omar-23

There's an old expression that the sequel is never better than the original. The expression has proven correct when it comes to many movies except for maybe the Godfather, First Blood, and Austin Powers, all movies which had sequels that were as good if not better than the original (in my own opinion).

This sequel, unfortunately, is no exception to the expression. This movie was not the movie the first one was. In fact, it had a weaker plot. Granted the movie had a smarter and more dangerous villian (Lara Flynn Boyle) than in the original, but it did not have the plot to suffice nor the great supporting characters that the first movie had.

For one, the Men In Black in the first movie were men who took alien fighting seriously as opposed to Will Smith with his laid back approach to it all. IN this movie, Will Smith plays the straight man, despite some tasteless side jokes, and it just doesn't work for him. He plays more of the character that Tommy Lee Jones did in the first one. It was meant to be a twist of comic irony, but it just doesn't cut it. The rest of the Men In Black in this movie seem pretty stupid. If I were the head of this organization, I would have zapped that red lazer in their eyes the first chance I got! Not even Rip Torn seems to be the same head of the agency he was in the first movie. He seemed to be even stupider that the rest of the MIB wannabes.

There were a few funny parts, don't get me wrong. But the movie was made sloppily and didn't live up to the first movie not only with the lack of humor but with the idea of the Men In Black being the rigid, top secret agency with Will Smith as the exception to that rule. In this, the plot was turned upside down and made into a movie even shorter that Lilo And Stitch. Although there was a part that did explain the absence of Linda Fiorentino, this movie seems like it was written by someone who hadn't even seen the first movie. Overall it deserves 4 out of 10 stars in my book. That's all I have to say about it.

This movie was altogether twisted. Good, but twisted. However, it's great that Robin Williams did this kind of movie. He kind of killed himself by doing movies such as Bicentennial Man and Jack. Granted some of these movies were pretty funny, but he got to the point where he made too many of those movies. We needed to see the crazy-funny side to him that we saw in Good Morning Vietnam or The Fisher King. This film brings him back to those kinds of roles.

However, Williams character in this movie is pitiful. His acting is great, but the character he plays, by nature, is a egomaniac. He plays a kids TV show host, Rainbow Randolph, who gets caught by the FBI for taking bribes. His show is cancelled, and the network that carried his show tried to look for a TV show with a guy who was 100% clean cut without even the most minor offense to his or her name. So enters Smoochy, a purple rhinocerous played by Edward Norton, who is 100% clean and lives up to his image. He goes from Playing guitar in a drug rehab clinic to hosting a hugely successful kids show.

Randolph, pathetic as he is, tries to bring Smoochy down. However, in a complex twist of plot, Randolph's not the only one, and so tells this very dark comedy.

Williams is excellent as Rainbow Randolph. You see this guy as totally pathetic, and it's brilliant! Is is sort of a shocker to hear the same guy who played the Genie in Aladdin say "I'm Rainbow F**king Randolph!" every nwo and then, but Williams broke the mold. Good for him.

Edward Norton is also great as the clean cut but naive kids show icon. This part fit him pretty well, and he did a great job with it. There were some twists of the plot and reversals of good and evil in this movie, but overall the movie was not bad. For a dark comedy, it had a reasonably happy ending which was largely unexpected. However, it was a movie worth paying 8 bucks to see.

Joe Pesci is usually a great actor. He was outstanding in Goodfellas and My Cousin Vinny, and was funny in both Home Alone movies and in Gone Fishin'. However, this movie is probably one of his pitfalls. This movie definitely had its potential for being funny. It's plot was pretty original. A superintendent forced by law to live in his run down tenement house. That's original! However, I don't know why, but it just wasn't very funny. It could've been because Pesci didn't play a spoiled adult who still takes advice from his misguided, overbearing, often wrong father. The acting may not have been too good. I don't know. It just wasn't funny. There were a few cute parts (like when Pesci dances to the M.C. Hammer music), but nothing special. Sorry, Joe, but you've had funnier movies.