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6 Bad Comedy Sequels In Honor of ‘The Hangover Part III’
Movie #2 – Caddyshack II
Year – 1988
Don’t worry. This entire list won’t consist of Chevy Chase’s bad decisions. That’s a list for a different day.
Everything about Caddyshack II reeks of cash-grab. The only returning cast member is Chevy Chase. And while his appearance was a glorified cameo it was the highlight of the film…which might or might not actually be a compliment.
Everything about the film is a knock-off of the original. Can’t get Rodney Dangerfield? Find another aging stand-up comic (Jackie Mason). Can’t get Ted Knight? (In his defense, he was dead.) Then Robert Stack will do. What’s that? Bill Murray doesn’t need the work? You know who does? Dan Aykroyd.
Hell, they couldn’t even get Michael O’Keefe to come back. That should have been a major red flag.
Making matters worse was that each of those “replacement” actors were clearly just that…replacements. It was painfully obvious that all the original character were intended to be in the sequel but had then been renamed when the corresponding actor couldn’t be secured. Unfortunately, essentially no changes had been made to accommodate these cast changes. The end result is that the whole thing plays more like the pilot episode of an aborted Caddyshack TV show. In fact, during post-production Chevy Chase derisively told the director, “Call me when you’ve dubbed the laugh-track.”
Although, there are hints that at some point the film had loftier ambitions. The role played by Randy Quaid was obviously intended for Rodney Dangerfield’s friend and protégé Sam Kinison. Don’t believe me? Then watch this.
And one final thought. The gopher should never talk.