The Inbetweeners 2 Review: Very Rude, Very Funny
The Inbetweeners lads are back for a second big screen outing, heading Down Under for a comedy movie that bucks the treat of poor TV-to-film adaptations and comedy sequels.
Six months after the events of the first movie, Will (Simon Bird) is the most unpopular undergraduate in Bristol and Simon (Joe Thomas) is stuck in a relationship with Lucy (Tamla Kari), who has turned into a real psychopath since the first movie. Jay (James Buckley) e-mails his old friends telling them about the amazing time and crazy amount of sex he is having in Australia. Desperate to get away Will, Simon and Neil (Blake Harrison) head to Sydney where they find to no one's surprise, Jay's life is not as rosy as he made it out to be. Despite this, the lads plan to have a good time as Simon tries to secede an old school friend, Katie (Emily Berrington) and Jay tries to win back Jane (Lydia Rose Bewley) from the first movie.
The Inbetweeners Movie was a massive hit in the UK, making £57 Million and has resulted in British cinemas being cursed with film adaptations of popular TV shows.
The Inbetweeners Movie seemed like a good end to the series as a whole as the gang goes their separate ways and it ties up some unresolved storylines. With these factors it was easy to be apprehensive towards the sequel: fortunately it is a successful continuation to their adventures.
The show's creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris continue their involvement with the movie franchise and this time step into the director's chair. The mix of politically incorrect and foul mouthed antics, the unfortunate incidents involving various bodily functions and showing off male genitalia are intact and provide plenty of belly laughs. Some particularly memorable moments are the boy's trip to a water park, Will's tirade against some hippy travellers, Will's cringingly bad rendition of "The First Time I Ever Saw You" and a big misunderstanding in a Gold Coast hostel.
The characteristics of the boys are still there and all four of them are very funny in their respective roles. Buckley as Jay is still the compulsive liar we all know from the show, but he shows signs of growing up and allows his sensitive side to come out, like he did in the second season's finale. It's easy to feel sorry for the guy. Will is much more needy in this movie, as he chases after Katie and tries to befriend a group of travellers. Freddie Stroma as Ben is a character who you will want to slap, a rich white guy with dreads, a moral superiority complex and is a pretentious British expletive of your choice.
Beesley and Morris do a great job at directing and giving
The Inbetweeners 2 a cinematic look. The movie starts with a Harry Potter-esque opening, highlighting some of Bristol's landmarks, showing Jay's Australian fantasy and the cinematography. There is some inventive uses of split screens showing actions in two places at once.
But
The Inbetweeners 2 is similar to the first movie at points. The lads leave England to escape their troubles in both movies. The first movie shows the faults of British laddish cultures, the second looking at pretentious traveller culture. Will is like Simon in the first movie, chasing after a unobtainable girl who uses him and trying to befriend a completely unlikeable douchebag. Neil crosses the line from being very stupid to raising the question, how does he function as a human being? At least there is much less granny humping this time round. Also it is a shame that the sweet story of Simon and Lucy in the first movie takes a twist into something sore, but it is inkeeping with the theme of Simon being unlucky in love.
The Inbetweeners 2 will not win over its detractors, but fans will love the crude and lewd humor that they are familiar with. It is very funny comedy sequel.
Pros
- Very funny verbal and physical gags
- The characters are growing up
- A strong translation from the small to the big screen
- A film for the fans
Cons
- Not going to win over people who do not like The Inbetweeners
- Crude humor is not for everyone
The Inbetweeners Movie was a massive hit in the UK, making £57 Million and has resulted in British cinemas being cursed with film adaptations of popular TV shows. The Inbetweeners Movie seemed like a good end to the series as a whole as the gang goes their separate ways and it ties up some unresolved storylines. With these factors it was easy to be apprehensive towards the sequel: fortunately it is a successful continuation to their adventures.
The show's creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris continue their involvement with the movie franchise and this time step into the director's chair. The mix of politically incorrect and foul mouthed antics, the unfortunate incidents involving various bodily functions and showing off male genitalia are intact and provide plenty of belly laughs. Some particularly memorable moments are the boy's trip to a water park, Will's tirade against some hippy travellers, Will's cringingly bad rendition of "The First Time I Ever Saw You" and a big misunderstanding in a Gold Coast hostel.
The characteristics of the boys are still there and all four of them are very funny in their respective roles. Buckley as Jay is still the compulsive liar we all know from the show, but he shows signs of growing up and allows his sensitive side to come out, like he did in the second season's finale. It's easy to feel sorry for the guy. Will is much more needy in this movie, as he chases after Katie and tries to befriend a group of travellers. Freddie Stroma as Ben is a character who you will want to slap, a rich white guy with dreads, a moral superiority complex and is a pretentious British expletive of your choice.
Beesley and Morris do a great job at directing and giving The Inbetweeners 2 a cinematic look. The movie starts with a Harry Potter-esque opening, highlighting some of Bristol's landmarks, showing Jay's Australian fantasy and the cinematography. There is some inventive uses of split screens showing actions in two places at once.
But The Inbetweeners 2 is similar to the first movie at points. The lads leave England to escape their troubles in both movies. The first movie shows the faults of British laddish cultures, the second looking at pretentious traveller culture. Will is like Simon in the first movie, chasing after a unobtainable girl who uses him and trying to befriend a completely unlikeable douchebag. Neil crosses the line from being very stupid to raising the question, how does he function as a human being? At least there is much less granny humping this time round. Also it is a shame that the sweet story of Simon and Lucy in the first movie takes a twist into something sore, but it is inkeeping with the theme of Simon being unlucky in love.
The Inbetweeners 2 will not win over its detractors, but fans will love the crude and lewd humor that they are familiar with. It is very funny comedy sequel. 
