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Making a truly great comedy sequel is very challenging, as humor is an aspect of cinema that can be very hard to replicate. Although not every comedy sequel is an all-time disaster in the vein of Caddyshack II, Beverly Hills Cop III, Airplane II,or Zoolander 2, they often don’t do enough to differentiate themselves from their predecessors. Wayne’s Worldwas itself a surprise success, as it proved to be the best film inspired by a Saturday Night Live sketch since The Blues Brothers was released over a decade prior. While Wayne’s World was a tremendous exception of an unorthodox premise, Wayne’s World 2 is a hilariously madcap adventure that brings out the best in Mike Myers and Dana Carvey.

It is very rare for comedy sequels to be successful, as it can be challenging to craft a follow up that avoids repeating the same jokes. While there are plenty of notorious disasters like Airplane II and Caddyshack II, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is one of the rare examples in which the sequel managed to surpass the original in terms of its cultural impact. The first Vacation film from 1983 was certainly a hilarious dark comedy, but National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation became a film that is rewatched every year in celebration of the Christmas season. Ironically, the connective tissue between the films is relatively thin, as Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo are the only two actors who appeared in all five installments within the franchise. Despite giving terrific performances, Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki didn’t return after National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation due to the gap between sequels.

Chevy Chase's 35-year-old Christmas comedy cements its status as an iconic holiday movie with its latest streaming success. After becoming the breakout star of the first season of Saturday Night Live during the 1970s, Chase left the sketch show in its second season and went on to become a comedic lead, starring in some of the most successful comedies of the 1980s. These include Caddyshack, Caddyshack II, Fletch, Fletch Lives, Oh! Heavenly Dog, Modern Problems, Spies Like Us, and Three Amigos.

One of Chase's most successful comedy ventures of the 1980s was the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, starting with the 1983 film. Inspired by John Hughes' short story Vacation '58 originally published in National Lampoon magazine, the films follow the chaotic misadventures of the Griswold family and their well-meaning yet hapless patriarch, Clark Griswold, whose attempts to create the perfect vacations for his family spiral into disastrous and hilariously awkward situations.

For over 30 years, Randy Quaid was one of Hollywood's most colorful and dependable character actors. His career got off to a propitious start with his appearance in Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 classic "The Last Picture Show," and quickly took flight when he earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his portrayal of the sensitive, soon-to-be-imprisoned screw-up Meadows in "The Last Detail." 10 years later, Quaid achieved film doofus immortality as the loan-seeking rube Cousin Eddie Johnson in Harold Ramis' "National Lampoon's Vacation." Quaid had been funny in movies before, but now he was a proper drama-comedy double threat, and his brand of performance wasn't the type to curdle. He had a long, profitable journey ahead of him provided he didn't do something crazy like accuse the industry's most powerful people of trying to kill him.

Randy Quaid's downfall was so surreal it felt like performance art like he was playing Cousin Eddie on peyote.

In the early nineties, Chevy Chase was at a crossroads. He’d headlined a series of comedy hits in the eighties, including the National Lampoon’s Vacation films, two Fletch movies, and a few others, but he had some brutal flops, too. Funny Farm (underrated) and Caddyshack 2 did poorly, but Nothing But Trouble in 1991 was a nearly career-ending disaster for all involved. Suddenly, Chase’s future as a leading man looked bleak. Rather than double down on another comedy, he opted to stretch, signing on to star in a comic thriller in the vein of one of his first big hits, Foul Play, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, which was to feature cutting-edge special effects, and sports direction by one of the biggest genre directors of the time, John Carpenter.

Memoirs of an Invisible Man is based on a book by H.F Saint – his only novel in fact – which became...

Variety has broken the news that there’s a new horror film called Murder with the Stars heading our way – and this one’s coming from an unexpected creative team. Actor Jonathan Silverman, who is best known for his work in comedies like Caddyshack II and the Weekend at Bernie’s duology, will be directing the film, which is being produced by Jeff Franklin, the creator of the TV show Full House and its follow-up Fuller House!

Comedian Craig Shoemaker has written the screenplay… so, while the project isn’t being referred to as a horror comedy at this time, we can probably expect to see a good amount of comedy in the finished product. Shoemaker has previously written episodes of Just the Ten of Us and Fuller House, as well as the films The Lovemaster and Totally Baked.

Shoemaker told Variety, “This concept came to me several months ago,...

