The Inbetweeners 2

THE INBETWEENERS 2

Directors : Damon Beesley and Iain Morris

Year : 2014

Genre : Comedy

Rating : ***1/2

Lewder, cruder and certainly ruder than any movie out in cinemas right now, 'The Inbetweeners 2' is the sequel to 2011's monster hit 'The Inbetweeners Movie' which was in itself a sequel to the hugely popular Channel 4 comedy of the same name. Once again starring Simon Bird, James Buckley, Joe Thomas and Blake Harrison as four socially awkward and forever horny teens, 'The Inbetweeners 2' sees the boys go off on holiday to Australia where they find themselves in all manner of embarrassing situations involving sex, alcohol and at one point, irritable bowel syndrome. 

Already breaking the record for best  ever opening day for a comedy in the UK, 'The Inbetweeners 2' has been a huge hit both critically and commercially; with many saying that it is even funnier and more outrageous than it's similarly record-breaking predecessor. Now, while I may not be so sure that the film is funnier or better than the hilarious 'The Inbetweeners Movie', 'The Inbetweeners 2' certainly has it's fair share of shocking and ingeniously disgusting moments which are all executed with a brilliantly horrific and perversely graphic flair. Projectile vomiting, scatalogical jokes and more than a few scenes of  in-your-face nudity are all on offer with 'The Inbetweeners 2' and fans of the series as well as the previous movie will certainly get more than their moneys worth of the idiosyncratic vulgar humour that made the programme such a hit in the first place.

While the bare bums and willies are funny, the movie works best when it explores the relationship between the four friends which adds a surprisingly sincere and relatable touch to the story. All of the main actors do a great job of bringing their uniquely identifiable characters to the screen, with James Buckley's puerile but good-natured Jay providing the film with most of it's laughs and emotional heft. The various female characters could have done with some more development as could the overall arc of the narrative but the four main guys are, rightly so, the focal point and directors Damon Beesley and Iain Morris take pleasure in placing them in some of the cringiest and most gut-wrenchingly embarrassing moments ever endured by any comedic character.

While 'The Inbetweeners Movie' appeared to wrap up all the narrative developments and practically end the story for these beloved characters in a poignant but suitably rude fashion, 'The Inbetweeners 2' doesn't really do much to give us anything new. We don't learn anything more about Will, Jay, Simon or Neil or how their lives have changed since the events of the previous film but after 3 television series and two movies, I think we've learnt all we are going to about them. I do wish that the movie had toned down the toilet humour and sex euphemisms and took a bit more time to develop it's secondary characters and plot but for fans of the show (of which I am), 'The Inbetweeners 2' is a very,very funny and strangely charming movie that doesn't have pretentions or ideas above it's station. It knows what its legions of followers want in a final instalment and both the filmakers and actors certainly pull out all the stops to send the boys of into the sunset with as much filth and depravity stuck to their t-shirts as is physically possible.