Lightning Round: A Romantic Weekend Getaway

It was nice weekend for couples.



While I was far from the 2017 horror comedy's most enthusiastic of supporters, I did have an undeniable admiration for the focus on fundamentals and creativity that "Happy Death Day" carried and sold itself on.

Although that appreciation for the original movie's "Scream" meets "Groundhog Day" premise is something that has really grown for me over time, it also positioned the film to function almost well almost exclusively within the context of being a charming one and done movie.

How exactly this novelty can be taken to franchise status was always beyond me but where there's will to make money, Hollywood will find a way to exploit it.

Beginning at the exact moment of the first film's ending, "Happy Death Day 2 U" opens on science major Ryan undergoing the same time loop shenanigans ending in his own murder that Sorority girl protagonist Tree (Jessica Rothe) had to endure.

Upon discovering that the cause of the phenomenon may be linked to Ryan's thesis project, Tree finds herself locked back intoher timeloop and must find a way to escape it and save Ryan, with the unfortunate catch of the physical damage of her deaths slowly mounting and tearing apart her body.

Repeating the shenanigans of "Happy Death Day," a film that was contingent upon emotional development of its protagonist rather than the logicstics of its plot, was never going to work for a serious narrative of any sort. For that very reasoning, "Happy Death Day 2 U's" first hint of sheer brilliance is to simply torpedoe the notion that this narrative is meant to function as a serrious horror movie.

The means by which the film justifies its very existence reveals itself within the first 15 minutes and sets the tone for rest of the movie's gloriously over the top, comedic B-movie nature.

I can't quite say that the creative decision will work for everybody but the absolutely bonkers territory the movie is willing to venture into make it overall bolder as both a sequel and a film compared to its predecessor.

While ""Happy Death Day 2 U" unapologetically indulges in the comedic aspect of a premise with seemingly no consequences, complete with self indulgence and darkly comedic deaths and even suicides, it still carries itself with heart in key areas, such as Tree's reluctance to leave the time loop she's caught in for personal reasons, which give a surprising level of emotional weight to tonally independent antics that Jessica Rothe effortlessly weaves between to exercise more range than her impressive performance the first time around.

The script isn't without the occasional hiccups in its juggling act and most of the side characters, try as the actors might, never quite fully flesh out but the film manages to admirably up its own ante as a sequel when it could have easily rested on its laurels.

"Happy Death Day 2 U" dares to establish its own identity while framing a potential future installment in a way that leans into the beauty of its own premise's flimsiness. If that sequel is half as fun as this one, I welcome it with open arms.

7 Suicides out of 10

The irony of “Isn’t it Romantic’s” premise attempting to take down and lampoon the romantic comedy genre could have easily come off as off putting and hypocritical.

Although Rebel Wilson has demonstrated a capacity for comedic talent in the past, her unfortunate typecasting into the role of the fat unattractive female lead has lead to a lot of cringe inducingly painful work far beneath her talents and the very concept of criticizing a genre that you ultimately aim to function in and adhere to reeks of a self-righteous indignation that is all too present within mainstream film releases today.

Fortunately, the film manages to sidestep all of those problems by playing itself as sincerely as possible.

After being confronted with a subconscious hatred she’s developed for the trope and clichés of rom-coms, Wilson takes a nasty blow to the head and wakes up at the hospital to realize that she’s now trapped in one, forcing herself to go through all of the typical rom-com antics of finding true love in order to ultimately unveil a personal revelation she needs to live her own life to the fullest.

The cleverness of “Isn’t it Romantic’s” comedy leans strongly on the fundamentals of set up and delivery, knowing just which clichés to milk for comedic effect for just how long before moving things on to the next punch line and while no single joke quite had me in stitches, the film is loaded with consistently solid laughs from start to finish.

As strong as the comedic direction of the film is, certainly giving Wilson and costars Adam Devine and Liam Hemsworth some of their strongest performances in a film to date, the aforementioned sincerity is truly what carries the film over into greatness.

Beneath the quips and the snide remarks about the fiction Hollywood attempts to repackage and sell us, “Isn’t it Romantic” has a heart that a lot of romantic comedies just seem to lack more often than not. It’s ultimate message about being able to love oneself is far from deep but is delivered so earnestly and so well woven into the entertaining commentary of its own genre unfolding across a well paced and cleverly assembled production that it’s nearly impossible to leave the theater without a smile on your face.

8 Dance Routines out of 10