Today Universal released Get Him to the Greek, a sort-of sequel to 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall as it uses Aldous Snow who had a small role in the original. Beyond that, there is only a brief reference to Sarah Marshall, which has me thinking it's not really a sequel as much as it is a spin-off. The same could be said for a movie like Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)... Same characters, but not really a sequel to Clerks, which ended up having its own sequel in 2006.
In a debate with a group of fellow Seattle critics trying to decide if Get Him to the Greek was a sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall or not, the topic turned to comedy sequels in general and I was asked to name a great comedy sequel. Should be easy... right?
I started mining my memory banks, and started thinking of movies with the number "2" in the title and equating it with all the laughter I experienced watching it. Strangely enough, my mind went blank. There was nothing there. Certainly, movies came to mind, but were they really "great"? Could I say Police Academy 2 was a "great" movie? Was it great in the way Superman 2 is great when compared to the original? Was it great in the way Before Sunset, The Godfather: Part II or The Empire Strikes Back are individually great on top of being excellent in comparison to their respective original films?
As I began putting the list at the end of this article together one film I felt was a bona fide part two and a movie I would say qualifies as a great film did come to mind -- Jacques Tati's Mon Oncle. However, I don't think it's anywhere near as good as Mr. Hulot's Holiday and I am sure some would even argue it's a sequel. Is it a sequel, or is Monsieur Hulot just in another situation the same way Aldous Snow is in Get Him to the Greek? I didn't include any of Charlie Chaplin's films on the list below either. I wouldn't say any of his films with him as The Tramp are sequels. Would you?
And how about animated children's films? Toy Story 2? Ice Age 2? Garfield 2? Are these comedies? I could ask the same about other films and their franchises. Is Lethal Weapon 2 a comedy sequel or more an action film with comedic elements? Is Back to the Future 2 a comedy sequel or a sci-fi film with some solid jokes tossed in? Lethal Weapon I lean more to saying "no," while Back to the Future feels more like a "yes."
Horror also gave me a hard time because the first A Nightmare on Elm Street is certainly not a comedy, but that franchise certainly devolved into the zany. Was Child's Play meant to be a comedy? Its sequels were. The one film I am sure many will instantly mention is Evil Dead II. Personally I am not a fan of the Evil Dead series, but to each their own. I know a lot of people love that franchise and can understand why they would include it.
If I was to take things beyond the idea of simply looking at films that were part two in franchises I would instantly add Christmas Vacation to the list, but I still think I would have a hard time going much further.
So I leave the questioning up to you, and let me set a few things to consider for the discussion.
- First try thinking of films that were part two in their respective franchises before going to parts three, four, etc.
- Make sure the films you are talking about are films you think are great and not just mediocre or decent. Here are a few films to consider in comparison:
- Superman 2, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Dawn of the Dead, The Dark Knight, The Godfather: Part II, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Before Sunset, Aliens, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Spider-Man 2, X2, The Silence of the Lambs, The Bride of Frankenstein, Rocky II, Magnum Force, The Bourne Supremacy, The Queen and For a Few Dollars More
Next year we will see the release of The Hangover 2 and recently Paramount decided not to fund Anchorman 2 or Zoolander 2, much to the surprise and disdain of the Internet audience. Take a look at the following list and search your brain for great comedy sequels and then ask yourself if The Hangover 2 is such a great idea or if it's really all that bad a thing Anchorman 2 and Zoolander 2 don't look like they're going to be made.
