen here.
The Bad:
Naming good comedy sequels is somewhat tricky, but it is all too easy to name bad comedy sequels as they tend to come in absolute droves. So rather than naming all the utterly awful sequels to utterly awful films, it would be better to simply name the most offensive, the ones that fell the furthest from glory:
Blues Brothers 2000:
I have to confess, I’ve never actually seen this film but the general consensus seems to be that it’s an absolute atrocity. Aside from the fact that there is now a kid in the roster for some reason, how can they possibly be so low as to try and replace John Belushi with John Goodman? It’s not to say that John Goodman isn’t a fine actor, but the chemistry between Belushi and Ackroyd was singular. To try and substitute it with such a different personality, it was just offensive.
Biggest offence?
Trying to replace John Belushi. It was just flat out NO!
Men in Black 2:
This is just a classic example of too much hype, not enough quality. The sequel to the brilliant Men in Black was a ho-hum affair from start to finish. It’s strange that a film with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones managed to be so forgettable, but they managed it. The story was a mess, much of it felt forced, and the majority of the humor was from crude slapstick. Here’s hoping the third film doesn’t follow suit.
Biggest offence?
Including Michael Jackson in the film for a continuous and terrible joke.
The Hangover 2:
The worst thing about The Hangover 2 was it’s absolutely painful lack of creativity. Rather than try for something new, it followed the exact same narrative of it’s successful predecessor, hoping it would be as successful a second time round. Instead, it is less funny, less intelligent and even slightly unsettling when it comes to the Thai strip clubs.
Biggest offence?
Aside from the fact that it isn’t nearly as funny as the original, it follows the exact same narrative as the original, with the pack getting drugged (by the same person!), having a crazy night, and losing a member of their party.
Son of the Mask:
How can a film sink so low? Along with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask helped Jim Carrey, as well as Cameron Diaz, rocket to stardom in the early nineties. Then, for some bizarre reason, a studio decides to make a sequel over ten years later that had a terrible story, an awful tone, and continued on a narrative that finished perfectly! It is generally rated as one of the worst films of all time, and rightfully so. I mean, just look at it?!
Biggest offence?
This one incredibly disturbing scene. Warning! Contains freakish baby!
Airplane II: The Sequel:
Not necessarily a bad film, but like The Hangover 2, this was just offensive in how closely it stuck to it’s predecessors’ script. Barely any changes are made, bar one or two general concepts (it is now a space shuttle rather than an airplane). Having seen the original, there is no point in seeing this film. You could make it yourself by trying to recreate the first one from memory.
Biggest offence?
Using not only the same joke, but the same footage from the first film, and expecting it to get the same laughs
Next Friday:
Friday was one of those singular films, shamelessly entertaining in just having it’s main character flap around and get into trouble, without any major plot to speak of. It worked, it was genuinely funny. It’s sequel, however, is not. It is terrible. It loses Chris Tucker, taking away pretty much the best thing from the original, and the gags are just plain awful.
Biggest offence?
Blatantly stealing the plot from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Caddyshack II:
Another film I haven’t seen. Yet I feel I can comment on it’s authenticity. How? No Bill Murray. No Rodney Dangerfield. Need I say more?
Biggest offence?
The reasons I just listed.
The Strange:
There are one or two comedy sequels that are, well, a little odd. For whatever reason. Maybe they are only indirectly a sequel, maybe they wouldn’t normally be classed a comedy. But whatever. Here we have some of the strangest comedy sequels:
Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn:
Unusual for any number of reasons, Evil Dead 2 was one of the funniest ‘horror movies’ released in the 80s. Sam Raimi wisely noted how his original Evil Dead was appreciated more for its humor than it’s scares and decided to elaborate on it, with great success, in this sequel. One of the greatest comedy moments of all time remains Bruce Cambells Ash doing battle with his own severed and possessed hand.
Why is it strange?
