Meatballs Part II

I was working at an actual summer camp the Summer this piece of crap was released. It was my sixth year at camp, as camper and counselor, and a big bunch of us (counselors) went on a day off to see it, with huge expectations. Needless to say, this 'film' has absolutely nothing to do with the mighty original. Rent the DVD of the original and watch the 'making of' part. It's a third as long and a hundred times better than this "sequel". I give it 2/10 only because there might be enough weed on Earth to make this vaguely amusing. Assuming you're watching it on a TV with only one channel.

IMDb demands ten lines of text to post a comment, so I guess they are intimately involved with the cretins that thought this was a viable movie. Actually, I'm sure they made money on it due to a budget of twelve dollars. The film was shot with a MONO soundtrack? Yeah, that's the way to save a couple grand! If only it had gone straight to VHS - I'd have saved my $3.75 back in 1984.

Remember when we used to be satisfied to go the movies and watch bad actors from sitcoms strut around cheap sets and make dumb jokes? Well, if you were born anytime after 1980, you probably don't remember seeing any cheesy 80s flicks in their original context. Meatballs II doesn't claim to be anything other than one of these "campy" movies, so view it with a good attitude and watch to see what actors you recognize. I recently watched this movie for the first time in the 21st century (probably skipping all of the 90s) and, being a good ten years older and wiser, saw it as the bunch of foolishness it really is. However, it's an essential 80s flick full of outdated costumes and corny exercise music. I still have yet to hear anyone use the expression "pinky" in this context. The opening scene still has me rolling on the floor.

If you laugh at this flick will all depend on how silly you're willing to let a film stretch. There are several practical jokes, mishaps in the woods and kids who operate like they're in their mid 20's (like Hervey's candy bar dealer). The cast is huge, but as one IMDBer said, Kim Richards is a big standout because shes absolutely GORGEOUS! But everyone else does a nice job, too. Mulligan is friendly enough, Mengatti's a good badass, Nepote a great dope boxer and I loved the alien. His voice was cute and his antics interesting enough. The most versatile part went to Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Ruebens who serves four different capacities in the film as a bus driver, a disc jockey, some sort of Hare Krishna and in the end a referee. I actually enjoyed this more than the first film, simply because this one had more going on in its ninety minutes. And when each summer rolls around I cant help but do the lyrics to the great theme song of the film. But just like in the first movie, it all comes down to if you think over the top silly is funny enough for you.

The first "Meatballs" had Bill Murray, Chris Makepeace, a lot of laughs and no alien subplot.

"Meatballs II" has Richard Mulligan, Paul (Pee-Wee Herman) Ruebens, Hamilton Camp, Archie Hahn, John Larroquette, a few laughs and an alien subplot.

By the time "Meatballs II" came out, there had already been so many ripoffs of "Meatballs" that this just paled liberally by comparison (TIDBIT - this in fact was a "Meatballs" ripoff originally, until the rights were grabbed up and it was released instead as "Meatballs II". Who says there aren't any new ideas in Hollywood?).

In spite of the mountain of talent in "Meatballs II", there is little in the way of actual humor. Instead, you have a hyperventilating Richard Mulligan, an off-center Paul Reubens playing in Pee-Wee mode, a screaming Hamilton Camp, a horny Archie Hahn, a lisping John Laroquette, and your usual plethora of horny teens, junior class military cadets, brain-dead boxers, and pot-smoking aliens who ask why camp counselors are such dorks.

There's the major laughs; do with them what you will. And whatever you do with these laughs, it's more than what "Meatballs II" could ever do with them.

Two and a half stars. Maybe there's just something about Pee-Wee Herman. Or John Larroquette. Or Richard Mulligan....

Granted, after having sat through the 1979 "Meatballs" movie, then I didn't really have much of any expectations or hopes for the 1984 sequel "Meatballs Part II", but still, I did sit down to watch it.

Actually, and oddly enough, then I was actually more entertained with this 1984 sequel than I was with the 1979 original "Meatballs" movie. Yeah, odd, I know, right?

The storyline in this 1984 movie seemed more coherent and structured, whereas the storyline in the first movie seemed chaotic and made up as the director went along. So this coherency in this 1984 movie definitely added to the overall enjoyment of the movie.

However, this still wasn't a movie that really made me laugh, it got a few smiles here and there, but not making me laugh. Which was disappointed, especially since this is a comedy. And that fact makes me not want to return to watch "Meatballs Part II" a second time around.

The alien creature in the movie was actually some of the best parts of the entire movie, because it was so cheesy and campy.

The acting in the movie was adequate, taking into consideration the type of movie this is and the script presented to the actors and actresses. It was, however, a nice treat to see the likes of Richard Mulligan, John Larroquette and Paul Reubens in a movie such as this.

My rating of "Meatballs Part II" is a mere four out of ten stars.