Howard Stern has been one of the most controversial – and revered – figures in the history of modern media. With a passion for the field as a child, Stern’s climb to the top of the radio world truly began in the ‘80s. And he did it off of his unique, button-pressing, FCC-clashing brand and humor: the boobs, the prank calls, the Wack Pack, all of it all made Howard Stern one of the most recognizable figures in all of media. And so as his markets grew and his written word topped the charts – but long before his first $500 million contract with Sirius – it was time for Stern to enter the movie business…with something a little more commercially viable than Butt Bongo Fiesta.

So how did the guy who mocked his wife’s miscarriage on the air and flipped the bird to nearly every boss he’s ever had...

Killer cyborgs, A-list megastars, groundbreaking visual effects And a kick-ass soundtrack! It can mean only one thing. Yes, that’s right, good friends of JoBlo, uber director James Cameron is back to show us exactly how to follow up one of the biggest smash hits of your career with a sequel that had to surpass the expectations of even the most hardcore fan of the original movie, and also show the world how to revolutionize modern VFX…Again. Cameron had already wowed audiences with The Terminator back in 1984 and had proven that he could create impressive sequels to existing sci-fi franchises with the action-heavy Aliens in 1986. He’d also made great strides with visual effects in 1989’s The Abyss so could his original vision of having a liquid terminator in the franchise really work?

That’s right, sci-fi fans, we’re giving one of the greatest sequels ever made a...

Changing directors can lead to a worse result for movie sequels, as seen with examples like Jurassic Park III and Kick-Ass 2. However, there are instances where new directors saved movie franchises, like with Mission: Impossible 2. The shift in creative direction can be risky, as shown by films like Batman Forever and Thor: The Dark World that were disappointing compared to their predecessors.

Changing directors doesn't always work to the franchise's benefit, and there are several examples of movie sequels trying someone new for a worse result. Be it either because the original film wasn't well received and the studio wanted to try it from a new angle, or because the first film was excellent but the original director had no interest in making a sequel, many director shifts have ended in a worse result. Movie franchises walk a thin line trying to keep their films original and refreshing...

Clockwise from top left: Grease 2 (Paramount), Jaws: The Revenge (Universal), Exorcist II: The Heretic (Warner Bros.), Batman & Robin (Warner Bros.)Image: The A.V. Club

In 1997’s Scream 2, self-proclaimed film geek Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) rants about sequels in his college film class. “Sequels suck! By definition alone they’re inferior films,...

Fans weren’t very impressed with the quality of the first poster we saw for the film adaptation of R.L. Stine‘s novel Zombie Town (you can check it out at This Link), which is set to receive a theatrical release in the United States on September 1st. So now that we’re just a few days away from the release date, it’s nice to see that a new poster for Zombie Town has arrived online, and it’s much better than the previous one. The new poster can be found at the bottom of this article.

Stine’s Zombie Town sees a quiet town upended when 12-year-old Mike and his friend, Karen, see a horror movie called Zombie Town and unexpectedly see the title characters leap off the screen and chase them through the theater.

The cinematic adaptation was directed by animator Peter Lepeniotis. Marlon Kazadi (Child’s Play...

Marsha Warfield, known for her role in the original Night Court, is making a television comeback with a role in The Upshaws Season 4. She had a successful career in the 90s, playing various characters in shows and movies, but took a 22-year hiatus before returning to acting in 2021. Warfield is excited about reprising her role as Roz in the Night Court reboot and has confirmed her character's return in the show's second season.

31 years after the finale of the original Night Court, Marsha Warfield continues making her television comeback by starring in a Netflix comedy show. Born on March 5, 1954, Warfield first dipped her feet in the world of television by making her debut in The Richard Pryor Show in 1977. After making a brief appearance in 1979's Legend of the Superheroes, Warfield started gaining momentum in her TV career in the early 80s. With what followed, she made appearances in several television shows like Riptide,...

The trailer for the movie adaptation of R.L. Stine's "Zombie Town" only takes basic elements from the book, altering much of the story. The focus of the trailer is on horror filmmaker Len Carver, rather than the book's main characters Mike and Karen. The movie seems to be a team-up vehicle for Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase, despite their characters not being present in the original story.

“Do you stay awake nights worrying about zombies?” R.L. Stine posed this question about his standalone novel Zombie Town. The author is arguably best known by most readers for his incomparable Goosebumps series, in which some stories have already been adapted for film and television. Now, Zombie Town is getting the big-screen treatment, too, with both Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase starring in the upcoming film. Check out the Zombie Town trailer below:

In the footage, Len Carver’s (Aykroyd) first...