The first film was classed as a horror film and, technically, so too is it’s sequel. Bad horror films are quite often viewed simply as comedies on late night TV, and Evil Dead 2 was one of the first films to really acknowledge that. As well as this, it is also a retelling of the same story that was told in the first film, only with a noticeably different tone and events
Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment:
People sometimes forget that the original Police Academy movie is actually pretty decent. An absolute overload of godawful sequels will do that to a film. But Police Academy 2 is strange because it is hard to define in terms of quality. It starts to lean a little towards the ultra ridiculousness of the later sequels, but not so much to ruin the film itself. It’s zanier, true, and thus it loses some of the heart that made the original so good. But the inclusion of Bobcat Goldthwait as the ridiculous villain, Zed, actually saves it to a certain extent.
Why is it strange?
The film, while not superior to the original, shows potential for a franchise that might have actually been half decent. It also tends to divide a great deal of people in terms of how good it actually is as a film.
Evan Almighty:
Not a great ‘sequel’, Evan Almighty had one of the most powerful advertising campaigns I remember seeing in a long time. It wasn’t very well received critically and is largely a very forgettable film.
Why is it strange?
This is one of those films that can only very loosely be called a sequel. Unusually, the studios took a film that received only a lukewarm reception (Bruce Almighty), and tried to sell this film on it’s ‘predecessors’ ‘success’. The theme was vaguely similar, but only just.
Gremlins 2: The New Batch:
The sequel to Gremlins more or less ditched the idea of gremlins being scary and just focused on their wacky nature. This involved a lot of gremlins gaining access to a science lab and drinking concoctions which had unusual effects on them. Examples included turning one gremlin into pure electricity, giving another a sex change, and making one gremlin intelligent enough that he spoke in Tony Randall’s voice.
Why is it strange?
Like Evil Dead, Gremlins dabbled in horror as well as comedy. However, the original Gremlins was intentionally funny as well as scary. Joe Dante, the director of both films, only agreed to make the sequel if he could make it completely farcical. The reason for this, as was stated by him, was that the Gremlins story had already been told and there was nothing more to tell.
Life of Brian:
Monty Python’s films are generally considered the cream of the crop in terms of comedy. Both this film and The Holy Grail which preceded it are critically acclaimed, and have spawned a legacy to vast to account here. While the Monty Python crew have made other feature length works, only this and The Holy Grail appear to be linked in terms of story.
Why is it strange?
Technically not a sequel, Life of Brian does not follow on from The Holy Grail in any way. In fact, if taken chronologically, it actually precedes it. However, it is very similar in theme, story and characters, far more so than the other Python works. It could be that the creators were even then aware of the stigma that surrounds the notion of a comedy sequel, and so attempted to distance themselves from that notion as best they could.
Shock Treatment:
If you haven’t heard of this film, you could be easily forgiven. It wasn’t well received critically, financially or indeed any way at all. What’s really going to rock your boat however, is that this is technically a sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. You heard right. Written and directed by the same people, Shock Treatment was somewhat similar to it’s ‘predecessor’ in that it was a musical comedy about a couple that are trapped by a maniac, this time in a town sized TV studio.
Why is it strange?
Despite having multiple character revisit from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, including the protagonists Brad and Janet, none of them were portrayed by the same actors. As well as the fact that there is no mention of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in the title, it causes a lot of confusion as to whether or not it can be dubbed a sequel.
And finally…
Anchorman: Wake-Up Ron Burguny:
Sure, Anchorman 2 has been announced, but technically, this counts as a sequel. Filmed around the same time as the original, Anchorman was originally going to have a very different narrative. Instead of following the story of a panda giving birth, they were to be following the exploits of an extremist organization known as The Alarm Clock. While very similar to the original (for reasons that will be explained shortly), it was still a very funny film and well worth investing in.
Why is it strange?
Wake-Up Ron Burgundy is made up entirely of discarded plot ideas for the original film. Scenes are incredibly similar because they are essentially the same scenes only with the cast improvising their lines slightly differently. This is less a sequel than simply an ‘alternative’ film. The director, Adam McKay, said that he didn’t want to use The Alarm Clock narrative because he felt it wasn’t silly enough.
If there are any Good, Bad or Strange comedy sequels you feel I’ve missed, please be sure to comment below, or on Bone-idles’ Facebook page.
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