There are good and bad sequels being made all the time. It
seems that Hollywood is unwilling to bank on something new and more prone to
take on remakes and sequels more and more. So if you choose to go see a sequel
my guess is your hoping that it's good. I can say now that THINK LIKE A MAN
TOO is indeed a good sequel.
The men and women from the first film are brought back
again, this time to celebrate the wedding of two of their own. Michael (Terrence
Jenkins) and Candace (Regina Hall) are about to tie the knot and with Cedric (Kevin
Hart) as his best man you know things won't turn out as planned. The first
problem they encounter is Michael's interfering mother Loretta (Jenifer Lewis),
a woman who is controlling all aspects of the wedding from start to finish.
Vegas may not have been her first choice for location but she's making it this
wedding as un-Vegas as she can.
But this group of friends has other plans in mind for the
night before. While the tried and true plot device of a bachelor party gone
wild has been used over and over again, this movie at least puts a new spin on
it that works. Rather than just have the fellas out and about visiting strip
club after strip club, we end up with two groups setting out to outdo one another.
Narrating it from start to finish is Cedric.
The men start out in the lead doing the things they planned
in the hotel at one of the most expensive suites available. Of course when Cedric
booked it he thought the cost was only $4,000. What he failed to notice is that
the ad he read said it was $4,000 off. With that discount the costs is a mere
$40,000 per night. As the night progresses things only continue this way.
The women are having a tough time getting off the ground as
well. It seems that Loretta has the entire evening planned on her own, starting
with dinner at a fancy restaurant and then on to seeing Dionne Warwick in
concert. To the rescue comes the bride's uncle Eddie (Dennis Haysbert), someone
that Michael's mom took a liking to once before. With her out of the way the
race is on.
A mix up results in the girls getting the bus that Cedric booked
for the evening leaving the guys with a limo painted with male strippers on the
side. Rather than take that ride, they walk instead. As they walk they talk
with one another about the various problems each one is facing. That's one of
the things that makes this movie work more than most. It's not just the raunch
that this evening is about, it's about friendship and the affection they have
for their significant others as well as one another.
One couple is facing possible career changes that may take
them to opposite sides of the country. Another is facing the daunting task of
trying to get pregnant and worried about what that entails. A third faces the
problems of dealing with the guy's party animal past and his girlfriend's
confusion as to whether this is a man she wants to spend her life with. All of
these difficulties come to a solution before the end of the film, a lot like
the old romantic comedies of the 50s and 60s. The thing that makes it stand out
is the journey they take along the way there.
At this time Hart is perhaps the biggest name in the cast.
So many stand up comedians always start to make movies and take over the whole
thing while at the same time just doing the same character they do in their
stand up. Hart does the smart thing though and shares the screen with the
entire cast here. Not only that while he may portray a character that's a bit
shallow and misguided, that may go off on the rest from time to time, he never
makes the movie about himself. It's about the entire group. That's a nice
change to see.
There are plenty of laughs as the
movie progresses from start to finish with the best held in check till the
final third of the film. But that works here. Prior to that we have to set up
exactly what is going on with these people. It makes the rest of the film that
much more special by the end. While they might end up in some crazy situations,
it makes you wish that you had a group of friends around you as close as this
group is. Now to wait and see if a third film in the series comes along. With
babies being discussed it would be the next step and could make it a wonderful
trilogy to watch.
Click here to order.
No comments:
Post a Comment