Just a couple weeks ago, we were wondering when the film adaptation of R.L. Stine‘s novel Zombie Town would be released – but now a trailer for the movie has arrived online, along with the announcement that Zombie Town is going to be receiving a theatrical release in the United States on September 1st! So to figure out whether or not this is a movie you’ll want to catch on the big screen in a week and a half, check out the trailer in the embed above!

Stine’s Zombie Town sees a quiet town upended when 12-year-old Mike and his friend, Karen, see a horror movie called Zombie Town and unexpectedly see the title characters leap off the screen and chase them through the theater.

The cinematic adaptation was directed by animator Peter Lepeniotis. Marlon Kazadi (Child’s Play 2019) and Madi Monroe (Attaway General) are the leads in the film,...

More than nine months have passed by since author R.L. Stine shared an early poster for the upcoming adaptation of his novel Zombie Town, and now we finally have a new update to share. The finished film has been screened for the Motion Picture Association ratings board and has secured a PG-13 rating for “some language and bloody images“. Now we just need to hear when this movie is going to be released.

Stine’s Zombie Town sees a quiet town upended when 12-year-old Mike and his friend, Karen, see a horror movie called Zombie Town and unexpectedly see the title characters leap off the screen and chase them through the theater.

The cinematic adaptation was directed by animator Peter Lepeniotis. Marlon Kazadi (Child’s Play 2019) and Madi Monroe (Attaway General) are the leads in the film, which is described as “a mystery teen romancer”. Also in the cast are Henry Czerny...

The 1974 movie Chinatown is considered to be one of Hollywood’s all-time classics; its 1990 sequel, The Two Jakes, not so much. While there wasn’t quite the quality gap between the original and the sequel as, say, Caddyshack and Caddyshack 2, audiences weren’t impressed, and The Two Jakes was considered to be a box office bomb, only earning back about 40% of its shooting budget. Jack Nicholson, of course, starred in both; Oscar-winner Robert Towne wrote both screenplays. But while Roman Polanski directed the original, Nicholson himself directed the sequel. Of course, we’ve spoken to Nicholson several times over the years, and he always believed The Two Jakes was unfairly overlooked, even though critics gave it generally good reviews. (Click on the media bar below to hear Jack Nicholson) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Jack_The_Two_Jakes_.mp3

Chinatown and The Two Jakes are currently streaming on Paramount+ and available on DVD,...

Choice paralysis is a byproduct of the digital age and late capitalism. Everyone has felt it — you're standing in the blindingly fluorescent supermarket aisle, surrounded by hundreds of brands of crackers, wondering just which one you want, thinking that it would almost feel easier to live in a totalitarian society with one simple choice ('Crackers-Brand Crackers'). People experience this in the streaming world as well, scrolling through title after title, reading or doing research about each, until more time has been spent searching for a movie on Netflix than it would've taken to watch one.

Algorithms don't exactly make it easier, either. These predictive strings of mathematical code anticipate one's every want, changing the titles on a home page based upon what's previously been watched. The problem is, this can create a feedback loop in which one only sees what one has already seen (or something close to it). The...

Original Night Court star Marsha Warfield discussed returning for the reboot

Warfield returned as Roz in the Season 1 finale of the Night Court reboot. Speaking to TVLine, the actor said the process was a simple one: "They asked me to do the episode, and I said sure." Warfield explained her shock at the offer, saying, "I never considered that I might be part of the cast... I've always felt like, and I've said publicly: If they asked me, I'd be happy to. But I understand why they wouldn't."

Related: Two Episodes Prove Night Court Was Always Decades Ahead of Its Time

Warfield is best known for her role on 1986's original Night Court, in which she played Roz, a no-nonsense bailiff in the court of Harry Anderson's Judge Harold Stone. Warfield's filmography was extensive throughout the '80s and '90s, with roles in films such as Mask and...

There was every reason to expect "Club Paradise" would be the comedy smash of Summer 1986. Harold Ramis was two-for-two as a director thanks to "Caddyshack" and "National Lampon's Vacation," and scorching hot off the blockbuster success of "Ghostbusters." Ramis had reunited with his "National Lampoon's Animal House" collaborator Chris Miller to hammer out the story, and hooked up once again with his "Caddyshack" co-writer Brian Doyle-Murray for the screenplay. And then there was the cast: Robin Williams, Peter O'Toole, Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Joe Flaherty, Robin Duke, and Mary Gross. How could a film stuffed with this much comedic talent possibly miss?

