Caddyshack II (1988) - The Worst Sequel Ever Made?

[TMC]

LANGUAGE WARNING

• After the original film's release, Dangerfield repeatedly advocated that a sequel be made, but Ramis kept refusing the idea, not keen on reliving the first film's chaotic production. After a few years, Dangerfield and Ramis worked out a compromise whereby Ramis would co-write the script, but someone else would direct, and Dangerfield selected Alan Metter, who he had recently worked with on Back to School (1986).
• While Ramis and co-writer Peter Torokvei were working on the script, Dangerfield soon came to blows with Jon Peters, who had fully taken over the producer's role (which he shared with the since-deceased Kenney on the first film) and demanded that the sequel be PG-rated in order to appeal to a wider audience. Dangerfield was angered by this, as it would preclude him from ad-libbing the edgier material that he had done in the first film (which was R-rated), and when Peters refused to back down he ended up quitting. Peters then fired Metter and replaced him with Allan Arkush, and Ramis and Torokvei, not wanting to do the film without Dangerfield, walked shortly after that.
• Filming eventually started with Jackie Mason in the lead role, and Chase as the only returning actor from the first film, something even he later admitted regretting, and only did because he was offered a comparatively huge amount for just a few days' worth of shooting. His contempt for the material is palpable throughout and has even been noted as making the film worth a watch on its own. Filming wasn't as problematic as that of the first film, but Arkush insisted on staging scenes at a slow, deliberate pace — something he had similarly done on Heartbeeps — neutering what little comic timing the script (rewritten by around a half-dozen uncredited ghost writers) still had.
• This time around the film was unable to overcome its behind-the-scenes issues, and the end result was critically mauled and made back less than half of its budget at the box-office, with Arkush never again helming a theatrically-released movie, and Ramis considering it arguably the lowest point of his entire career. Adding insult to injury, Bill Murray successfully sued the producers for royalties relating to the gopher character, which he originally created in the first film, but was never asked for permission to re-use in the sequel.

Could Caddyshack II really be the most misguided film sequel of the 1980s? Or even EVER?

In the second episode of Sequelpalooza, we’re covering an icon of the disastrous follow up movie world, and the story of the original comedy classic which preceded it. 1980’s Caddyshack remains one of the most beloved films of the era, but eight years later how did Caddyshack II take all of that goodwill and shank it into the deep, deep rough?

Join us as we explore this and more in the sequel episode of Sequelpalooza…

• 00:00 Intro + opening titles
• 02:34 Culture Slice update

CADDYSHACK

• 03:27 Pop culture in the late 70s/early 80s
• 04:48 Animal House & the film comedy revolution
• 06:39 The making of Caddyshack
• 14:49 Caddyshack - the 1980 slow burn smash hit

CADDYSHACK II

• 18:26 The ups and down of life after Caddyshack
• 21:08 The shack is back…sort of
• 27:28 Caddyshack II: Anatomy of a disaster
• 33:51 Where did it all go wrong for Caddyshack II? And what legacy does the original film leave behind?

[dakert]

Airplane 2 was icky