Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

“On the bright side, you’ll come back.  I died eleven times.”  8 December 2020

As with the first film, Happy Death Day 2U centers on college student Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) living the same day over and over again, facing her own death over and over again.  But there’s a twist - this time, Tree also finds herself in an alternate universe.

There’s just something about these two movies that I love.  Granted, Happy Death Day 2U isn’t quite as good as the first, but I think the main reason is that it lacks a lot of the surprise factor of the first.  But, there’s still plenty here to enjoy.  First, Rothe and co-star Israel Broussard make for a fantastic screen pairing.  It’s hard not to root for them.  Second, I like the way that 2U takes what were secondary characters with only a scene or two and fleshes them out.  Take Ryan Phan for example.  Blink and you’ll miss him in the original.  Here, actor Phi Vu gets a chance to shine.  Third, while most of the horror elements are gone, they’re replaced by more comedy and plenty of sci-fi mumbo-jumbo.  The bit with the science professor and the “blind” student had me in tears.  Finally, there are plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep things fresh.  The big reveal from the first isn’t the same as in 2U.  And the plot twist involving Tree and her parents - well, I won’t spoil it, but it was nicely handled. 

As I said in commenting on Happy Death Day, I know I”m in the wrong demographic of this film.  But Happy Death Day 2U works on me nonetheless.  A fun movie with an interesting script and an engaging cast equals a winner with me.  

Finally, I would strongly recommend watching these two movies back-to-back.  If you’ve seen the first, do yourself a favor and rewatch it before watching 2U.  

7/10