Israel Broussard – Tripping Through Gateways

So, Happy Death Day had a pretty simple premise. Groundhog Day with a serial killer. Tree woke up on her birthday, is killed by a serial killer. She had to solve the mystery of the killer and become a better person. She succeeded and the loop was over. Until now…

Happy Death Day 2 You opts to explain what actually caused Tree’s time loop. The result is a change to the film…rather than being horror Groundhog’s day, the film goes on a sci-fi bent involving parallel universes.

The cause of the loop is a science experiment being conducted by students. When the time loop begins for Ryan, Tree and Carter to help him close the loop. But in the middle of their attempts, the Dean interrupts and the end result is an explosion.

Tree wakes up to find herself in her original time loop…or so it seems. She discovers that there are many subtle differences…and at least one that makes her hesitant to return to how things were.

I liked this part a lot, as Tree finds herself torn between her family and her boyfriend Carter. The cast is enjoyable, and I generally liked the characters. The film has some good twists on events and characters in the previous film.

While I largely enjoyed the film, there was some problems. Even though the previous film established that each time she dies and returns, she is weaker…and one too many deaths, she may not wake up again. However, while this plays a role somewhat late in the film, Tree has a montage of “wacky suicides”. This borders on slapstick (and one death borrows directly from Groundhog’s Day) to the point of ruining the tone.

Also, the final tag of the film during the end credits seems unnecessarily cruel.

But I largely, as with the first film, enjoyed this one. And the switch to sci-fi is a pleasant surprise.

Tree is apparently the child of hippies, cause who else would name their kid Tree?

But seriously… Tree is a popular and all around unpleasant sorority girl. On her birthday, she wakes up in the room of some random guy. She storms out and has a generally annoying day that culminates in her murder by a masked killer (the mask is the school mascot… which is a pretty creepy choice for a school to make).

She wakes up to the same day, confused as events repeat themselves…including the masked killer murdering her. She then wakes up and realizes it is the same day. As she pieces it together, she tries to figure out why, but decides she has to solve her murder.

Of course, the problem is, Tree is just a jerk, she has a lot of suspects to work her way through.

To be blunt…and the film admits this outright…it is basically Groundhog’s Day, but with a serial killer. And it really…well, works.

The film starts adding progressive stakes, forcing Tree to face the fact that she may, in fact, not survive the experience. And this causes her to look inward and not like the person she sees. While Bill Murray’s Phil decides to use his time loop to woo Rita, Tree looks at the bigger picture. And I think this is something the film does pretty well. Jessica Rothe does a convincing job of showing tangible change in Tree’s personality. The gimmick feels pretty fresh, even though it is clearly lifted from a very specific film.

Happy Death Day is a fun horror film that I think even folks who don’t care for slashers might enjoy.

Lara Jean lives with her two sisters and dad. Lara Jean lives a rich fantasy life dreaming of the perfect romance. The love of her life is her close friend Josh…who is dating her older sister Margot. The night before going to college overseas, Margo breaks up with Josh. Now, Lara Jean has dealt with her biggest crushes by writing a love letter that she saved in a box. They are addressed, but never sent (of course). But then, one day, her crushes receive their letters…leaving Lara Jean in a freaked out state.

She wants to avoid Josh, and ends up in a situation where she and an older crush Peter, whom she is over and who recently was dumped by his girlfriend (and Lara’s Bully), create a fake public relationship. At first they are at odds, doing this for selfish reasons. But as is so often the case, their defenses start to drop around each other the longer the longer relationship goes on. It complicates her relationship to Josh and her family, coming between her and her family’s close connection…especially with Margot.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before breaks no real ground in the romantic comedy genre…and why the end surprised me I am not sure. I mean, maybe the misdirect at the open of the film caused me to leap to the wrong conclusion and this may be a strength of the film.

But in spite of a cliched plot, this is a pretty charming teen film. Lana Condor is both sympathetic and likable as Lara Jean. And really, the whole cast is pretty charming, which allowed me to be less annoyed by the cliches. Lara Jean’s motive for being closed off to people outside her family is understandable, and the family dynamic is effectively sweet. John Corbett plays her father, and there is a scene where he and Lara have a dinner in a cafe, and he apologizes for not talking about their mother more, that he has let them down with how he dealt with their loss when she died years earlier. And then he shares a story about a date in the same cafe, and telling Lara Jean that he see the same spirit in her. It is a tender moment between father and daughter that also gives her permission to open up to the world.

This is a sweet film and I genuinely enjoyed it.

Tag: Israel Broussard

History Repeating.. Again (Happy Death Day 2 You, 2019)

History Repeating (Happy Death Day, 2017)

The Trouble With Boys (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, 2018)