Happy Death Day 2U

After seeing Happy Death Day 2U, I can say I am really loving this burgeoning series of films. We will have to see if it ever spawns a third film, but based on the first two, I would warmly accept a third outing with Tree and her band of friends. These are fun films that know when to not take themselves too seriously. Taken in the right way, they can be a blast to watch. This follow-up even goes a step further, taking the events of the first film and building on from that while answering some nagging questions from the first film as well.

This film picks up almost immediately where the last film left off with Tree (played by Jessica Rothe) celebrating that it's the next day with newfound boyfriend Carter (played by Israel Broussard). However, things are not all well and good as the time loop seems to have jumped to Carter's roommate Ryan (played by Phi Vu), who finds himself in eerily similar circumstances to Tree, stalked by a Baby Face masked killer and when he dies wakes up at the start of the same day, this time in his car that apparently smells of Hot Pockets and feet. Turning to Tree and Carter for help, they are able to quickly subdue the killer (Tree has plenty of experience in that department) and to their shock discover the killer is another version of Ryan, there to try and close the time loop by killing his earlier self. You see, Ryan was working on a machine along with his friends Samar (played by Suraj Sharma) and Dre (played by Sarah Yarkin). When the machine fired the previous day, it created the time loop Tree got stuck in. They decide to fire it again in an attempt to close the time loop, but the resulting blast jettisons Tree back to the previous day in a whole new time loop, with one huge difference: She is now in an alternate dimension. She and her killer roommate from the previous film, Lori (played by Ruby Modine) are now friends, Sorority sister Danielle (played by Rachel Matthews) is now dating Carter and most importantly, her mother is still alive in this universe. Ryan and his friends, as well as their Quantum machine, still exist in this universe and can help fix her new predicament with one small wrinkle. Since everyone else's memories reset with the day, Tree has to memorize all the formulas they come up with and teach it to them the next morning so the work can continue. And instead of waiting for a masked killer to come after her again, she decides to just off herself at the end of each day so the day can reset leading to another darkly comedic montage of Tree repeatedly dying, including my personal fave of the series of Tree jumping out of a skydiving plane wearing nothing but a bikini, knee socks and tennis shoes. But this also leaves Tree with a dilemma: when they fix the time loop, does she stay in this new alternate universe where she has her mother back but not Carter, or return to her original timeline. 

The film was written and directed by Christopher Landon, who also directed the first film. He does a marvelous job taking what was established in the first film and then building on it and expanding on what was in the first film. He takes the plot in some wild and unexpected directions as the film once again revisits events in the first film in new ways (not unlike Back to the Future Part II, which this film draws clear inspiration from). I loved how it explored the multi-verse theory and didn't just find a way to put Tree back in the time loop, but also an alternate universe that might actually be a happier life for her in the long run. It creates an agonizing dilemma for her and one that causes and understandably conflicting choice. It's this plot point that adds a bit more weight to this film that the first one. Landon does a great job giving it the appropriate weight in the film. Not to say that the film is super serious. In fact, it's far from it. This film is most assuredly even funnier than the first film. They pretty quickly all but abandon the slasher film elements of the first one to delve into sci-fi comedy territory and for me it was all the better for it with not trying to repeat what came before. 

Once again, Jessica Rothe is this film's MVP, showing she is equally adept at hilarious comedy and drama as the film moves from one to the other. She makes Tree such a lovable character that I couldn't help but root for even as she was cracking me up. She also gives Tree such strength and dimension as well. She's perceived as a dumb blonde sorority girl, she may even see herself as that, but continues to rise to the challenge and maybe even surprise herself. Israel Broussard returns as the adorkable Carter, as likable as ever as Tree's love interest for the film. Phi Vu gets an expanded role this time as Carter's roommate Ryan and unwitting source of all the campus' quantum mishaps, along with his two classmates, played by Suraj Sharma and Sarah Yarkin, who make for an amusingly nerdy trio. I also have to give props to Rachel Matthews' turn as Danielle. Also expanded from the original film, Matthews has a scene of classic farcical hilarity that I won't dare spoil but the moment you see it you'll know what I'm referring to.  

Overall, Happy Death Day 2U is every bit as entertaining as the original, if not even more so. The film also deftly switches up genres and makes for a refreshing continuation of the original film rather than something that simply tries to be a lazy rehash of what came before. Of course, it all depends on what a viewer wants from a sequel to Happy Death Day. I, for one, loved every minute, laughed my butt off, and much to my surprise even got a little choked up. If you were a fan of the original film, I think this one is even better.