Summer Sequel Showdown: Rio 2 Marks The Season’s First Big Weekend Fight!

The Good: Animation is fine, Keeps the tone and characters of the original
The Bad: Unmemorable songs, Formulaic plot, Dull subplots, Lack of compelling new/interesting characters, No wonderful lines.
The Basics: Rio 2 is an unimpressive, though not unpleasant, sequel that continues the story begun in Rio in a thoroughly mediocre and unmemorable way.


Every year, it seems, Summer Blockbuster Season comes earlier and earlier. Summer Blockbuster Season is a series of big studio-released films that are calculated to blow out the box-office for a weekend (or two, for truly ambitious movies) before the next special effects-laden film takes its place in the public’s limited imagination and attention span. Summer Blockbuster Season is characterized by big studio releases, often sequels, that are not necessarily quality films, but are pretty much guaranteed to put cash in the pockets of studios. It’s also a time that is divided up and charted out by the big studios in a calculated effort to win the weekend boxoffice. This cinematic season usually comes after the studios have divided the weekends out without any real sense of competition and with the potential for a sleeper hit. This year, the peaceful film-release season has ended early with an “anybody’s guess” weekend that pits last week’s big sequel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (reviewed here!) against newcomer sequel Rio 2.

If Rio 2 was a Dreamworks Animation work, instead of 20th Century Fox, the weekend would not be in dispute (the fact that a Madagascar sequel creamed Prometheus, reviewed here, for its opening weekend in the U.S. pretty much cemented the idea that Dreamworks Animation releases will always bring the cash crowds). As it stands, Rio 2 is a mediocre sequel continuing a fairly unmemorable original film. As I recall, I only watched Rio (reviewed here!) because it had Anne Hathaway’s voice talents and after my wife and I had already fallen in love with Angry Birds: Rio. Rio 2 seemed to be released on the hope that younger audiences would be brought out to see the film before too many critics panned the film to death. As it stands, I could easily have lived without seeing the sequel, even with my love of the works of Anne Hathaway and an appreciation of Jesse Eisenberg’s acting talents.

Opening with New Year’s in Rio De Janero, Blue Macaws Jewel and Blu are forced to quit partying when their babysitters keep revealing that they have pawned off their kids to others and left the ineffectual Tiny in charge of monitoring their kids. Meanwhile, their human scientist companions, Tulio and Linda, are two thousand miles away in the Amazon where they discover a blue macaw feather. Surviving rapids, the pair is interviewed on the news where Tulio postulates there could be an entire flock of blue macaws out there that were heretofore unknown. Seeing the television program, Blu, Jewel, the kids and Rafael, head to the Amazon (despite their fear of snakes that can swallow them in one bite!). On their trip, they fly over a carnival, where Nigel has been imprisoned, forced to work as a fortune teller, giving out prizes. Seeing the blue macaw family, Nigel breaks out of the carnival and vows revenge upon Blu and Jewel for the accident that prevents him from flying.

Accompanied by his lovesick salamander, Gabi, and a sloth, Nigel hunts down the blue macaw family on a boat, but is unable to catch them. The Big Boss in the Amazon tasks one of his henchmen to find Tulio and Linda and get them out of the area he is deforesting. Jewel and Blu meet up with a flock of Blue Macaws, which include Jewel’s long-lost father, who is thrilled to see her and to be a grandfather. While Jewel is excited to rediscover her extended family, including an ex-boyfriend, Roberto, Blu finds himself out-of-place in the wild. Hunted by Nigel as humans encroach into the last safe haven of the Blue Macaws, Blu and his family are threatened on all sides.

Rio 2 is not the worst animated sequel of all time, though it certainly is one that is lacking entirely in spark. The film is devoid of clever lines or memorable moments (the audience I was with only laughed out loud in the first five minutes when one of the kids got smacked against a wall with a blueberry pancake). The movie is very easy to watch even for those who have not seen the original. Having only seen Rio once, I only recalled the movie in the most general terms (as the beginning of a relationship between Jewel and Blu, who were tethered together for an Odd Couple-style relationship). So, things like a flashback to reveal Nigel’s motivations for the sequel were actually helpful and make the movie more accessible.

Unfortunately, it does not matter how easy-to-watch Rio 2 is on its own; the film is entirely uninspired. Gone is the adversarial banter that characterized the Blu/Jewel relationship in Rio, which makes sense. But it is replaced by a single catch phrase (“A happy wife is a happy life”) and a predictable conflict that is only resolved through the most generic expression of love as presented in modern cinema. The appearance of Roberto seems to have little consequence within the movie and is only a cheap excuse for Bruno Mars to show off his singing talents. Sadly, for all of Bruno Mars’ talents, there is no song he (or anyone else in the movie) sings that rivals any of the three (now) instantly-recognizable songs from Frozen (reviewed here!). Rio 2 utilizes a more dance-based and hip-hop soundtrack and the original songs are unmemorable and the covers just seem ridiculous in the brightly-colored movie.