Aside from Ramis and Levy playing a couple of hapless, horn-dog tourists who inadvertently score a trash bag full of marijuana, just about nothing works in "Club Paradise." The notion of a retired Chicago firefighter (Williams) starting up a ramshackle Caribbean resort with his disability money sounds promising,...

R.L. Stine fans, rejoice! We seem to be the middle of a renaissance for projects based on the writing of "The Stephen King of Kids Horror." Thanks to the popularity of Leigh Janiak's terrific "Fear Street" film trilogy, Netflix is reported to be cooking up even more movies based on Stine's slasher-mystery property. There's also a new live-action "Goosebumps" TV show in development at Disney+, which is already home to the lesser-known but genuinely sturdy "Just Beyond" anthology inspired by Stine's genre-blending graphic novel series of the same name.

Elsewhere, shooting is now underway on "Zombie Town," a film based on yet another one of Stine's horror books for younger readers. Published in 2012, the novel follows 12-year-old friends Mike and Karen as they head out to see the titular zombie flick in a theater, only for movie's brain-hungry monsters to lurch off the screen and begin wreaking havoc on their unsuspecting town.

Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase have worked together multiple times over the decades. Saturday Night Live, Spies Like Us, Caddyshack II, The Couch Trip, Nothing But Trouble, the music video for Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” theme song. Now The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that Aykroyd and Chase will be working together again on the R.L. Stine adaptation Zombie Town.

Filming is already underway on Zombie Town, which is being directed by animator Peter Lepeniotis and is being shot in Ontario. Aykroyd and Chase are joined in the cast by Henry Czerny (Mission: Impossible) and Kids in the Hall members Scott Thompson and Bruce McCulloch. Marlon Kazadi (Child’s Play 2019) and Madi Monroe (Attaway General) are the leads in the film, which is described as “a mystery teen romancer”.

Stine’s Zombie Town sees

a quiet town upended when 12-year-old Mike and his friend, Karen, see a horror movie...

Check out our new series, Popped Culture, in partnership with the free streaming services Popcornflix and Crackle!

In episode 1, Den of Geek host Aaron Sagers chats with Cracke’s Chris Woosley about three titles in the “Den of Geek Dozen” tray which lives on Popcornflix this month. Watch the episode below!

Streaming Links: Watch Godzilla (1954)Watch Cleanin’ Up The Town: Remembering GhostbustersWatch Salvage Marines

Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield wants to clear some things up about method acting.

“Method acting has become something of a plague on the acting community, if you will—meaning that it leaves everyone with a bad feeling in the pit of their stomach when they hear the term, and actors are forced to put their opinions on the technique out into the world. Lately, that’s been largely thanks to horror stories of Jared Leto’s behavior on sets. He’s not alone. There are plenty...

Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick. Image: Paramount Pictures Few artists that can challenge Kenny Loggins for the (admittedly unofficial) title of King Of The Movie Soundtrack—in the 1980s, anyway. Loggins delivered chart-topping songs for Caddyshack, Footloose, and Top Gun, and even films that have not aged so well,...

Actor/Producer Neal McDonough discusses a few of his favorite movies with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Masters of the Universe (1987) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Boon (2022)

The Warrant (2020)

The Warrant: Breaker’s Law (2022)

The Cowboys (1972) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Shootist (1976) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

The French Connection (1971) – Mark Pellington’s trailer commentary, Dennis Lehane’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

The Sting (1973)

Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Minority Report (2002)

Red Stone (2021)

A History Of Violence (2005)

Greater (2016)

Unforgiven (1992)

There Will Be Blood (2007)

The Mule (2018) – Dennis Cozzalio’s 2018 year-end review

Gran Torino (2008)

War And Peace (1966) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Duel (1971) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Nobody (2021)

Caddyshack (1980) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

Caddyshack II (1988)

Natural Born Killers (1994)

Back To School (1986)

Stripes (1981)

Bullitt (1968) – Alan Spencer’s trailer commentary

True Grit (1969) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer...

February brings a Kanye West documentary, masked monsters and much, much more to Netflix. Below we’ve compiled a complete list of what’s new on Netflix in February 2022, and it includes the Kanye West documentary trilogy “jeen-yuhs,” which will roll out one part each week for three weeks starting on Feb. 16.

