Big Bad Mama II (1987)

Angie Dickinson is back! And she's bigger and badder than before. It's 2 years later, and Wilma McClatchie and her two daughters are at home with her boyfriend . All the peace ended when a land baron foreclosed the home, and boyfriend dies in the shootout. Wilma, Biilie(Danielle Brisebois) and Polly(Julie McCollough) go on a state run of crime to avenge her boyfriend and the poor. They come across a journalist(Robert Culp) who is just going along with the ride. They even kidnapped son of the next governor. He was more willing to help the ladies rather than his father. This movie is has more comedy to it. But I remembered Brisebois from "Archie Bunker's Place". It won't be the same. Wilma McClatchie is a legend in her own right. In the first one, she took over a business. In this one, she was more like the female Robin Hood. This one is funnier than the first one. And a little more fun. Too bad they couldn't do a third one. Oh, well what can you do. 2 out of 5 stars.

A reasonable review of this cheap exploitation of "Bonnie and Clyde" might consist of a single sentence: "See 'Big Bad Mama' for review." The original must have made a few shekels because "Big Bad Mama II" is as close to a remake as you can get without being put into a position in which you can bring suit against yourself for plagiarism.This remake has most of the elements of the original -- the old cars twirling around the dusty streets, the chattering Tommy guns, the corrupt rich man, the self-interested guy hanging around with a healthy interest in Big Bad Mama. It even has Angie Dickenson and her two lovely daughters as the principals.However, this isn't as good. Please don't trouble to deny it. Yes, it has the bloody shoot outs, but it doesn't have the bare nakedness of the original. Frankly, it's not enough just to see someone's hands running over unidentifiable lumps of somebody else's flesh. We get brief glimpses of the two daughters capering topless in a pool, but not enough, especially considering that neither can act and one of them looks like a factory reject. What happened to Angie Dickenson's magnificent chest? I was dreadfully disappointed. My heart sank, also my libido. My advice: Rent "Big Bad Mama," the original, a true masterpiece of cinematic poetry. The blood practically spills from the screen along with the breasts.

Big Bad Mama II (1987) *** (out of 4) This "sequel" to the 1974 cult classic is more of a remake since the events in the first film are overlooked and the characters are pretty much starting from scratch. This time out after her husband is murdered, Wilma McClatchie (Dickinson) takes her daughters Billie Jean (Danielle Brisebois) and Polly (Julie McCullough) on a crime spree so that they won't have to go to bed hungry at night. Mama decides to get even with a crooked politician (Bruce Glover) by kidnapping his son (Jeff Yagher) but things don't go as planned. BIG BAD MAMA II was shot in about two weeks for an extremely small amount of money so one should keep that in mind. What's so funny is that director Wynorski knows that this isn't going to be an Oscar-winner so instead of trying something fancy he just keeps the film moving at a nice pace and throws in as much action as he can. The movie certainly isn't high quality and there's no question that it's not nearly as good as the first movie but I think the characters are so memorable and the cast do such a good job with them that you can't help but have fun as long as you don't mind this type of "B" film. Dickinson does a fine job in her role as she has no problem playing tough and she's still quite believable in the part. Robert Culp plays a reporter/love interest and he too does a fine job. I've read some reviews that said he looked embarrassed but I don't agree at all as it seems he's having a wonderful time and he has some nice chemistry with Dickinson. Brisebois is fine playing the tough daughter while McCullough is awfully cute as the good girl. Even Yagher is enjoyable in his part and fans of HALLOWEEN will enjoy seeing Charles Cyphers in a quick bit. Glover really steals the film as the sleazy bad guy as you can't help but get a real kick because he's certainly a no-good snake that you love to hate. The director keeps the film moving at an incredibly fast pace and we're treated to all sorts of action with non-stop bullets going around and we even get several explosions. In true Roger Corman fashion we even get a sequence where some new footage is mixed in with mostly scenes from the original movie. The nudity on display, especially that of McCullough, just adds to the fun. One strange thing is that in 1987 just about anything could go in the direct to video market (this did hit a few theaters) but this film is actually a lot tamer than the original with much of the sleaze cut out.

You watch this film because of the attractive women, not because you expect The Godfather', 'Bonnie and Clyde', or even 'Scarface.' Angie looks great (although she may be body doubled during her sex scene with Culp), and McCullough and Brisbois are barely clothed throughout, thank you very much. Otherwise, this is a clumsily written, directed and acted pile of junk. The action scenes are some of the worst staged for the screen, with Glover, Culp and others standing around, unconcerned, as explosions go off and bullets fly around them. Cops fire endless rounds at Angie and her girls in their jalopy and neither the car or the girls are ever scratched. Plotwise, we've got Dickinson and her girls shooting up cops and blasting their way out of banks then racing off... but the cops never follow. In fact, nobody seems to be after these brazen criminals except Culp, the reporter. The cops are apparently stumped, but Culp finds them without any effort, time and time again. It's all so obviously stupid, and the leads know it. Culp and Dickinson treat the film like a 'Smokey & The Bandit' lark with barely suppressed laughter in many of their scenes. But, once again, you're here for the feminine pulchritude.