Penitentiary II

Very predictable movie kind of a low budget film. But it was still worth the watch.

The current DVD release available for this title is NOT the same version of the film that was shown in theaters. The DVD distributor for some reason made cuts to parts of the movie. (In particular, Ernie Hudson's ambush of the girl in the shower.) The sequence may too brutal for more sensitive viewers, but that doesn't justify making cuts to the original film.) HBO broadcast the movie in it's entirety in the 80's, and the first VHS/Beta home video releases also contain the complete film.

The only good thing I can say about PENITENTIARY II is that it's better than PENITENTIARY III, which was a soulless Cannon exercise redeemed only by the couple of really bizarre moments. In PEN II, the film is more down to earth, relaxed and "real" than Part 3. The film is still pretty much terrible but I like these junky "grindhouse" type of movies that they simply don't make anymore. The story doesn't make much sense, and by the time the second fight occurred, I completely lost track of what was going on. The last shot in the film reminded me of a Crumb comix. The funniest thing in this movie is the "villain" and his ho. The entire moment when they eat in bed is priceless!

Penitentiary II (1982)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The second film in Jamaa Fanaka's trilogy has Too Sweet (Leon Isaac Kennedy) out of prison and living with his sister. He tries getting a new relationship going with a young lady but she's brutally murdered by the gangster Half Dead (Ernie Hudson). Deciding to do something positive with his life, Too Sweet starts taking boxing lessons where he hopes to become a champion.

The first film in the series was a rather insane and over-the-top masterpiece of cult cinema. The movie was highly entertaining but a lot of its entertainment came from how silly and bad it was. PENITENTIARY II is even campier and more over-the-top so if you enjoyed the first film then there's no question that you'll be laughing at this one. Everything that was so insane about the original is pretty much done here just just even more batty.

I'm not even sure where to begins but I guess the funniest thing about this picture is some of the really awful drama that leads to some of the biggest laughs in the film. The perfect example would be early on when Too Sweet is with his girl and her over-dramatic response to him trying to get some sex. The incredibly awful next scene involves Too Sweet breaking down crying and I dare anyone to watch this and not start laughing.

The film also has some pretty wild fights throughout, which is another major plus. There are quite a few bloody battles but strangely enough they aren't nearly as good as what we saw in the first film. Some other highlights include a dwarf (Tony Cox from BAD SANTA) trying to get laid. There's a sequence where former boxing champ Archie Moore comes out of no where for a cameo. Then there's another sequence where Half Dead pours potato salad on his woman only to then start eating it off of her! Kennedy doesn't give what you'd consider a "good" performance but he at least manages to hold your attention through the film. It was a lot of fun getting to see Hudson here in an early performance playing a nutty psycho. Then there's Mr. T who plays one of the trainer and yes, you get to see him and Hudson go at it in a great fight. Oh yeah, the previous mentioned Cox is also a blast. There are some really bad performances scattered throughout the film that add to the camp factor.

PENITENTIARY II is certainly an awful film on many levels but if you like this type of badness then dig in.

This film essentially begins where its predecessor left off with a man named "Martel 'Too Sweet' Gordone" (Leon Isaac Kennedy) having been released on early parole from prison due to his boxing skills. On that note, one of the conditions for his release is that he must report to a boxing promoter by the name of "Sam Cunningham" (Stan Kamber) and work with him for at least one year. The problem is, Martel doesn't particularly want to be a professional boxer and as a result he wants nothing to do with Sam. So, in the meantime, Martel has since moved in with his sister "Ellen Johnson" (Peggy Blow) while he contemplates what he wants to do in life. As luck would have it, he also meets his old girlfriend "Clarisse" (Eugenia Wright) and the two get back together again. Unfortunately, just as everything seems to be falling into place, an old enemy named "Half Dead" (Ernie Hudson) breaks out of prison and has only one thing on his mind--to settle an old score with Martel. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I honestly didn't care that much for this particular sequel due in large part to the manner in which the director (James Fanaka) kept cutting away from one scene to another during the main fight. This repeated technique made everything look much too cheap and totally diminished the overall effect. Likewise, I thought that the acting of Leon Isaac Kennedy could have used some improvement as well. Be that as it may, I simply wasn't that impressed with this film and I have rated it accordingly. Below average.