February also brings a brand new “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movie to the streaming service on Feb. 18, and if it’s Valentine’s Day content you’re looking for, the second season of reality series “Love Is Blind” launches on Feb. 11 while the spinoff “Love Is Blind Japan” arrives on Feb. 8. New installments of the animated series “Disenchantment” and “Kid Cosmic” as well as “Steel Magnolias” and “Space Force” are also due in February, and the new Will Arnett comedy series “Murderville” launches on Feb. 3.

In terms of library titles, February brings the Tom Cruise-fronted “The Last Samurai,...

A new year has finally arrived and HBO Max is set to open it with a bang. With its list of new releases for January 2022, HBO Max is rolling out some intriguing original series and an absolutely packed slate of library titles.

The real highlight this month comes on Jan. 13 with the release of Peacemaker. Developed by James Gunn, this series spins off John Cena’s titular character from last years’ The Suicide Squad. The show will delve into the pathology of a superhero who will achieve peace regardless of how many people need to be killed to attain it.

Also of note this month are second seasons for two major HBO series. Euphoria season 2 and The Righteous Gemstones season 2 both premiere on Jan. 9, making for quite the odd double feature. Meanwhile, the fifth and final season of superb comedy Search Party arrives on Jan. 7.

January 2022 is light as far as original movies go.

The controversial and contentious experiment where Warner Bros. has debuted its 2021 slate of feature films on HBO Max will hit a crescendo in October thanks to the releases of “The Many Saints of Newark” and “Dune” on the streaming platform. Both “Many Saints” producer and co-writer David Chase and “Dune” filmmaker Denis Villeneuve have criticized the corporate decision to release films day-and-date in theaters and via HBO Max, but despite the outcry, the two highly anticipated features lead a massive lineup of acclaimed library movie titles and Emmy Award-winning original series coming to the network in October 2021. Highlights include:

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (October): Larry David’s Emmy Award-winning series returns for its 11th season in October and will tackle the coronavirus pandemic in a way that feels organic to the show and its protagonist. “We figured out a way that we are definitely living in a reality where the pandemic has happened,...

Dawn Snyder has been named director of education and special projects at the Art Directors Guild, IATSE Local 800, succeeding Casey Bernay in the post.

“After 38 years doing my dream job as set designer, art director and production designer, I find myself fortunate enough to be able to help craft a program that will educate, strengthen skills, and encourage both current and future members of the Art Directors Guild to succeed in their dream jobs,” Snyder said. She also praised Bernay for having developed the “robust education service” that enables members to receive training and to hone their work-related skills.

“I am thrilled that Dawn Snyder has agreed to take the reins of the Adg Education Program with her thorough art department background combined with her teaching experience,” said Chuck Parker, the guild’s national executive director. “Casey Bernay blazed the trail for harnessing the power of Contract Services to provide more than just safety training,...

The world just got a little less funny as comedian Jackie Mason has died. Mason, the controversial comedian who was known for his politically incorrect humor, made a name for himself through a series of one-man shows on Broadway to great success, though he also had a recurring voice role on The Simpsons. The New York Times reports that Mason died in a Manhattan hospital on Saturday, per his longtime friend Raoul Felder. He was 93.

Mason was born Yacov Moshe Maza on June 9, 1928, to a long line of rabbis. He later became a rabbi himself and led congregations whereupon he noticed gentiles coming in just to hear his jokes in the sermons. Following his father's death, Mason resigned from his job as a rabbit to focus on his comedy work. Though his act was considered too controversial for some venues, Mason was able to pick up spots on TV programs like The Steve Allen Show,...

Jackie Mason, the veteran stand-up comedian known for bringing his Jewish sensibilities and Yiddish culture and delivery straight from the Borscht Belt and into his irreverent sets, has died. He was 93.

Mason, whose death was reported by The New York Times as told by his lawyer Raoul Felder, died at a hospital in Manhattan on Saturday. No cause of death was given.

Mason was a Tony and Emmy winner famous for his one-man shows on Broadway and for bringing in a whole new generation of fans with his well-recognized voice of Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, or Krusty the Clown's dad, on "The Simpsons."

Once a rabbi from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and born to a family of strict Orthodox Jews from a long line of rabbis, Mason got his start doing standup in the Catskills in the 1940 and '50s but managed to keep his career thriving long after the resorts closed their doors,...

Jackie Mason, the sometimes-controversial standup comedian who unapologetically embraced Jewish themes and political incorrectness, achieving a national profile through a series of successful one-man shows on Broadway without substantial work in film or television, died Saturday in Manhattan. He was 93.

The New York Times said his death was confirmed by his friend Raoul Felder.

