After the fun of
watching Lemmon and Matthau act like kids for less than two hours in the
first movie, I was satisfied. But then, due to the success of the
first film, the producers decided to give it another go. This time, the
story had the two starting off as friends, thanks to the events at the end of
the first film. However, for some really, really idiotic reason, they
were at it again.
The movie wasn’t
as funny as the first. It felt like a replay—same pranks, a similar plot, and a
screenplay that made this one a waste of time. After giving John a love
interest in the first movie, the producers decided to get a mate for Max
this time. The script was lame, showing no finesse or real plan—just the
producers hoping to cash in on the success of the previous film.
The main
disappointment for me was Sophia Loren. Her acting felt too weak for me to
believe she was a star. Everyone else in the movie, even Burgess Meredith (who
had Alzheimer’s disease and this was his last motion picture appearance), was
impressive—at least I can give them that.
This time, the
movie was directed by Howard Deutch, who later worked with the duo in 1998
for Odd Couple II. Deutch’s other movies, like Getting Even with Dad (1994)
and The Whole Ten Yards (2004), haven’t been well-received either.
That’s basically why I won’t bother seeing My Best Friend’s Girl.
The plot picks
up six months after the events of the
first movie. John (Lemmon) and Max (Matthau) are preparing for the
wedding of their children. Then, a new arrival comes to town: a beautiful lady
named Maria Ragetti (Sophia Loren), who turns the town’s bait shop into a
restaurant.
John and Max
join forces to try and run Maria out of town, but issues between their
children’s marriage plans reignite their feud. Both refuse to believe their
child is at fault.
As of February
2013, only the actresses are still alive today—both Lemmon and Matthau passed
away about half a decade after this movie’s release. Grumpier Old Men was
a box office success in its own right but a huge critical disappointment. The
movie cost $10 million less than its predecessor and made about a million more
at the box office.
After you’ve
seen the
first movie, there’s basically no reason to bother with this one. It
stands in my mind as a film I credit as a waste of time and talent.
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