What really worked was the first film was attacked at all of the characters were personally involved, and here, they are together here and there but basically are separated by different storylines. Jack Gilford of the seniors gets more to do here and this time it's due to the presence of Broadway legend Elaine Stritch, joining several other fellow stage veterans Gilford, Don Ameche (her co-star in "Goldilocks" on Broadway), Gwen Verdon, Maureen Stapleton and the Tandy/Cronyn's. Stritch is quite different here than most of her later film parts, play a Bohemian Auntie Mame type who really wants to bring Gilford back to life. She rents cabins to the three couples returning and Gilford, and gets the most sparkling moments, equivalent to the previous year's "September" where Woody Allen cast her as a glamorous former movie star.
The gang is back to aide Tawny Welch and her gang to collect the remaining cocoons, and the trip back to Earth isn't necessarily a good thing. They are now back in the world of mortality, having come from basically a planet that could be called a variation of heaven, and their individual issues are overwhelming. Stapleton greatly misses her family and Wilford Brimley aides bullied grandson into standing up for himself. Hume Cronyn's previous illness returns but Jessica Tandy goes through a glorious wakeup only to face her own mortality. As for Ameche and Verdon, their situation is a bit more joyous.
Then there's the issue of one of the the Cocoons, ending up in the hands of the government and facing its own immortality, a disgusting truth of how rotten our species can be, even though the doctor in charge shows a heart. So once again, it's a mixture of tragedy and comedy, and the characters again are very likable with some twists and turns that are potentially tragic. It's easy to watch but a bit disjointed, yet not worth the criticism that it had not the time for being an unnecessary sequel. Out of the hands of Ron Howard's though, it's a missed opportunity. But there are a lot of nice moments and Stritch as an addition to the cast is most welcome.
The gang is back to aide Tawny Welch and her gang to collect the remaining cocoons, and the trip back to Earth isn't necessarily a good thing. They are now back in the world of mortality, having come from basically a planet that could be called a variation of heaven, and their individual issues are overwhelming. Stapleton greatly misses her family and Wilford Brimley aides bullied grandson into standing up for himself. Hume Cronyn's previous illness returns but Jessica Tandy goes through a glorious wakeup only to face her own mortality. As for Ameche and Verdon, their situation is a bit more joyous.
Then there's the issue of one of the the Cocoons, ending up in the hands of the government and facing its own immortality, a disgusting truth of how rotten our species can be, even though the doctor in charge shows a heart. So once again, it's a mixture of tragedy and comedy, and the characters again are very likable with some twists and turns that are potentially tragic. It's easy to watch but a bit disjointed, yet not worth the criticism that it had not the time for being an unnecessary sequel. Out of the hands of Ron Howard's though, it's a missed opportunity. But there are a lot of nice moments and Stritch as an addition to the cast is most welcome.