Mason was one of the last of the Borscht Belt comedians, and he married that sensibility to strong views on racial and ethnic politics.

He also recurred on “The Simpsons” as the voice of Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky, the father of Krusty the Clown, winning his second Emmy for his efforts in 1992 and most recently voicing the character in a 2014 episode. He also appeared as himself in a 2007 episode of “30 Rock.”

In the 2004 TV special “Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time,” he was ranked No. 63.

The comic received a 1987 special Tony Award for his...

It’s summer, everyone! And with its relatively sparse list of new releases for July 2021, Hulu seems to be subtlety imploring its subscribers to go outside.

Don’t get us wrong: Hulu’s library offerings get a big upgrade this month. July 1 sees the arrival of great films like Galaxy Quest, Fargo, and Caddyshack. Bill and Ted Face the Music premieres on July 2 and its followed by Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar on July 9. Not bad stuff! It’s just that, outside of the library titles, there isn’t much to go off of.

Hulu’s only major original release this month is the FX on Hulu production American Horror Stories on July 15. As its name implies, the show is a spinoff of American Horror Story and will feature self-contained horror episodes rather than a season-long arc. If you’ll allow this geriatric millennial to deploy one truly ancient meme: “Yo dawg,...

Exclusive: Two time Grammy winner and Oscar nominee Kenny Loggins is receiving the Career Achievement honor at the next Hollywood Music in Media Awards (Hmma) which will be held on Jan. 27, 2021 in a hybrid awards show. The Footloose singer-songwriter will also perform during the Hmma event.

Loggins joins a distinguished list of past Hmma honorees including Smokey Robinson, Diane Warren, Earth Wind & Fire, Glen Campbell, Dave Mason and film composer John Debney.

Kenny Loggins is a singer/songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and producer. After playing in several bands in the late ’60s and honing his songwriting chops as a staff songwriter at Wingate Music, Loggins rose to prominence with Loggins & Messina, a duo with fellow singer/songwriter Jim Messina. The two were together from 1972 to 1976, and released a string of successful albums. Loggins solo career led to further stardom with million-selling albums including Celebrate Me Home, Nightwatch (which included the...

Comedy movie sequels have a less-than-perfect track record. From Zoolander 2 to Caddyshack II to Dumb and Dumber To, most attempts at making a follow-up to a beloved comedy have resulted in a movie that pales in comparison to the original and can actually tarnish its legacy. Even the best comedy sequels, like Anchorman 2 and The Naked Gun 2½, still aren’t quite as good as their predecessors.

Related: The 5 Best (& 5 Worst) Comedy Movie Sequels

Over the years, a few sequels to comedies have gone into development and, for whatever reason, failed to get off the ground. Some of those unproduced comedy sequels could’ve been great.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, musical artists like Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Steely Dan, Toto, Hall and Oates, and dozens of others regularly popped up on each other's records, creating a golden era of smooth-music collaboration.

And 10 years ago (June 26th, 2005), an internet phenomenon was born. In 12 short but memorable episodes — first via the the short-film series Channel 101 and then online — Jd Ryznar, Hunter Stair, Dave Lyons, Lane Farnham and their friends redefined an era and coined a term for the sultry croonings of McDonald, Fagen, et al.

Ted's bootylicious Entertainment Weekly cover takes a page from Kim Kardashian's Paper magazine shoot—and we gotta say, he's a natural. The raunchy star is shown balancing a cup of beer—no champagne here, folks—on his rear just like those famous Jean-Paul Goude shots. And in his article with the mag, Ted promises that the upcoming sequel won't be just another follow-up flop. "Movie sequels generally suck. Caddyshack II? Just leave it alone. This one's good, though. It's the Aliens of comedy sequels," he explained. But aside from all of the jokes up Ted's sleeve fur, things touched on a number of personal topics like his hopes for the...

The Writers Guild of America, West has chosen late screenwriter-director-actor-producer Harold Ramis to receive its Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, awarded to a Writers Guild member who has advanced the literature of motion pictures and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the screenwriter. Erica Mann Ramis and family will accept the award on Ramis’ behalf at the Writers Guild Awards ceremony on Saturday, February 14. Harold Ramis passed away on February 24, 2014 at the age of 69. From today’s announcement:

“Harold Ramis changed the face of comedy. His death last year deprived us of his unique way of seeing the world, at once hilarious and wise. From his early work with National Lampoon and Sctv through Animal House, Meatballs, Caddyshack, and Ghostbusters, Ramis’ voice was strong, clear, outrageous in all the best ways. His unrealized projects – an adaptation of Confederacy of Dunces, a biopic about Emma Goldman – leave us aching with...

