Gremlins 2

I was watching TV recently, and happened to catch a broadcast of Gremlins & Gremlins 2 back-to-back. I haven’t watched either in years, but I figured I’d give them both a shot (I was bored and TV was a wasteland that night).

I know this sequel is typically seen as inferior to its predecessor. And I can understand why a person might feel that way. After all, Gremlins was a pretty terrific movie, deftly balancing absurd humor with fairly frightening imagery and story elements. After seeing it as a little kid, I always felt a slight chill during Xmas when I’d hear ‘Do You Hear What I Hear’. And who could forget Gremlins being nuked in the microwave or spinning in the blender?

Honestly, if you view Gremlins 2 as a straightforward sequel to Gremlins, then yes, I’d agree it would be disappointing. The atmosphere is completely different than the original, and the camp has exponentially increased to a fantastic degree. The threat level from Gremlins is certainly dialed down if not outright missing in Gremlins 2. Of course, once the Gremlins are out of the bag, it’s difficult to put them back. A similar dilemma faced James Cameron when he was working on his sequel to Alien, Aliens. Once your audience knows what the Alien looks like, you can no longer use that to create suspense. Cameron’s solution? Cram in as many as possible, and hit ‘em with straight-up action ’till their ears bleed. Dante took that approach to Gremlins 2, increasing the variety and sheer number of Gremlins on screen. Though admittedly with different results.

As a direct continuation of the previous movie and a progression of its storyline, the further development of its characters, etc., I’d rate G2 at about a 3/10. No one really learns or grows here – in fact, most of the characters from the first movie seem to be frozen in exactly the same place as they were. The only difference is the setting of New York in contrast to the small town of Kingston Falls. Where Billy and his family presumably learn a lesson in the original (respect for the otherwordly, always listen to elderly Chinese men) it’s unclear what lesson anyone takes away from G2 that’s directly related to the plot. Don’t mess with Mother Nature? Except the Gremlins are a result of Mother Nature, so really that’s her fault. And since they lay slain at the hands of man and his technology in the end, I guess the moral is…nature best check itself before it wreck itself? Yay?

Now, if you view the movie in the context that Dante apparently intended, it works in a completely different way. It brilliantly parodies the characters and situations from the first film. Phoebe Cates has a particularly memorable scene which shadows one from the first film wherein she describes a horrible memory of a Christmas past when her father died in a chimney, except this time it’s sour grapes with Lincoln’s Birthday as she begins to recite an experience she had as a little girl with an Abraham Lincoln impersonator in a trench coat…she’s cut off before she can finish, but we all know where it’s going. In fact, I was amused to discover that apparently Spielberg and the studio objected to the original scene in Gremlins, as they felt the audience would be confused as to whether the story was meant to be funny or sad. Ya know, because it would be a truly awful thing for something contained in a film to be subject to individual interpretation. Beter we spell it out for ‘em.

Another piece of meta-humor involves Leonard Maltin criticising the original as it’s released on video, then changing his mind as several Gremlins attack him in the studio. Not to mention plenty of breaks in the 4th wall, as various characters (the Gremlins for the most part) knowingly look into the camera, including a scene where Gremlins break the film reel and Hulk Hogan has to intimidate them into restarting the movie. At one point early on, Gizmo actually refers to actor Keye Luke by his real name. There’s also a scene of Christopher Lee (otherwise known as The Man) making a joking reference to his past work as Dracula.

There are inumerable references to other films and franchises as well, including Looney Tunes (one Gremlin is remarkably similar to the Tazmanian Devil, and even has a similar sound effect as he moves), The Munsters, Of Mice and Men (two Mogwai/Gremlins are called Lenny and George), The Wizard of OZ, Batman, King Kong, The Muppets, etc. 

As if that weren’t enough, the film also works in a satirical context. Glover’s character Daniel Clamp was an obvious amalgamation of Donald Trump and Ted Turner – a real estate tycoon with a ’smart building’ and a media empire with countless TV channels. At one point there’s a background reference to Casablanca being broadcast on one of Clamp’s TV stations ‘now in full color with a happier ending’. In fact, some of the funniest lines can be attributed to the PA system in the building:

“Fire: The Untamed Element, Oldest of Man’s Mysteries, Giver of warmth, Destroyer of forests, right now *this* building is on fire. Yes! The building is on fire! Leave the building! Enact the Age Old drama of Self-Preservation!”

“Because of the end of civilization, the Clamp Cable Network now leaves the air. We hope you’ve enjoyed our programming, but more importantly, we hope you’ve enjoyed… life.”

“Would the owner of the car with license number 1AG 401 please remove it from the CLAMP parking garage. Your car is old, and dirty.”

Clamp’s building itself seems to be a commentary on modern life and the fear of over mechanization and loss of humanity, what with all its ‘conveniences’ that rarely seem to work – revolving doors operating like a centrifuge tossing their occupants into the lobby, telephones that constantly lose calls, lights that shut off due to human inactivity, etc. Then there is Clamp’s cable network that seems to offer every variety of channel (The Archery Network, etc.). It might be easy to miss the humor now, given that a number of Dante’s musings have come to pass – heck, I can now watch sunrises from around the world on my Direct TV. Though thankfully Turner gave up on colorizing all the classics. Maybe he watched Gremlins 2.

So, in the end, I give Gremlins 2 a 7/10 for daring to be different and poking fun at itself. I couldn’t appreciate all the nuances when I first saw it as a kid, but I laughed my pants off watching it the other night.

Tags: Movies & TV