Had a BLAST watching this on Halloween with friends. The movie had great costuming, strong writing, and a great cast. The music numbers didn't slap quite as hard as the original, imo, but were still great (is there anything that shines brighter than Bette Miller in a spotlight??) and the coordination of the "One Way or Another" number with the audience movements was pretty amazing. The jokes landed very well, had me lol'g for reel many times, and it was a hit with those who hadn't seen the first movie as much as those of us who had grown up with it. And don't even get me started on how much I loved the drag show. An all-around hit!
For these reasons, in my heart, this movie is probably a 10, but the critic in me has to knock it down a little for the lackluster new group of kids. The actors were all great, I don't think it was their fault at all or a matter of casting, but the script just wasn't there for them. In the original, the kids had almost as many funny and iconic moments as the Sanderson Sisters, so I was really sad to see the kids deprioritized here. This is, ultimately, a kids movie and kids should be able to see themselves properly reflected in the story. I missed the banter, the shenanigans with Binx, the terror- turned-friendship with Billy, the sense that these characters have a REAL relationship that has happened off-screen. I believed in the original that Max and Dani were really brother and sister, I believed Max's hopeless crush on Allison. Here, I felt like I was watching actresses that did not know each other pretend to be friends.
All-in-all, an amazing film and a satisfying sequel and conclusion to this beloved property, with a little room for improvement.
Also, I REALLY was hoping that the ending would see the Sander Sisters discover Botox so they could stop killing kids and stay here to host drag shows and/or be on reality TV. Oh well!
Review by Nichole DinatoBlockedParent2022-11-01T00:39:20Z
Had a BLAST watching this on Halloween with friends. The movie had great costuming, strong writing, and a great cast. The music numbers didn't slap quite as hard as the original, imo, but were still great (is there anything that shines brighter than Bette Miller in a spotlight??) and the coordination of the "One Way or Another" number with the audience movements was pretty amazing. The jokes landed very well, had me lol'g for reel many times, and it was a hit with those who hadn't seen the first movie as much as those of us who had grown up with it. And don't even get me started on how much I loved the drag show. An all-around hit!
For these reasons, in my heart, this movie is probably a 10, but the critic in me has to knock it down a little for the lackluster new group of kids. The actors were all great, I don't think it was their fault at all or a matter of casting, but the script just wasn't there for them. In the original, the kids had almost as many funny and iconic moments as the Sanderson Sisters, so I was really sad to see the kids deprioritized here. This is, ultimately, a kids movie and kids should be able to see themselves properly reflected in the story. I missed the banter, the shenanigans with Binx, the terror- turned-friendship with Billy, the sense that these characters have a REAL relationship that has happened off-screen. I believed in the original that Max and Dani were really brother and sister, I believed Max's hopeless crush on Allison. Here, I felt like I was watching actresses that did not know each other pretend to be friends.
All-in-all, an amazing film and a satisfying sequel and conclusion to this beloved property, with a little room for improvement.
Also, I REALLY was hoping that the ending would see the Sander Sisters discover Botox so they could stop killing kids and stay here to host drag shows and/or be on reality TV. Oh well!