Look Who's Talking Too

The sequal to Look who's talking never has and never will be better than the first. But the only thing that makes the movie stand out, is the comedy and wit of Roseanne. She has all the funny jokes, she's cuter than what is now the baby Mikey, and she also tells what a baby might REALLY think. This movie should only be for Roseanne fans.

In general, sequels aren't as good as their predecessors, and Look Who's Talking Too is no exception. The first one was adorable, with Kirstie Alley's baby, voiced by the hilariously perfect Bruce Willis, giving an inner monologue about his first impressions on the world. The cast is all back, and the romance with Kirstie and John Travolta continues, but there's a new addition: a new baby. Roseanne Barr provides the voice for Bruce's baby sister, and his entire world changes for the worse.

The problem with this movie is it's too painful and realistic. First borns will delight in Bruce stealing Roseanne's toys and playing pranks as older brothers are known to do, but they'll also remember that when their younger siblings were born, they, too, suffered a loss. The older child immediately gets put on the back burner and the new baby takes the spotlight. Many children never grow out of their resentment throughout their lives, so watching little babies fight and squabble isn't very fun. Plus, the first movie only had Bruce Willis's inner thoughts, and he was a very cute baby. What's better: a cute baby or a gruff baby? Cute babies win every time, and every time Rosanne talks, she's not very endearing.

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. There are a couple of shots filmed from the baby's perspective, and it might make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

"Look Who Is Talking Too" is not a sequel to the enjoyable "Look Who Is Talking" it's a clone. A weak, pale imitation clone, but a clone none the less. It was inevitable that following the success of a "Look Who Is Talking" that a sequel would follow. It was also inevitable that the sequel would be of inferior quality.

Plot in A Paragraph: Mollie (Kirstie Alley) and James (John Travolta) are together and raising a family, which now consists of an older Mikey (voiced by Bruce Willis) and his baby sister, Julie (Roseanne Barr)

All the charm of the original movie is missing, what made the first movie so good was it was new, fresh and original. This is more of the same but without the originality, freshness, and newness. Instead it has Roseanne Barr.

My God, her voice is annoying!! The script is weak, Travolta and Alley do not enjoy the same chemistry as in the first movie (which is a shame) Bruce Willis remains fun, but that is about it!!

My review was written in December 1990 after a screening on Manhattan's UES.

This vulgar sequel to 1989's longest-running sleeper hit is assured of big openings due to its predecessor's familiarity but bad word of mouth should guarantee weak legs.

Few predicted the success of the same team's "Look Who's Talking", launched after delays in October 1989 to enjoy an unusually long 30-week U. S. run en route to ranking among the '89-'90 international box office leaders.

Credit TriStar with getting a followup into theaters in timely fashion to maximize its box office potential, but the resulting mishmash looks like a rush job.

Joined by her husband Neal Israel (who also appears as star Kirstie Alley's mean boss) in the scripting, filmmaker Amy Heckerling overemphasizes toilet humor and expletive - none deleted - to make the film appealing mainly to adolescents rather than an across-the-board family audience.

Unwed mom Alley and cabbie John Travolta are married for the sequel, with her cute son metamorphosed into Lorne Sussman, still voice-overed as precocious by Bruce Willis. First mutual arrival is conceived during a clever title sequence in which some sperm (also getting comical voice-overs) manage to find a way around Alley's diaphragm and fertilize an egg.

What hatches is undeniably cute Megan Miller (at 1 year old, after infants Nikki Graham and Georgia Keithley voiced over baby Julie), unforunately voiced over by Roseanne Barr. The comedienne gets a couple of laughs but is generally dull, leaving Willis to again carry the load in the gag department with well-read quips.

Lack of an interesting plot line is evident throughout the sequel's abbreviated 81-minute running time. Ostensibly it revolves around the bickering of Alley and Travolta whose jobs (accountant and would-be airplane pilot) and personalities clash, as well as the rites of passage of the two kids. New characters, notably Alley's obnoxious brother Elias Koteas, are added to ill effect.

An unconscionable amount of footage is devoted to the issue of potty training. Mel Brooks is enlisted to voice-over Mr. Toilet Man, a fantasy bathroom bowl come to life, spitting blue water and anxious to bite off Mikey's privates. Family's ecstatic reactions to Mikey finally learning toiletiquette is pure corn.

Alley and Travolta are a likable team that play off each other well. Too bad Hollywood doesn't take a leaf from the Golden Age and find new material for such romantic combos (a la '30 Fred MacMurray/Carole Lombard or '40s Tracy/Hepburn teamings) rather than merely recycle them in the sequel craze.. Both youngsters are cute enough to please an undemanding audience, and with an eye towards the cash register a third infant lovable black tot Danny Pringle, is added in a few scenes as a precociously streetwise playmate for Mikey.

Richard Pryor originally was signed to voice-over Pringle's wisecracks but was inexplicably replaced by Damon Wayans who does a good job in delivering knowing but young-sounding jive. All three kids articulate while the voicing occurs in a non-match that resembles the visual effect of a dubbed-in-English Japanese horror movie.

One cute gag involves the playing of the TriStar logo musical theme (by Dave Grusin) to climax a scene where Richard Strauss' "Thus Sprach Zarathustra" form "2001: A Space Odyssey" is traditionally employed. Elsewhere there's plenty of paid-for plugola.

With Koteas a gun-toting babysitter who abandons the kis to an accidental fire in their apartment, film strays far from good taste and good sense in a desperate search for gags. Various creature effects, notably Julie growing in mom's womb, are well executed by Chris Walas' organization and New York locale for this Vancouver-lensed effort is adequately fake by some second unit shots.

Conspicuous sequel "beefing up" is most evident in pointless inclusion of many golden oldies on the soundtrack, ranging from expensive Elvis Presley tracks (allowing Travolta to throw in one of his trademark dance numbers) to John Lennon and George Harrison.

I was disappointed with this movie. Not that I don't like this kind of comedy, I loved the first one, but this just doesn't live up to that.

It's not the kids' fault though. Mikey is still a cutie, and he's got some good jokes, although I don't get the speaking arrangement - he says a word or two himself, and then it suddenly switches to the male voice. I think they should have chosen either or. This was just annoying.

Roseanne as the voice of little Julie is GREAT, and there are some really good parts with her(like the visit to the doctor). But where is she for most of the movie? There is so much of the parents fighting and problems with the goofy brother-in-law that it seems the kids take a second seat in this film. I was bored at times with the long fighting scenes. They were neither interesting nor funny. The pregnancy was fast-forwarded through - I suppose they had no more ideas for it after the first movie - and Mikey's jealousy for his sister gets less attention than the potty training(which is far less interesting). The burglar story is too unbelievable to be funny. And the "music video" parts are weird - why are there so many songs? the Elvis impersonation is pretty cool(by John Travolta), but the rest of the "classic pop songs" should have been left out.

There are some really cute sister-brother scenes, but this movie could have been so much better, funnier, and more interesting if they had let the kids play the main role. Now it's pretty disappointing. Some good laughs, but not enough to save the movie. I give it a 5 out of 10.