The following list is ordered by year and then in alphabetical order by title:
- After the Thin Man (1936)
- Mon oncle (1958)
- A Shot in the Dark (1964)
- McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force (1965)
- Herbie Rides Again (1974)
- The Shaggy D.A. (1976)
- Oh, God! Book II (1980)
- Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
- The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
- Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
- Porky's II: The Next Day (1983)
- Cannonball Run II (1984)
- Meatballs Part II (1984)
- European Vacation (1985)
- The Jewel of the Nile (1985)
- Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985)
- Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
- Evil Dead II (1987)
- Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987)
- Teen Wolf Too (1987)
- Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988)
- Big Top Pee-wee (1988)
- Caddyshack II (1988)
- 'Crocodile' Dundee II (1988)
- Return of the Killer Tomatoes! (1988)
- Short Circuit 2 (1988)
- Back to the Future Part II (1989)
- Fletch Lives (1989)
- Ghostbusters II (1989)
- The Gods Must Be Crazy II (1989)
- Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
- 3 Men and a Little Lady (1990)
- Another 48 Hrs. (1990)
- Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
- Look Who's Talking Too (1990)
- Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
- House Party 2 (1991)
- Mannequin: On the Move (1991)
- The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
- Problem Child 2 (1991)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
- Honey I Blew Up the Kid (1992)
- Addams Family Values (1993)
- Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
- Wayne's World 2 (1993)
- Weekend at Bernie's II (1993)
- City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994)
- Major League II (1994)
- Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
- Father of the Bride Part II (1995)
- Grumpier Old Men (1995)
- A Very Brady Sequel (1996)
- Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
- The Odd Couple II (1998)
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
- Toy Story 2 (1999)
- Next Friday (2000)
- Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)
- American Pie 2 (2001)
- Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001)
- Rush Hour 2 (2001)
- Scary Movie 2 (2001)
- Analyze That (2002)
- Men in Black II (2002)
- The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
- Stuart Little 2 (2002)
- Bad Boys II (2003)
- Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
- Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003)
- Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde (2003)
- Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004)
- Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004)
- Meet the Fockers (2004)
- Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
- Shrek 2 (2004)
- The Whole Ten Yards (2004)
- Be Cool (2005)
- Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005)
- Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005)
- Son of the Mask (2005)
- Big Momma's House 2 (2006)
- Clerks II (2006)
- Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)
- Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
- Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj (2006)
- Are We Done Yet? (2007)
- Evan Almighty (2007)
- Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)
- Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)
- Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
- Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)
- Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
- The Pink Panther 2 (2009)
I am sure I missed some, but I tried to be as all-inclusive as I could without going overboard and I'd say 94 titles is pretty close to overboard. However, if you have more to add to the list please do so in the comments below. If you can create a top ten list of all-time "great" comedy sequels do that as well. Also, is it worth it to make comedy sequels or is comedy pretty much set up as a one-and-done scenario where a sequel only extends the joke to the point it's no longer funny?
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I don't think I've ever seen a great sequel to a comedy. I've seen good ones, but a real great sequel is suppose to be better than the original, and I have never seen that.
Maybe The Hangover 2 could break this curse, but its not likely.
A Shot in the Dark is probably the best on that list above, and maybe the great comedy sequel IMO.
Out of the others, i enjoyed Clerks 2, Ghostbusters 2, and Rush Hour 2. All the others, some are god awful (Caddyshack 2 comes to mind), others are just plain mediocre.
I grew up watching Beverly Hills Cop. I know as far as greatest films go, it doesn't register. Maybe I only love them because they are a part of my childhood, but I always thought the second was better than the first. This would be in my top ten all time comedies.
I do think Austin Powers 2 is a great sequel. Austin Powers 3 wasn't, but I remember I really enjoyed number 2. I just don't know if it's BETTER than the original. But it's on par, definitely.
Addams Family Values is also a great sequel, that one I do think it's better than the original! I love Joan Cussack's character, and the whole sequence of Wednesday and Pugsley at that 'normal' summer camp. I love those two movies, by the way.
And Shrek 2. Great movie. Sequel or not.
But yeah, that would be it...
I don't think of any other comedy sequel that way.
I do like Naked Gun 2. A lot! But I just don't know if it's actually great.
I'm a huge fan of Hot Shots! Part Deux, Wayne's World 2 and Austin Powers 2
Maybe people don't consider Toy Story 2 a comedy, but I laughed so hard while watching it, I actually lost my voice. Even better than #1.
Return of the Killer Tomatoes was way funnier than the original IMO. Even if that really isn't saying much. So I will consider that a great comedy sequel. If you consider Toy Story 2 a comedy than that is the best example possible. Other than that i got nothing. This really is a difficult question.
Great? The only ones I can think of would be "Clerks II", Shrek 2 and "Toy Story 2". There are a handful that are enjoyable ("Naked Gun" sequels, "OSS 117: Lost in Rio" which I just watched last week, Meet the Fockers), and there are some that are complete junk.
Mon Oncle and Toy Story 2 for me.
I wouldn't classify any of the above as "great"...but then, neither were most of the originals.
However, A SHOT IN THE DARK is excellent, and IMHO is the only one on the list to surpass the original movie (Pink Panther..which is itself considered a classic by many).
Most of the sequels above are atrocious, but there are some good, watchable sequels: Another 48 Hours, BTTFuture , Ghostbusters, Addams Fam, Toy Story, Lethal Weapon, Am. Pie, Shrek 2.
Other decent sequels: Naked Gun, Hot Shots, Dundee, Porky's, Nerds, Airplane.
With the exception of SSITD (and perhaps Toy Story & Shrek), none come anywhere close to "greatness.
I think you ought to revise your request to try to come up with three that qualify. Even then, it's going to be a challenge...or may prove impossible.
As soon as I read the title of this article I thought "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey". I saw it as a double feature with the first film.
