Simply Perfect

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Boxer Martel "Too Sweet" Gordone (a solid and sincere performance by Leon Isaac Kennedy) gets paroled from prison and hooks up again with old flame Clarisse (an appealing portrayal by the pretty Eugenia Wright). After evil nemesis Half Dead (robustly played with lip-smacking wicked relish by Ernie Hudson) busts out of jail and murders Clarisse after raping her first, Too Sweet resumes his boxing career as a means of exacting revenge on Half Dead. Writer/director Jamaa Fanaka eschews the gritty realism of the original in favor of a more blithely absurd and campy sensibility: The often ridiculous fight scenes, cartoonishly nasty villains, crude humor (one guy poops in his pants!), and excessive blood-spilling violence all give this film a certain endearingly kitschy charm. Peggy Blow lends sturdy support as Too Sweet's sympathetic sister Ellen, Glynn Turman likewise does well as shrewd brother in law Charles Johnson, Mr. T has a grand hammy time playing his own flamboyant and formidable self, and Donovan Womack cuts an imposing figure as fearsome opponent Jesse "The Bull" Amos. Popping up in funny bits are Rudy Ray Moore as an irate husband and Tony Cox as a lecherous midget. Jack Wheaton's funky-throbbing score hits the get-down groovy spot. A fun sequel.

The current DVD release available for this title is NOT the same version of the film that was shown in theaters. The DVD distributor for some reason made cuts to parts of the movie. (In particular, Ernie Hudson's ambush of the girl in the shower.) The sequence may too brutal for more sensitive viewers, but that doesn't justify making cuts to the original film.) HBO broadcast the movie in it's entirety in the 80's, and the first VHS/Beta home video releases also contain the complete film.

Penitentiary II (1982)** 1/2 (out of 4)The second film in Jamaa Fanaka's trilogy has Too Sweet (Leon Isaac Kennedy) out of prison and living with his sister. He tries getting a new relationship going with a young lady but she's brutally murdered by the gangster Half Dead (Ernie Hudson). Deciding to do something positive with his life, Too Sweet starts taking boxing lessons where he hopes to become a champion.The first film in the series was a rather insane and over-the-top masterpiece of cult cinema. The movie was highly entertaining but a lot of its entertainment came from how silly and bad it was. PENITENTIARY II is even campier and more over-the-top so if you enjoyed the first film then there's no question that you'll be laughing at this one. Everything that was so insane about the original is pretty much done here just just even more batty.I'm not even sure where to begins but I guess the funniest thing about this picture is some of the really awful drama that leads to some of the biggest laughs in the film. The perfect example would be early on when Too Sweet is with his girl and her over-dramatic response to him trying to get some sex. The incredibly awful next scene involves Too Sweet breaking down crying and I dare anyone to watch this and not start laughing.The film also has some pretty wild fights throughout, which is another major plus. There are quite a few bloody battles but strangely enough they aren't nearly as good as what we saw in the first film. Some other highlights include a dwarf (Tony Cox from BAD SANTA) trying to get laid. There's a sequence where former boxing champ Archie Moore comes out of no where for a cameo. Then there's another sequence where Half Dead pours potato salad on his woman only to then start eating it off of her! Kennedy doesn't give what you'd consider a "good" performance but he at least manages to hold your attention through the film. It was a lot of fun getting to see Hudson here in an early performance playing a nutty psycho. Then there's Mr. T who plays one of the trainer and yes, you get to see him and Hudson go at it in a great fight. Oh yeah, the previous mentioned Cox is also a blast. There are some really bad performances scattered throughout the film that add to the camp factor.PENITENTIARY II is certainly an awful film on many levels but if you like this type of badness then dig in.

Penitentiary II (1982) is the second part of the Penitentiary trilogy. The first film is deals with an unlucky dude name Too Sweet (Leon Isaac Kennedy) who learns that the only way he can get out of prison if he boxes his way to the top. A few years later, Too Sweet is a boxing champion and living the good life. But his life is turned upside down (again) as he has to deal with an old nemesis that what's a little pay back for what happened to him in the first film. Can Too Sweet defeat his archenemy once again? Will he defend his title and win the biggest fight of his life? Why does Mr. T play himself in this film? Find out by watching Penitentiary II. Ernie Hudson co-stars as Half Dead and Rudy Ray Moore cameos as himself.Recommended for fans of low budget films.