Cinema Review: Inbetweeners 2

Warning: Some minor spoilers about the beginning of the film are in this review, which some of you may choose to avoid.

People may not like the analogy but I always think of the first Inbetweeners film as a British, cringe-worthy take on the American Pie films. Essentially the plot is boys go on holiday, boys meet similar awkward girls and by the end of the film the boys have got the girls. Unfortunately this is probably totally and utterly unrealistic given the nature of the boys concerned, and a mistake that the sequel, imaginatively titled ‘Inbetweeners 2’ rectifies.

This is a film you will watch partially with your fingers over your eyes as you cringe and move uncomfortably whilst laughing so hard you may find it difficult to breathe. Whilst the first could be compared to American Pie, this is a movie that is definitely singing to its own tune and is possibly better than the first film.

It’s not exactly a direct follow on. The girls from the first film are mostly missing with cameos from Lucy (Simon’s beau – complete with total and utter personality transplant) and Jane (Jay’s now ex-girlfriend); whilst we are very quickly led to believe that the other two dumped Will and Neil respectively. The film picks up the story with Simon and Neil visiting Will at university who is just about as popular as he was at school, and Jay being incredibly successful in Australia.

Wowed by Jay’s apparent success, the boys head out to visit him in Australia – leaving me longing after my student loan days again – and after Will bumps into an old school friend, they begin travelling around the country. I’d probably say this is one of the biggest pluses about the film’s plot that it’s much more realistic than the first in terms of how the boys are perceived amongst the supporting characters – particularly in how Will and Simon fit in, and Jay and Neil simply don’t.

Of course, this wouldn’t be comedy without some fantastic gags, and there are plenty that will have you cringing and laughing all the way. Whether it be at the water park, round the fire or in the outback there is plenty to make you laugh throughout the film – though predictably if you did not like the humour of the Channel Four series, or the first film, this is definitely not the right comedy for you.

This is a fantastic, adult-juvenile humour type film that is obviously going to be incredibly popular amongst the younger generations. As the saying goes, you should always leave the crowd wanting more, and despite a very rushed ending, this is exactly what this film does. With Simon Bird & Joe Thomas now in their very early thirties and Blake Harrison and James Buckley very much heading in that direction it is virtually impossible that we will ever see the Inbetweeners in this current form ever again. That said, given television and film-makers penchant for reviving concepts ten to fifteen years later, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a ten years later film around the 2025 mark….

Nutleyone Rating: 8/10 – there’s just one gag that grossed me out too much!

Inbetweeners 2 was released at cinemas nationwide on 6^th August. Check your local cinema for current showings.