Inside Out 2 (2024)

Just to be clear at the start here, I was one of many people who figured that we really didn't need a sequel to the wonderful Inside Out. The first film was another instant classic from Pixar, although it was released in between a few movies that people might argue rank as some of the weakest from them, and the story felt complete. There's a great hook here though, and a natural progression that allows the film to feel as insightful and brilliant as the first film.

Here's the simple, and simply brilliant, premise. Riley Andersen, the lead of Inside Out, is now starting her journey through her teenage years. Her emotions now also take care of her sense of self, an important area that uses her memories and experiences to help her turn into the kind of person that she wants to be. Joy (Amy Poehler) wants to keep everything positive, and get rid of all the negativity, but she ends up with a much tougher job when the core emotions are joined by some new emotions - anxiety (Maya Hawke), embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and envy (Ayo Edebiri). This extra turmoil happens inside Riley as she is heading with her friends, Bree and Grace, to a weekend ice hockey camp that she hopes will lead to her joining the team.

This isn't as good as the first movie, but the criticisms I could list here seem to work for it. The animation and plotting feel a bit messy at times, which is perfectly in line with how everything feels as a teenager. Writers Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein (developing a story idea by LeFauve and director Kelsey Mann) do a good job of further developing an internal world that perfectly correlates to the external attitude and behaviour of the main character. Mann came up through the ranks of Pixar in the standard way, and he shows that he's been taking plenty of notes while making his way up the ladder. This is so good that I am tempted to forgive both him and LeFauve for their work on The Good Dinosaur.

As expected, the voice cast all work brilliantly in their roles. Poehler remains perfect, as do Phyllis Smith (Sadness), Lewis Black (Anger), and Tony Hale (Fear). Hawke, Hauser, Edebiri, and Exarchopoulos are great additions, as is Liza Lapira (getting a couple of fun moments as Disgust), and it's also worth praising Kensington Tallman (Riley), Grace Lu (Grace), Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green (Bree), Diane Lane (Mom), Kyle MacLachlan (Dad), Lilimar, Yvette Nicole Brown, Ron Funches, James Austin Johnson, and everyone else involved in bringing this bright and surreal story to life.

If you enjoyed the first movie as much as I (and many others) did then you can be happy that people found a way to craft a sequel that feels natural and absolutely in line with the first film. It's not quite as sharp, not quite as tidy, and not quite as emotional, but teenagers rarely are. There's no need for a third instalment, but I'm very happy that we have two Inside Out movies of near-equal quality.

8/10

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Prime Time: Bad Teacher (2011)

Bad Teacher doesn't entirely work, mainly because it doesn't really spend enough time wallowing in the right kind of bad teacher behaviour, but I am surprised that it received the generally negative reaction that it did when first released. While not great, it IS good, and it IS funny.

Cameron Diaz stars as Elizabeth, a lazy teacher who is looking forward to marrying her rich fiancé and leaving working life behind her. Except that doesn't happen. So she's back at school for the next year, looking for ways to earn enough to pay for the boob job that she hopes will help her land another rich guy and allow her to live the comfortable, kept lifestyle that she years for. Her lessons consist of showing pupils films (Stand And Deliver, Lean On Me, Dangerous Minds) and she is happy to do even less than the bare minimum, until she hears about a cash prize for the teacher of the class with the best test results.

Written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg (who previously worked together on Year One and the American version of The Office), this is most enjoyable when it is showing a character pushing things much further than any adult in a position of authority should. It's just a shame that they don't ever really risk pushing things towards darker, and potentially funnier, territory. This is a film that tries to be fun and edgy without ever being really becoming transgressive, which is understandable from a sales point of view but disappointing nonetheless.

Director Jake Kasdan does solid work, moving between a few of the bigger set-pieces (a car wash moment, a scheme to steal a test paper, the grand finale) briskly enough to ensure that the film doesn't overstay its welcome. It's a simple 90 minutes (give or take) of bawdy humour that does enough by the third act to have you rooting for the main character, despite her selfish and manipulative ways.

Diaz is a lot of fun in the lead role, whether she's trying to look wide-eyed and innocent or showing her true colours in amusing exchanges that leave others shocked. Lucy Punch is the other teacher who suspects that things are going very wrong in the classroom across the hall from her, John Michael Higgins is the Principal, and Phyllis Smith is a rather timid teacher who is also a friend, and unable to see the real badness of Diaz. All of them are great fun, as are Jason Segel and Justin Timberlake, two very different men who work at the school. The former is interested in Diaz while she, in turn, is looking to bag the latter (because his family has money). Thomas Lennon is as hilarious, as he so often is, in a small role, and all of the main child actors do well.

There are a number of mainstream comedies from the past few years that you could pick if you want more laughs, I can't deny that, but Bad Teacher is still good enough to pass some time and keep you amused. It's not ace . . . but it still makes the grade.

6/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.