Are Comedy Sequels Inherently Bad?

[the G-man]

Inspired by the news of Dan Ackroyd working on Ghostbusters 3, I got thinking: has a comedy sequel EVER lived up to the original in terms of actual laughs?

For the life of me, with the possible exception of Christmas Vacation (and that just might be the sentimentality of the holiday kicking in) I can't think of one. Instead, they tend to be watered down remakes of the originals and/or exercises in bigger budgets masquerading as more laughs.

Anyone have an example to prove me wrong?

 

[Pingfah]

Personally I thought Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey was a bigger budget, but also funnier and more creative movie than the first, with better music too.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I think Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey was better than the original.

ETA: Pingfah ninja'd me!

 

[MacLeod]

To answer the question, comedy sequels aren't inherently bad. They may not be as good as the first one one but that doesn't make them bad.

Though to expand, sequels tend to be a mixed bag no matter what genre is used.

 

[Idran]

Inspired by the news of Dan Ackroyd working on Ghostbusters 3, I got thinking: has a comedy sequel EVER lived up to the original in terms of actual laughs?

For the life of me, with the possible exception of Christmas Vacation (and that just might be the sentimentality of the holiday kicking in) I can't think of one. Instead, they tend to be watered down remakes of the originals and/or exercises in bigger budgets masquerading as more laughs.

Anyone have an example to prove me wrong?

Maybe not in terms of laughs, but I always thought BTTF2 was the best of the trilogy. (Though I know I'm one of only a slight few that thinks that.)

 

[Spot's Meow]

I'm gonna go with the second Austin Powers movie. That is the only one I can think. Well, I also like Scary Movie 2 a lot, but I'm sure most disagree.

If you think about it in terms of the second movie being just as good as the first movie, even though both movies kind of suck, then I think Evan Almighty works well as a sequel. Both of those movies aren't anything amazing, but the second one is at least as good as the first if not better.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Bogus Journey, Hot Shots Part Deux and The Spy Who Shagged Me spring to mind as being better-than-the-original comedy sequels. Madagascar 2 and Shrek 2 if we count animated movies.

 

[the G-man]

Inspired by the news of Dan Ackroyd working on Ghostbusters 3, I got thinking: has a comedy sequel EVER lived up to the original in terms of actual laughs?

For the life of me, with the possible exception of Christmas Vacation (and that just might be the sentimentality of the holiday kicking in) I can't think of one. Instead, they tend to be watered down remakes of the originals and/or exercises in bigger budgets masquerading as more laughs.

Anyone have an example to prove me wrong?

Maybe not in terms of laughs, but I always thought BTTF2 was the best of the trilogy. (Though I know I'm one of only a slight few that thinks that.)

I don't think the BTF films count as comddies. They're sci-fi films with comedic elements. And No. 2 was pretty close to a full blown drama.

 

[RoJoHen]

Inspired by the news of Dan Ackroyd working on Ghostbusters 3, I got thinking: has a comedy sequel EVER lived up to the original in terms of actual laughs?

For the life of me, with the possible exception of Christmas Vacation (and that just might be the sentimentality of the holiday kicking in) I can't think of one. Instead, they tend to be watered down remakes of the originals and/or exercises in bigger budgets masquerading as more laughs.

Anyone have an example to prove me wrong?

Maybe not in terms of laughs, but I always thought BTTF2 was the best of the trilogy. (Though I know I'm one of only a slight few that thinks that.)

I don't think the BTF films count as comddies. They're sci-fi films with comedic elements. And No. 2 was pretty close to a full blown drama.

I agree. I love all three of those movies, but I would never consider them comedies.

 

[Checkmate]

There's Army of Darkness, if you consider it a sequel to Evil Dead II which was definitely a horror-comedy. There's also Evil Dead II if you ignore that its a sequel to just a plain horror movie.

I also thought Next Friday was better than Friday. Ditto for European Vacation and Airplane II.

 

[Yoda]

^Next Friday better than Friday? Airplane II better than Airplane? No... just no..

