Cruising Bar 2. Out Tuesday. (*****5/10)
Monday, November 24th, 2008The main thing you will notice about Cruising Bar 2 on DVD is that the production values and the effort are much greater than those that went into Cruising Bar. Michel Cote returns as all four main characters, in a movie that picks up 19 years after the first one ended. In the original, you will recall (or more likely, you won’t, because you probably didn’t see it), Cote played four guys looking for sex as they hit the town for the night. Jean-Jacques is the “peacock”, a man who is so self-involved that he is incapable of loving anyone else. Serge is the “worm”, a nerdy, creepy weirdo who has no social skills and questionable personal hygiene. Gerard is the “bull”, a man who cheats compulsively on his wife with any willing warm body. And Patrice is the “lion”, a mullet-wearing movie stuntman who battles with substance abuse problems.
Well. That was the first movie. And apparently, in the 19 years since that one hit the screen, these characters have been utterly incapable of growth. (If you watched this movie on DVD when it came out a couple of years ago, you will be confused about the names - they changed them for the English subtitles the first time around. Thankfully, this time they did not.) We meet all the same guys, in all the same situations. The “peacock” is fussing over his ultra-expensive sports car. The “lion” has just been dumped by his girlfriend, who says she can’t “do it any more”. The “worm” does not have a woman at all, because he is physically objectionable. And the “bull” is coming out of house after house in his neighbourhood, after servicing all the housewives in the neighbourhood.
The last time, each of these characters had just one goal in mind on that particular night. To get laid. This time around, the movie takes place over several days, and they have much different goals. The “worm” is trying to find true love, the “lion” is trying to get his life back together, with his job and his daughter. (Apparently, in the nineteen years since we left him, he has managed to conceive a child.) The “bull”, having been booted from the house by his wife, is trying to win her back. And the “peacock” is investigating the possibility that he might actually be gay. All of these issues are resolved by the end of the film, some more satisfactorily than others.
When we first see the “bull”, he hasn’t changed in any way. He’s banging everyone he can, and his wife gives him the boot. He immediately falls into a state of despondency, and can’t even bring himself to plow his moderately attractive receptionist any more. The “worm” is in the process of losing his job as a stuntman, after he accidentally knocks the star actor for whom he is standing in, off a roof, possibly killing him. I say possibly, because we never really find out. I think the scene was supposed to be funny, so I will go ahead and assume the guy survived. Because otherwise, it was not very funny. The “peacock” gets dumped by his girlfriend in a particularly embarassing way, and the “worm” is involved in an incredibly gross scene involving a fat pregnant woman and water breaking.
So this is our re-introduction to some reasonably memorable characters, and it is better than it was the first time around. I gave Cruising Bar a 3/10 rating, but that was mostly because of the awful subtitles. Here is that review:
For that movie, it could well have received a 5/10 or even a 6/10, had the production been better. And for Cruising Bar 2, the production IS a lot better. But the story is less compelling. The jokes revolve around a very few gimmicks - for example, there are scenes where it LOOKS like the “worm” is having sex. Or masturbating. Then we find out he isn’t. It’s his sister, and she’s going into labour, and she’s not having sex with him. And he’s filing his nails, he isn’t flogging the blue dolphin. The “lion” keeps screwing things up, and can’t get anything right. Most of this stuff is more cringe-inducing than it is funny.
That being said, there are some scenes that made me laugh. One in particular involved the “lion” describing his erection to his doctor. Another few scenes that really work are some scenes between the “peacock” and his psychiatrist. But basically, we’re seeing the same thing over and over. The “bull” keeps trying bigger and more expensive ways of winning his wife back. The “worm” buys a dog to pick up chicks at the dog park, then he joins a dance class…anything to meet a woman. And it goes on and on until I’m pretty tired of watching. The one thing this movie does better than the first is that it actually resolves many of the issues the characters have. So it is unlikely that there will be a third installment in this series nineteen years from now. At least, I hope.