Sadly Over-hyped

I wanted to but couldn't!

Good concept, poorly executed.

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Obviously this includes material not seen in part one, with maybe a few tiny overlaps. As Donald O'Connor, pointed out, (in the first film) "MGM went around picking up movie stars like you and I would go around collecting paper clips". It's not exactly second-rate material. Not at all. Still missing are many items: Leslie Caron sings the Oscar-Winning "Song of Love" from "Lilli" yet her dancing finale which gives homage to "The Wizard of Oz" isn't here. Why? Also, nothing from "Brigadoon". You no doubt will find other still forgotten clips missing here as well. The new sequences with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly are good and, for the most part, help bind the material together. There is another outstanding clip from, I believe, "Bathing Beauties" which shows what an amazingly athletic stunt-woman Esther Williams truly was. Water skiing at top speed thru exploding water cannons and being handed off from a powerboat to a helicopter and soaring very high in the air, then power-diving. Once again, film finales abound, most noticeably the ending of "Annie Get Your Gun" which finally became available on DVD after years of litigation. Almost better than part 2 (this film) are the 2004 Turner extras of the intro by Robert Osbourne and a 30+ minute "making of" featurette. Worth owning, but be forewarned, they did use most of the best material in the first part. Originally released by UA not MGM, which was sort of "out-of business" during that time. Even today, MGM remains more of a trademark than a filmmaker.

This compilation isn't as good as the original, but it's still fantastic.One of my favorite things about this movie is the hosts: Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. I'm a fan of both of them and seeing them together is so rare that I had a huge smile on my face every time they shared the screen. Throw in some short dances by them together and that alone makes this worth watching.This movie corrected two oversights from the first movie: we get to see Cyd Charisse's Singin' In The Rain dance (in the green dress) and Kelly's dance on roller skates from It's Always Fair Weather.I did enjoy the non-musical clips in this movie, although I thought there were some omissions. The most glaring was the absence of a clip from Woman of the Year (the movie that brought Tracy and Hepburn together both on screen and off).I was also disappointed that when musical clips were shown, the movie they were from was not always identified. I knew most of them, but there are one or two that I didn't know and wish that I did.Bobby Van's bunny hop dance was odd and at first I didn't like it. But, as it went on, I was amazed at how long and intricate that dance was. Yes, it looked simple, but I suspect it was actually very difficult.This movie stands on its own, but I think it's best watched along with the original.

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire introduce more wonderful numbers from MGM musicals. This time drama and comedy clips have been added.OK--there was no way this could be as good as Part 1. Most of the good material had been used there already. Also Astaire and Kelly were given some dreadful new lyrics to classic songs to sing and their introductions to segments were just terrible. It was NOT a good idea to have them dancing either. And I could have lived without the travelogue of Paris. Still, there's plenty of incredible material here.Among the highlights: Wonderful opening credits (done by Saul Bass); Eleanor Powell tap-dancing; Greta Grabo dancing (!!); Robert Taylor singing (!!!); the Marx Brothers stateroom sequence from "A Night at the Opera" (unfortunately edited); From This Moments On from "Kiss Me Kate"; early Bing Crosby; Abbott & Costello; Tales from the Vienna Woods (which is actually pretty funny); Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"; clips of dramatic and comedic stars; the I'll Build A Stairway to Paradise number; Bobby Van from "Small Town Girl"; etc etc.The clips are put together without rhyme or reason--but that helps. You never know what's coming next. Worth catching but try to see the first one too.

Like its predecessor, THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT II offers two hours of film clips from memorable MGM movies featuring the likes of Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong, and Doris Day. Unlike its predecessor, which organized the film clips into thematic sequences introduced by different MGM stars, THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT just throws the clips out willynilly without much rhyme or reason--and saddles narrators Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly with some of the clunkiest, corniest material imaginable. In consequence, it lacks the cohesion and the excitement of the original.But it still has its charms. Many of the individual clips are knock-outs: Ethel Waters performing "Taking a Chance on Love" from CABIN IN THE SKY, Bobby Van doing the famous "hop dance" from SMALL TOWN GIRL, Judy Garland belting out "I Got Rhythm" from GIRL CRAZY. In addition to such musical treats, the film also offers a look at the Marx Brothers with the famous "State Room Scene" from A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, a sequence of famous lines from famous films (such as Garbo's "I want to be alone"), and an extended tribute to Spenser Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. Most viewers will probably feel the film drags due to the uneven way in which the scenes are introduced and edited together, but just about every one will find plenty to enjoy. Recommended with reservations.Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer