Fubar II

Officially one of the best Christmas movies of all time.

Canadian filmmaker Michael Dowse made his feature-length debut in 2002 with "Fubar", a cult hit mockumentary about two Alberta headbangers played by Paul Spence and David Lawrence. When I first saw that movie in 2005, I didn't think it was bad, but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, and may have left me a bit puzzled. I have watched it again twice since then, and I definitely thought it was better during those two viewings, good enough to make me interested in seeing this sequel when I heard about it. The only movie I saw in theatres in 2010 was Tim Burton's version of "Alice in Wonderland", which I didn't even like. I didn't see "Fubar II" on the silver screen, but have since seen it on DVD, and now think both "Fubar" films are pretty funny.

It appears Dean Murdoch has now been free of testicular cancer for five years, but he and his friend, Terry Cahill, are continuing their self-destructive partying lifestyle. At a party to celebrate Dean's five post-cancer years, Terry is informed by Tron, the duo's friend and "party leader," that they could make a lot of money working with him as oil pipeliners in Fort McMurray. During this conversation outside, Dean happens to be wasted in his bedroom and accidentally sets the place on fire, so he has to be rescued from the house as it is destroyed! The now homeless Dean and Terry then head up north to start their pipeline laying jobs. It isn't long before they begin to receive their high wages, putting an end to their financial trouble. They soon meet Trish, a local strip bar waitress whom every member of the pipeline crew claims to have had sex with! Terry begins to date this woman, and seems to be getting into a serious relationship with her, but this ends up threatening his longtime friendship with Dean.

The 2002 mockumentary features lots of raunchiness, insanity, and bizarre dialogue, and in case you were wondering, none of this has changed in the sequel! It didn't have me consistently laughing throughout, but I sure did find a lot of laughs, some bigger than others, and when the antics of the characters weren't quite enough to make me laugh, I think I was usually still smiling. With all the rapid dialogue, I'm sure I didn't catch all the jokes (I think that's been the case every time I've seen the original "Fubar"), but certainly still caught a lot of them, and the dialogue is very often the reason for the laughs, which is good, since it's such a major part of the humour. There may have been parts around the beginning which made it look to me like this sequel was going to be inferior to the original, but this didn't last long, and viewers may find some surprises later in the plot. David Lawrence (Terry) and Paul Spence (Dean) again put on good comical performances as the two leads, and another cast highlight is singer Terra Hazelton making her film acting debut as the Trish character. The arguments Terry and Trish have are definitely among the parts of this sequel that made me laugh.

It seems that movie sequels usually aren't as well liked as their predecessors, and maybe that's the case with this one, but I'm still rating it a seven out of ten, the same rating I gave the original. After watching "Fubar" for the first time, I knew what to expect during my second and third viewings, which was probably the main reason why it was funnier with those subsequent viewings. Even though it took eight years for this sequel to come, I was still expecting "Fubar II" to be a very similar idea to Michael Dowse's 2002 feature-length debut, which it is, and as such, it did not disappoint me. If you saw the original "Fubar" and didn't like it at all or were maybe even disgusted by it, I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't feel any differently about this 2010 sequel, so I suggest you avoid it at all costs. However, for the fans of the cult hit from eight years earlier, I really think this sequel to it is well worth checking out.

Being a big fan of the original FUBAR (2002), I was surprised to find out that there was a sequel released all the way back in 2010 that I hadn't heard of.

After watching this, I'm conflicted: I'm glad I watched it, and I', glad they were able to get it made and released, but it's a hell of a lot darker than I expected. Now, if you go and re-watch 2002's FUBAR (if you need to), you'll realize it may be darker at times, than you remembered, but this went a bit farther. Did that ruin it for me? No, not really, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I had expected to - but that's probably on me. I was glad to see Terry and Deaner back on the screen, for sure, and there were a few points that made me laugh out loud, as a well as a surprise or two.

As something that mysteriously ended up on my hard drive, I had no motivation to unpack this unfamiliar movie with the goofy name. From the opening scene I was aware that it was a Canadian film, and that did nothing to improve my hopes for this film. It was a Christmas miracle in October that I even got to the final credits because I had to view the movie in three separate sittings. Funny, tender, sincere, well paced, unexpected, irreverent, tidy and believable ending. I mean, damn, I was expecting "Trailer Park Boys karaoke the entire catalog of Motorhead while shotgunning cheap beer" and what I got was more like "Cheech & Chong bolted into Trading Places". Basically, jackass stoner vibes with a A, B, C story that worked. Well done, Canada!

Terry Cahill and Dean Murdoch are idiot slackers, head-banging best friends in Calgary. Dean is 5 years cancer free and a deadbeat dad. They get evicted and head out to Fort McMurray to make some money. Their friend Tron is dismayed to take them on his work crew. The boys drink and go to the strip club. Terry starts dating barmaid Trish. Dean works the workers' comp angle. His cancer's back to take his other testicle.

Other than being a deadbeat dad, the guys have created a great pair of characters. At least, the ex-wife seems at peace with him. They do need somebody to give the production some structure and better comedy. It does ramble around as the story lacks a driving plot. The boys would probably work better as a half hour comedy TV show. They are fun in smaller doses.