Movie Review
Review Happy Death Day 2U
I wasn't really expecting/asking a sequel to Happy Death Day but all things considered, it was fun.
In Happy Death Day, Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) is stuck a time loop reliving Monday, September 18th over and over again until she is killed by a masked clown and wakes up and the day resets for it to all happen again. Through re-living the same day she is forced to confront the person she has become and she begins to grow and change into a better person. Eventually, she is able to discover who the killer is and stop him or her. In this one, it is revealed how she ended up in the time loop in the first place and she gets stuck in it again, back to September 18th but in an alternate reality where all the relationships and dynamics are different from the reality, she knows. And now she continually finds different ways to kill herself to buy time while the people who built the machine that put her in the loop trying to figure out the equation to either get her back to her reality or keep her in this one for good.
Jessica Rothe has become one of my favorite actors. Just like herself in the first Happy Death Day, she shines a light of hilarity and fun in this entertaining sequel. She was funny, charismatic and even deep and emotional when her character needed to be. Rothe and Israel Broussard still have a lot of chemistry as Tree and Carter, and their relationship has some sweet moments scattered throughout. I liked that they gave both Rachel Matthews and Ruby Modine different things to do as Danielle and Lori. They both were fun to watch. I also thought Phi Vu was better utilized in this movie as Ryan, it was cool that they took a minor character from the first one and expanded on his part. Vu's performance helped make that a solid choice.
The way the movie began, I personally thought it was going in a different direction. It sure did prove to be completely unpredictable. It did have horror characteristics, but viewers wanting a horror film will likely be disappointed. I personally loved it. Not as much "scary" as the first one. Instead, the film feels more like a mystery with some tender moments and comedic punches. Instead of suspense, we get more action and sci-fi moments.
I was much more happy with this movie than I expected, for a few different reasons. It doesn't try to spend too much time recapping the first movie. It goes through everything of importance in probably less than a minute. It doesn't try to replicate the plot of the first one, with the exception that she wants to find a way to end the loop. It embraces the absurdity of everything. This movie stretches the genre much further than expected.
I was pleasantly surprised by the number of returning cast members. They all brought a fun nostalgic gesture to the first movie. There are many surprising twists in this one and a special memorable appearance by one of the characters. And there are a few moments where the importance of choice, faith, and endurance are explored, bringing a deeper layer of meaning to an otherwise fun mystery.
Overall, having these Back to the Future comparisons doesn't hurt the movie. This movie did what any good sequel should, and that's to tell an original story without jumping the shark, and I think the movie managed to make use of its 1 Hr and 40 min run time perfectly, because not once was I bored.
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