MICHAEL LOMAX: Perry’s ‘Boo 2!’ more of the same
FILM REVIEW: Filmmaker sticks with a formula that worked first time
By Michael Lomax
A year ago Tyler Perry released “Boo! A Madea Halloween.” I wrote about it. Basically, the movie was pretty bad, but if you’re into that kind of humor, you’ll enjoy yourself. And apparently audiences agreed.
The original “Boo” made back almost four times its budget, so it was only a matter of time before a sequel was rushed out. Sure enough, exactly 365 days later, we got one.
A year after a disastrous Halloween at the hands of her Aunt Madea (Perry), Tiffany Simmons (Diamond White) is turning 18. Against her father’s wishes, Tiffany’s estranged mother buys her a car, and Tiffany drives this car straight to the frat house from last year.
She meets the same cast, tells everyone she’s 18 now, and gets the inside scoop on a Halloween party going all night at a haunted lake. Tiffany later invents a lie for her mother so she can attend.
Madea overhears the lie and drives to the lake with her “friends” (very loose term here). But in trying to bust up the party, they all get in way over their heads.
From the outset, it’s tempting to say “Boo 2!” is a copy of “Boo!” That’s because it is.
While the plot is obviously not the same, everything in “Boo!” that made it a box office success is back on display here. But really “everything” is one thing: an ensemble cast hurling insults at one another in the funniest way possible.
Tyler Perry started on stage, and that fact is always evident when watching his movies. He tends for bigger dialogue scenes with a lot of coverage. He wants all of his characters — not just the ones he plays — to have their moment in the sun.
The byproduct is a movie that’s not very cinematic. Long dialogue scenes can drag if you’re not getting bombarded with cleverness and witticisms, which, to be fair, is exactly what Perry does. It’s just a style of humor that’s not for everyone.
When all’s said and done “Boo 2!” is an objectively bad movie. The plot is predictable. Some of the acting is awful. There’s little in the way of actual character development. The list goes on and on.
But if “Boo 2!” teaches us anything, it’s to not let glaring plot holes ruin a good evening. Madea draws an audience because people know what they’re getting into when they step into the theater. Just make sure you know, too.
Michael Lomax is a writer-filmmaker currently at work on a film script to be set and shot in Albany.
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