With a Beetlejuice sequel getting closer and closer to actually becoming a reality, I've been inspired to put together a list of fun facts you might not know about the original 1988 Tim Burton film. Burton and Michael Keaton seemed to have a great professional relationship back in the day, and I would love to see them work together again on some kind of film project in the future. Beetlejuice was such an amazingly great movie, filled with all kinds of crazed amusement. It’s easily one of my favorite movies to come out of the 80s, and Keaton has stated that it’s his favorite movie of the all the ones he’s made.

Keaton only spent two weeks shooting his part in the film. Out of the 92-minute feature he only has 17.5 minutes of screen time.The original script was more of horror film, and Beetlejuice was a winged,...

We’ve reviewed every summer movie season since 1980 to find out which are the best, and which are the worst. Last week we posted our picks for the worst, and here we post our picks for the best.

2015 and 2016 may just be the most overthetop summer movie seasons yet. It seems like nearly every movie slated for a summer 2015 or 2016 release is heavily anticipated. Because of these impending summers of movie awesomeness, we’ve decided to take a look back at summer movie seasons of years past. The idea of the summer movie season is currently in full swing, but it didn’t catch on immediately. Hollywood had to do its fair share of experimenting to determine what types of films would be most successful. As a result, some summer movie seasons have been better than others. We’ve reviewed them all for you and ranked them from worst to best.

It could have been the Greatest golf movie of all time ... even better than "Happy Gilmore" ... but the one thing holding back "Caddyshack" is that stupid Gopher ... so says Shooter McGavin himself. A mustachioed Christopher McDonald  was rollin' through Lax -- when he channeled Bill Murray and took aim at the gopher ... telling TMZ Sports it's the one flaw in an otherwise great flick. Meantime, the movie producers loved the gopher so much ... they gave...

Comedy sequels are incredibly difficult to pull off. For every Back to the Future Part II, there are a hundred Caddyshack II’s. It’s almost impossible to recapture the lightning in a bottle that made Airplane! or Ghostbusters so fantastic, but if anyone can pull off a successful comedy follow-up, it’s directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. They’ve made a habit of wildly surpassing expectations, and early reviews for their 21 Jump Street sequel 22 Jump Street are incredibly positive, praising the film’s self-referential nature, emotional backbone, and a standout end credits sequence sequences in addition to another pair of solid performances by Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. Though the film is still over a week from release, we’ve rounded up a few of the reviews and reactions to give you an overview of the response thus far. Hit the jump to take a look. 22 Jump Street...

Ranked: Harold Ramis Films from Worst to Best A fond look at the comedies of the late, great director and writer. by Molly Fitzpatrick Today we lost one of the funniest filmmakers of our time: comedy legend Harold Ramis passed away at only 69. In his honor, we've ranked 17 movies from his extensive, brilliant career, which spanned nearly 40 years. (While you’ll find Ramis’s oeuvre is more or less completely represented below, we've omitted several outliers — for instance, Caddyshack II, which Ramis openly admitted was “terrible,” and which he only agreed to write because the studio begged him.) 17. Club Paradise (1986) Director and co-writer Though it features much of the cast of Sctv, one of the finest TV shows ever made, this Robin Williams-led farce is difficult to watch. Peter O’Toole — who, somehow, was in this movie — earned a Razzie nod for Worst Supporting Actor. 16. Year One (2007) [...]...

Paramount Pictures

Anchorman 2 was released this past week and, so far, the response has been fairly positive. By now, fans of Anchorman are well aware of the difficulties that were involved in getting the sequel made in the first place, but given that the first one has become such a cult classic, it seemed weird that Paramount were initially so hesitant about the idea. Now that Ron Burgandy is back, we can rejoice, but it also gives us a chance to look back at other comedy sequels that were made in the past couple of decades.

We all would like to see sequels to our favorite comedies, just like we want to see our favorite band get back together again. But it’s hard to make a good comedy sequel, almost as hard as making a good comeback album. When you think of all the great comedies that have...

Anchorman 2, the sequel to the 2004 cult classic, returns Will Ferrell as the thick-headed but carefully quaffed Ron Burgundy.

'Anchorman 2' Returns With Ron Burgundy

It’s now the 80s and Ron and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) are co-anchoring a show together in New York City. Marital and career trouble ensues for the anchorman when his wife gets a promotion and he gets the slip. With old pals weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carrell), ladies’ man Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sportscaster Champ Kind (David Koechner), Ron endeavors to wage a comeback with a 24-hour news channel.

