Directors: Damon Beesley & Iain Morris
Stars: Simon Bird, James Buckley, Joe Thomas, Blake Harrison, Emily Berrington, Freddie Stroma, Tamla Kari
Jay (Buckley) is having an (allegedly) amazing time in Australia so he invites the rest of the gang to join him. The four are up to their usual hijinks as they travel across Oz, encountering spiritual backpackers along the way.
Basically, if you like The Inbetweeners, you’ll enjoy The Inbetweeners 2. It maintains the level of humor you come to expect with the gang without feeling like a retread. The guys all inhabit their characters really well and seamlessly fall into the camaraderie that was present in the tv show and the previous movie. After a brief set up, where we see that life after school isn’t treating any of them greatly, we’re off to Australia, skipping over the flight to get right into the action.
Will (Bird) is given the most to do as he has the main love story, but all the characters get their little arcs, including a surprising one for Jay, which wasn’t even hinted at in the trailers. Speaking of the trailers, it’s not the case where the funniest jokes only appeared in them. The humor is crude but there’s also heart at the film, as the boys realize that they’re greater together than they are alone, and even though they may not always think they have much in common they have a deep bond.
It’s quite a skill to balance gross-out comedy with heart but the team of Beesley and Morris do so perfectly. All the jokes are well-timed and the film moves along at a brisk pace, making use of all the different settings. I did think the ending came abruptly however, and a couple of plot points (one that set the whole thing in motion) were resolved with little time for reflection.
Still, it brings the laughs and although the actors are older they can still pull off the young ages of the characters. I don’t know if this will be the swansong or not, but the chemistry is still there and the comedy doesn’t feel tired yet. A very, very funny film that maintains the consistency of The Inbetweeners franchise. I wish it had gone on for longer, because it was excellent, and who knows if we’ll get another one?