I'm with you. William Sadler's Death is one of my favorite comic characters of all time.
I totally agree. It's funny though just this morning I was thinking about how Bogus Journey was, IMO, better than the original Bill and Ted.
Is Legend of Zorro considered a comedy sequel or is it just the lack of effort that is comical?
A Shot in the Dark is the only one on that list that i think comes close too being classified as a "great" movie. There are many on that list that i enjoyed, but none that i would put anywhere near your list of great drama sequels.
I really enjoyed CLERKS II, American Pie 2, A Shot in the Dark, Grumpier Old Men, Gremlins 2: The New Batch and of course Back to the Future Part II...
Those are all ones That i personally thought were at least as good as the originals... My only beef with any of the above sequels that I listed... was the part in the middle of Gremlins 2 where Hulk Hogan shows up, but I still really enjoy the movie
The only ones that come into mind are toy story 2, and meet the focker, but theyre equal to their predecessors, but both just as enjoyable as the original.
Madagascar 2 could count as one, but the original was god awful so thats not saying much.
I vote for Naked Gun 2 1/2. I can't even remember the first one.
I would put A Shot in the Dark as better than the original. It really was the film that established the Inspector Clouseau mystique. And it was hilarious (the bit where they sychronize their watches is classic comedy)
Also, I didn't like The Addams Family, but I loved Addams Family Values. It was darker, and consistently funnier than the first film.
But you are right, the great comedy sequel is certainly a rarity. I think comedy is something that can get old pretty quick (see Austin Powers movies) and when repetitive they lose their surprise and their freshness.
I thought National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation was superior to NL's Vacation and European Vacation...is that even more rare - a second sequel funnier than it's predecessors.
Out of all the movies mentioned..the only one that I would class as great is Back to the Future 2..but I wouldn't class this as a comedy movie, definately sci-fi.
The other ones I would say range from pretty bad to pretty good. The one that really sticks out for me is Bill and Ted's Bogus Adventure, because although it isn't a great movie, it is better than the original and I have a soft spot for it.
For me, its Toy Story 2, Shrek 2, Austin Powers 2, Wayne's World 2, and Home Alone 2.
Ace
Ventura
2
When
Nature
Calls.
Great Answers.. If I had to pick just one I'd say Shrek 2 for the ingenius adult humor aspect being taken to another level- which made it funnier than the original.
Ace Ventura 2
Shrek 2
Bev. Hills Cop 2
Rush Hour 2
Toy Story 2! Simple.
I know it's not a comedy sequel but star trek II the wrath of khan is way better than the first one.
When it comes to comedy sequels I'm yet to watch one which I would say was great. There are some which are as good as the first but for me that doesn't put them in the category of being great.
@Brad Brevet: Boy putting together a Top-10 List of truly great comedy sequels is next to impossible; however, I've taken a decent stab at it. Still, in my mind there are only five sequels which fit your criteria of at least matching their predecessors:
01 (1999) Toy Story 2
02 (1989) Lethal Weapon 2
03 (2001) Rush Hour 2
These films, in my opinion, at least matched the quality of the first films. There are some other worthy films; the last film, however, is merely filler (it was good, but couldn't quite live up to its predecessor).
04 (2004) Shrek 2
05 (1964) A Shot in the Dark
06 (2006) Clerks II
07 (1989) Back to the Future: Part II
08 (1999) Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
09 (1995) Father of the Bride: Part II
10 (2003) Bad Boys II
Three that leap to mind that were at least as good as the original would be Lethal Weapon 2, Back to the Future Part II and Addams Family Values (I would argue that Family Values is far superior to the first, in fact.)
Mon Oncle is genius.
clerks 2 is great.
lots of ok/funny comedies in that bunch.
There's a few movies there as good as their predecessors - Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, A Very Brady Sequel, European Vacation (although I agree Christmas Vacation is the best of them all).
The comedy franchise died with the studio system - Ma & Pa Kettle, Francis the Mule. Judy Tenuta movies, the "Carry On" films in Britain - for better and/or worse.
One film though that you mention there isn't a comedy but a tragedy - The Odd Couple II. Always loved Matthau and Lemmon, Got to see this at an advanced screening and I wanted to cry, I was so embarrassed for them. It is SO bad.
Kathy - that reminds me of that line from Dennis the Menace, spoken by - of all people - Walter Matthau: "A tragedy of this magnitude must be somebody's fault!"
ASITD, Christmas Vacation, Shrek 2, Toy Story 2.
Only ones That are really "great", everything else is just pretty good, decent, passable, or crap.
Airplane 2 is awesome. Like it better than the 1st, maybe my fav comedy ever.
Debbie does New Orleans. Brilliant