The Anchorman sequel was highly anticipated with massive expectations. Overall, critics are relatively satisfied with what Farrell and director Adam McKay brought to the screen for the second go around of the comedy premise.

Critics Review 'Anchorman' Sequel

"The film’s strong suit, however, is its unhinged, anything-for-a-laugh audacity. If...

Comedy sequels are So rarely worthwhile. Most good comedy is dependent on being fresh, new, and unpredictable – words not commonly uses to describe sequels. For every “Wayne’s World 2,” there are a dozen films of the caliber of “Ghostbusters 2,” “Arthur 2,” and “Caddyshack II” – movies that are so bad that they almost diminish the legacy of their predecessors.

And so I entered the long-awaited and over-promoted return of Ron Burgundy in Adam McKay’s “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” with a deep degree of trepidation…that disappeared almost immediately. “Anchorman 2” is funny, sometimes very much so, and justifies the wait for a new adventure for cinema’s favorite newscaster.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) are at the top of their profession, anchoring in New York City and living life in fabulous love. It all falls apart when their boss Mack Harken (Harrison Ford) breaks them up,...

It’s been talked about to death all over the internet: Hollywood loves sequels. That’s just the name of the game. If something is a success, you do it again. They don’t call it show business for nothing, and often a sequel (and franchise) can mean big bucks for the studio. Unfortunately, this can have a negative effect on the original film that either tarnishes the film’s legacy, or blatantly milks an idea for all it’s worth.

What people don’t often discuss is the fact that the studios aren’t the only ones to blame. That falls upon the audience as well, who often love something so much that they can’t help but ask for more. Nowadays, before a film is even released, the first question on everyone’s lips is: when is the sequel coming out?

I’ve decided to take a look...

There's obviously a market out there for sequels — just look at the summer movie release schedule and you'll find at least one a week. And hey, sometimes a film leaves us wondering what happens next.

But sometimes there are films that had no need for a part two, where audiences left the theater the first go-round and said, "I'm good." And in the case of these ten films, we've got the numbers to prove it!

Hollywood, heed our wisdom: Sometimes it's best to just leave well enough alone.

10. 'Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights' (2004) — Sequel to 'Dirty Dancing' (1987)

• "Dirty Dancing": $62,811,299

• "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights": $14,140,215

So you had the time of your life in 1987? Big deal. You can't relive the magic 17 years later by conceiving a half-hearted retread set against the backdrop of revolutionary Cuba. Really, this film has nothing to do with the original, save for a brief Patrick Swayze cameo.

Pj Torokvei, a Canadian-born comedy writer and producer who decided at age 50 to become a woman, died as a result of complications from liver failure on July 3 at the age of 62. Torokvei, whose name was originally Peter, was an alum of Second City and Sctv, and went on to serve as a producer and the head writer of Wkrp in Cincinnati (1979-1982), for which she and her colleagues received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. She also co-wrote the films Real Genius (1985), Back to School (1986), Caddyshack II (1988) and Guarding Tess

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There was a time in Hollywood where sequels to successful movies were the exception, not the rule. More often that not, if a picture was a success, like 1940′s The Road to Singapore with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, studios would reunite its cast for other stories or adventures that were not sequels in the true sense of the word. Bogie and Bacall. Martin and Lewis. Lemmon and Matthau. Abbot and Costello.

Sure there were film franchises like the Bowery Boys and Dagwood and Blondie, and later film series like the James Bond and Pink Panther films. But these took familiar characters and sent them on new adventures with each outing.

The modern sequel continues the storyline of the original, and there are some fine examples like The Godfather Part II, The Road Warrior, The Empire Strikes Back and Aliens, all of which were worthy sequels and terrific films. Then...

It was no surprise that wheels were spinning on Horrible Bosses sequel, nor was I nonplussed to learn it should bring back the original cast — Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis — and director Seth Gordon. Now, more than six months after the film was announced, it’s time for the deals to get inked.

According to 24Frames, Seth Gordon will cut through his packed slate for a follow-up which, despite having nothing signed just yet, is still expected to reunite the aforementioned trio, get in front of cameras, and be released sometime in 2014. (Really, why even make this if they’re not involved?) Curiously, the sequel, also written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, will not see the characters try and knock off some unlikable sorts once more. It’s not a problem for me — they were funny enough and had great chemistry to justify a second outing,...