 

[Checkmate]

Stop the presses: Someone has a different opinion than Yoda. The world is about to collapse from the sheer impossibility of it all!!! AIYEEEEEEEEE!

 

[Yoda]

Let me guess, you think Voyager is the best Star Trek too?

 

[Checkmate]

Yes, that's exactly what it means. I find two movies more humorous than you do, so naturally every shit show in existence must be the best thing ever.

Do you even know what the phrase "I also thought..." means? Here's a big hint since you clearly don't: It doesn't mean what you thought.

 

[Mr Silver]

There are a few terrible comedy sequels out there.

Arthur 2: On the rocks
Rush Hour 3
Austin Powers: Goldmember
Scary Movie 2, 3, 4 and 5
Wayne's World 2
Caddyshack 2

 

[Reverend]

^Call me crazy, but I rather like Wayne's World 2. Not sure if I'd call it better than the first though. Probably not.

To answer the OP's question; no, comedy sequels aren't inherently bad. The reason why a lot of them are bad is because (like a lot of sequels, comedy or no) they're often made solely to cash-in on the success of the first. As such they're often an out-and-out re-hash of the original, typically reusing a lot of the same gags but absolutely done to death.

The "good" comedy sequels (many of which have already been listed above, but I'll just put down another vote for Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) are usually the ones that build on the success of the original and take them further in *new* and interesting ways. More to the point they're made to be good films in their own right and don't need to depend on the popularity of the original to dupe people into buying a ticket.

Let's stick with Bill & Ted for a sec and see exactly why it's a good (and arguable better) film. First and foremost the core of the film is to two title characters. Rather than just dumping them into a similar scenario where they must one again use the time booth to have a series wacky adventures through time to achieve some arbitrary goal or avoid some future pitfall, the film makers instead chose to further develop the characters in new and surprisingly deep (sometimes even *dark*) and creative ways.
The original time travel gimmick is pushed to the side and only really figures in a clever little time-travel causality logic skit right near the end.

So basically, a good sequel first needs to be a good film on it's own. Personally, while I own both 'Bogus Journey' and 'The Spy Who Shagged Me' on DVD, but I don't have (nor do I particularly want) their respective prequels. That alone should speak volumes.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

I know I am in the minority, but i also thought Airplane 2 was better than the first. They just had the pacing of how a movie like that should flow down much better.

 

[OsmiumJohnnycake]

I don't think Airplane II is better than the first, but it is full of laughs and far funnier than I would have expected since it wasn't from the same creative team. It also has my favorite absurd joke from the series (the danger: vacuum cabinet, which Striker for no reason opens and then is attacked by a vacuum that for some reason is blowing air. huh? I don't know, but it makes me laugh every time).

I loved both growing up and with the advent of the internet, expected "Ken Finkleman" to be some kind of "Alan Smithee" variant for the original team. But no, it's apparently just a real guy who I am not really familiar with but who was able to jump on and write/direct a hilarious film in the vein of the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker original. It also has some slightly weirder, more nonsensical stuff than the first Airplane, stuff that's all over my favorite Z/A/Z film, Top Secret.

I guess I'd say it's faster-paced than the original and might get my vote for better than the original if it weren't for some sections/jokes that I have never liked.

 

[Idran]

Maybe not in terms of laughs, but I always thought BTTF2 was the best of the trilogy. (Though I know I'm one of only a slight few that thinks that.)

I don't think the BTF films count as comddies. They're sci-fi films with comedic elements. And No. 2 was pretty close to a full blown drama.

I agree. I love all three of those movies, but I would never consider them comedies.

True enough, yeah.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I'm gonna go with the second Austin Powers movie. That is the only one I can think. Well, I also like Scary Movie 2 a lot, but I'm sure most disagree.

If you think about it in terms of the second movie being just as good as the first movie, even though both movies kind of suck, then I think Evan Almighty works well as a sequel. Both of those movies aren't anything amazing, but the second one is at least as good as the first if not better.

I agree on AP2, but it was a much different kind of movie. AP was more a straight spoof of Bond movies, whereas AP2 was really just silly.

I thought Cannonball Run 2 was good, even if it was a copy of the original, concept-wise.