Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild!

Director Todd Stephens had a smash hit with his first film, the coming-out drama Edge of Seventeen. He had difficulty with his second film, Gypsy 83, because distributors said it was "not gay enough" for the sorts of DVD vendors that were happy to push Edge. With his third film, he rose to the challenge of making the gayest film ever, 2006's Another Gay Movie. He's back this year with the follow-up, Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild! picking up the same foursome of boys, now in college and no longer virgins, going on spring break to Fort Lauderdale.

Unfortunately, three of the four original cast members backed out of the sequel, two of them at the last minute. While the replacements aren't close lookalikes, they did an admirable job of capturing the mannerisms of the original characters, making it somewhat easier to keep track of who was which. Scott Thompson and Lypsinka are back as Andy's parents (although it's a new Andy), and RuPaul, The Lady Bunny, and Brent Corrigan splish-splash their way on the screen. The story line, though, lacks the freshness of the first film, making it a bit harder work to get the laughs that came so easily last time. It's largely a case of "sequel-itis," although it didn't help that I'm much less familiar with the source material being spoofed this time around: shifting from American Pie and the John Hughes movies to Annette Funicello and Beach Blanket Bingo, is bound to lose some of your target market. Where Another Gay Movie was an out-of-the-park home run, the sequel is at best an infield double. It may have a very limited theatrical release, and the DVD is due around Christmas. Recommended

Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild! dir. Todd Stephens, 2008 USA 90 min.; official website

update: I recently saw Another Gay Sequel (now out on DVD), and it fares much better standing on its own than watching it soon after having watched Another Gay Movie — the casting changes are much less jarring if the first film is not quite as fresh in your mind. In particular, my friends who had not seen the original at all, found the sequel very enjoyable. By all means, see both movies — just not back-to-back!

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