Just as the appearance of Robert is an obvious romantic predator to the Jewel/Blu relationship, Rio 2 has a painfully predictable arc for Blu and his father-in-law, Eduardo. Eduardo is the archetype of the father-in-law; stern, loves the grandkids, hates the daughter’s husband, and likes the ex-boyfriend more than the current husband. Eduardo’s arc could have been written by a computer that made an amalgamation of animated family film plots. The fundamental problem on the character front with Rio 2 is that the characters never develop beyond their original premise or archetypes into anything new. Eduardo and Robert’s arcs can be called accurately the moment they first appear on screen.

As for the plot, Rio 2 is packed with plotlines, but none is compelling enough to capture the imagination of the audience. Outside the main plotline of the complications that come from Jewel and Blu visiting the Amazon, there is an entire subplot for Tulio and Linda, Nigel’s revenge subplot, and a series of auditions for the carnival back in Rio that the non-Blue Macaw’s devote time to (which allows a sequence of ridiculous animal performing pop music songs). Blu unwittingly starting a war with neighboring birds over a Brazil nut just muddies an already packed movie.

On the acting front, Rio 2 is unimpressive as well. Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, and Jemaine Clement all proved they could do voice acting well in Rio. Like George Lopez, Andy Garcia, Leslie Mann, and Bruno Mars, the primary performers illustrate no new emoting talents with their performances in Rio 2 to make the viewer believe that they are seeing actors doing something other than looking for an easy paycheck. Rio 2 is notably lacking in big emotional moments that might actually stretch the acting talents of those involved. Anne Hathaway, for example, is barely more than a supporting performer in Rio 2 with no memorable moments for her character, Jewel (though the animators did a good job with making Jewel look truly emotional upon being reunited with her father).

In the end, the box office fight for the weekend is almost inconsequential; whether or not Rio 2 can win the weekend race, it is a film virtually impossible to believe that word-of-mouth would be strong or positive enough to give it a second weekend at the top. A dubious sequel to begin with, Rio 2 is a strong-enough argument against making a Rio 3 that anyone needs; if you love Rio, just keep watching the first one. That is a better use of your time than Rio 2.

For works featuring Anne Hathaway, please check out my reviews of:
Anne Hathaway For Wonder Woman!
Rio 2
Les Miserables
The Dark Knight Rises
One Day
Rio
Love And Other Drugs
Family Guy Presents: It's A Trap!
Alice In Wonderland
Valentine's Day
Twelfth Night Soundtrack
Bride Wars
Rachel Getting Married
Passengers
Get Smart
Becoming Jane
The Devil Wears Prada
Havoc
Hoodwinked!
Brokeback Mountain
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Ella Enchanted
Nicholas Nickleby
The Other Side Of Heaven
The Princess Diaries

3/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

All The Humor Napoleon Dynamite Was Supposed To Have (And More!): Gentlemen Broncos Satisfies!

The Good: Acting, Humor, Character, DVD bonus features
The Bad: Awkward pacing gets tiresome at moments
The Basics: With a brilliant premise, humor, and heart, Gentlemen Broncos is an independent film that it is very easy to fall in love with!


As one who has a fondness for good independent films, I’ve been feeling a bit burned on quirky, awkward, independent comedies since Napoleon Dynamite (reviewed here!). I recall being disappointed almost immediately in that film by how disinterested and mean the protagonist was and the film never recovered from that for me (despite Tina Majorino’s presence in it). So, after years of seeing previews for Gentlemen Broncos, I had resisted actually watching the film because co-writer and director Jared Hess was also the co-writer and director of Napoleon Dynamite. But, the concept of Gentlemen Broncos appealed to me and figuring I have limited time before I am reunited with my wife and cannot waste time on films that are likely to be bad, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and watch Gentlemen Broncos.

And I am glad I did!

Gentlemen Broncos is a pleasant surprise of an independent comedy that effectively lampoons both consumer culture and the art world. For the first time in quite some time, I eagerly watched all of the bonus features including the film a second time with the (occasionally lame) commentary track on. In fact, the bonus features, especially seeing Jennifer Coolidge’s ad libs were enough for me to knock the film up to a 7 (the film alone is probably a 6.5/10).

