Movie Sequels - What We Watch when We Have Not Had Enough

A Twitter friend sent me to You Tube to view the trailer of a new movie coming out entitled Titanic II. Yes, this is legit. Okay, the film is not the creation of mega-movie director James Cameron nor does it have Leonardo DiCaprio or Kate Winslet, and it is going straight to DVD, but it is a sequel --- sort of.

I watched the trailer, and then I googled it to see what was the premise behind this fine film. It turns out that in the movie, some idiot gets the idea to build a Titanic II and sail her on the exact same route as the ill-fated first Titanic on the 100^th anniversary of the original journey. Guess what happens? Yep, disaster strikes again. In this flick, a Tsunami hurls an iceberg into the path of this doomed vessel and that sets the whole survival adventure in motion. Yeah, this is a plausible plot.

Wow, it looks as if there is so much excitement and great acting in this film that I will probably not be able to contain myself. FYI, I will rent the DVD when it comes out because I am a glutton for punishment.

Anyway, this new sequel got me thinking about sequels and how they exist because we, the audience, cannot get enough of the same plot or characters. Let's look at Jaws. To this day, this movie scares the crap out of me. I love the Jersey Shore, (the beaches - not the show), but I will admit that there is not one moment when I am riding the waves that I am not looking around for fins. As it turns out, this year was a good year to look for fins. Sharks were spotted everywhere up and down the eastern shoreline of the United States, so maybe the original Jaws was not as unbelievable as we thought.

Jaws II was still scary. It kept my interest, and had me loving land the summer that it came to a theater near me. Jaws III and the subsequent sequels started to lose that edge especially when the offspring from the original shark in Jaws came back to avenge his mother's death. And we wonder why sharks get a bad name!

Rocky was another great movie franchise. I saw the original Rocky, but that was enough for me. I know his statue is in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum, and every time I go I pretend to shadow box with the great Balboa, but other than that bit of pugilistic whimsy, I could care about the Rocky saga. If they make a sequel entitled Rocky learns to speak proper English, I might go, but until then the statue is enough for me.

Star Wars - oh what can I say about Star Wars? I went to these movies, but alas, I could not tell you what they were about because I never actually saw the movies. The first three Star Wars films coincided with my middle school and high school years which were my prime making out in movie theater years. The boys I dated loved this film franchise. They got to take a peek once in a while at their favorite sci-fi fantasy heroes and get French kissed. Me, I just focused on the kissing and keeping the wannabe star warriors' hands in check.

The Halloween and Friday the 13^th movies were also great make out movies, but being I like horror flicks, I put off the kissing to be scared. Because of those movies, I gave up babysitting and turned down a job as a camp counselor. True, it was only a day camp, but back-from-the-dead, zombie murderers do not need a sleepover camp to make their point and find their victims.

Grease - Come on, who does not want to get up and dance when they hear Summer Lovin? I saw this play on Broadway and then the movie, and I loved both. When they made Grease II, I was ready to jump on board. I know that it is one of the most overproduced musicals of all time, but still I love to watch this flick. Mostly, I laugh at the musical numbers, but the next day, I find myself singing them. Also, this flick helped launch the career of Michelle Pfeiffer and T.J. Hooker-bound Adrian Zmed. So, I am glad they made this sequel.

Batman and Superman movies- Hey, I am for anything that shows a good looking, buff guy in a leotard. So, make as many as you want, Hollywood.

There are some movies I wish would have sequels. Top on my list is Sleepless in Seattle. This is a romantic comedy that never gets old for me. I don't need a full-length film sequel. All I need is a 20-minute production that shows me that Tom Hanks' and Meg Ryan's characters live happily ever after. I just want to know that fate was correct, and the two of them were meant to be together for their entire lives. I don't want drama about infidelity, divorce, illness or alcoholism. I want happy-ending romance!

The Wedding Singer - I cry each time I watch the scene when Adam Sandler proposes to Drew Barrymore on the plane as Billy Idol and 200 passengers look on. That is a lot of tears because this flick is on TBS about once a month. Anyway, I want this sequel to show this couple living a Mr. and Mrs. Bon Jovi existence. He becomes a big music star, and they stay married and have kids. Once again, I don't want to know what trials and tribulations they go through. I am not looking for him to have a stint in rock and roll rehab. I want the Cinderella ending.

There are films where I do not want to see a sequel. The first one on this list is Gettysburg. Really, what can they do with a sequel to this Civil War drama? Make it longer and show more amputated limbs? I was the only woman in the theater for this flick. The best thing about this movie was that, for the first time in my life, I did not have to stand in line for the ladies room. Yep, men had to stand in line to empty their bladders but not me; the ladies room was empty. As great as this was, an open bathroom stall is not enough of an incentive for me to watch another four-hour, bloody drama about the North and South.

Deep Impact or any other Asteroid flick - The only possible sequel to these films would have to involve the rebuilding of the planet after the asteroid hits. I would not find this entertaining. I have said before that I have no desire to be a part of or watch survivors rebuild the Earth after a cataclysmic event. Personally, I am hoping that if I die due to a disaster like a comet colliding with the Earth, there is a fun afterlife somewhere. I do not want to insult anyone, but if this is how life here ends, I don't want to be reincarnated. Reincarnation requires me to still come back and be responsible for rebuilding or repopulating the planet. I would rather accept a no afterlife fate or one where I can party hearty on another plane as survivors on Earth pick through nuclear waste to find edible nourishment.

Well, I know I missed many sequels, so feel free to remind me of those that I failed to mention, and remember that as much as we might like a film and its characters, it is often best to let them live just once.