Despite some painfully awkward moments and the reliance upon poop and vomit jokes, Gentlemen Broncos manages to be mostly endearing, enduring, and clever. The acting is wonderful, especially for so many of the cast members being so young, and the characters are interesting at the very least. And for a movie that bounces between three very different settings, Gentlemen Broncos is never confusing.

Benjamin is a high school student living in Utah, home schooled by his mother, who has dreams of becoming a famous science fiction writer. He makes a trip to CletusFest, an annual literary convention for young science fiction and fantasy writers, with a bus full of young people like the self-centered Tabatha and the creepy-weird Lonnie. Benjamin lets Tabatha read his story, but she does not provide him with any feedback before he has the chance to meet his novelist hero, Ronald Chevalier. The cover-obsessed Chevalier is struggling with getting his next book published and when he encounters Benjamin’s novella “The Yeast Lords: The Bronco Years,” he steals it as his own, rewriting the story in his own language.

Following CletusFest and his failure to win the grand prize (which included getting a book published in limited release), Benjamin returns home to his doting mother who noticed that Benjamin does not truly have any friends. Determined to change that, she has Dusty from the youth outreach at church come over to befriend him. As Tabatha and Lonnie make a terrible low-budget adaptation of “Yeast Lords,” Chevalier gets his version published and when Benjamin learns of that, he strikes out to stop him.

As Benjamin goes through his mundane life, Gentlemen Broncos presents his mental image of the “Yeast Lords” story as well as the campy film version that Lonnie, Tabatha, and Dusty are making. Mixed in with those cutaways are Chevalier’s amped up and disturbingly-wardrobed mental images of what his own version of the story is. The film bounces between reality and the various incarnations of “Yeast Lords” and the result is effective, funny, and frequently delightfully campy (one of the best notes in the commentary track involves the co-writer and wife of the director asking him why he bothered to digitally remove the ropes for one of the leaping stunts and she was absolutely right; the film is so campy in that moment that it could not have been more campy by leaving the wires in!).

What I liked most about Gentlemen Broncos was that this was a movie that was going somewhere. Unlike far too many artsy films that drag until they simply stop, Gentlemen Broncos sets up a conflict and actually resolves it. The film is leading somewhere and that makes it more than an academic exercise in strange.

Also laudable is the film’s deeper message on the destructive nature of capitalism in art. Benjamin may not be an especially talented young artist and Chevalier may be long past his prime, but their motivations could not be farther from one another. Chevalier is in the industry for the money, whereas Benjamin just wants to tell stories. For sure, the ultimate resolution to the conflict between Benjamin and Chevalier takes a decidedly ironic capitalist twist, but even there, Benjamin remains focused on (his and his mother’s) art.

On the acting front, Gentlemen Broncos is a tough nut to crack. One hopes that all of the quirky, awkward actors are doing so because that is just how their characters are supposed to be. Both Mike White and Hector Jimenez fill a niche that is awkward and disturbing, but they add something to the film, even if their performances are weird and uncomfortable to watch.

Jemaine Clement is hilarious as Chevalier. He has a dry delivery, but is so authoritative in the role of the arrogant has-been writer that he dominates every scene he is in. He manages to emote perfectly with only his eyes, especially in one of the final scenes in Gentlemen Broncos. Michael Angarano is stiff and awkward as Benjamin and I know that he is a good actor because this is nothing like his slick, charismatic character from The Art Of Getting By (reviewed here!) which I watched just last week. The two play off one another very well.

Halley Feiffer is fine as Tabatha and she had a fearless quality to her performance that is the perfect embodiment of youth. Jennifer Coolidge steals her scenes much the way Clement dominates his. Coolidge is, and this may be a phrase that is overused but in her case it certainly applies, comic genius and in Gentlemen Broncos she gives a performance that illustrates that.

On DVD, Gentlemen Broncos has trailers, a featurette on the filming of the special effects sequences, deleted scenes, a blooper reel and a commentary track. The commentary track is little more than shout-outs to all of the people who appear in the background of the film in various roles, but it is not a complete waste of time (the co-writer has some substantive thoughts more than the two guys involved). Seeing the outtakes and additional footage of Coolidge, though, is great.

Ultimately, I went into Gentlemen Broncos with severely lowered expectations and I discovered a film that was a fun and funny as the previews promised. That is a nice change and Gentlemen Broncos is a worthwhile film to watch.

For other works with Jennifer Coolidge, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Two Broke Girls - Season 1
Igor
Epic Movie
American Dreamz
Date Movie
Zoolander
Legally Blonde
Best In Show

7/10

Check out how this film stacks up against others I have reviewed by visiting my Movie Review Index Page for a listing of films from best to worst!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |