Moderately Confused

So after over a year of waiting and rising anticipation, Orcus returns with a vengeance, bringing us the sequel to his ironically only moderately successful first film. Slightly Confused generally seemed a mixed bag to most, the humour was in the right place but at times remained a sorely hit and miss affair, while the direction and animation itself was fairly unremarkable for it’s time, and eventually Slightly Confused runs itself dry. But for all these shortcomings, the movie earned itself success and eminence, which of course leads us to Orcus’ sequel. Cutting to the chase, sequels can be better, that is to say far better than the original and surpassing it, or they can be worse, tending to build on what made the first film great and drifting off into a self-pitying lament. Moderately Confused is a rare exception on both counts.

Usually the better sequels stem from films that required one. In reality The Godfather and Toy Story arguably both asked for follow-ups. While both of the first features had closure, there was still a lot more potential and far more to say and do, leaving a satisfied but slightly unfulfilled audience as the credits rolled. On the other hand films that did not categorically ask for a successor but were made anyway (The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Speed 2) are the more downtrodden examples of the curse of the number two. Forgive me for repeating myself, as I recall I’ve ranted about this before, but here’s the point: Moderately Confused is neither of these. Slightly Confused didn’t ask for a sequel, not did it require one, yet Orcus made the follow-up at any rate. What we’re left with is a better sequel, a better comedy and an all round better film than SC. The naïve among us will simply condemn that statement to the idea that Slightly Confused was a distinctly average movie in the first place, but I myself believe it’s down to Orcus’ directorial growth and maturity than anything else.

Picking up where the first left off (which at first seems surreal considering the context of Slightly Confused’s release date), The Bank Robber escapes to a hide-away with Shady, flatmate and accomplice. Together they plan to steal a rare diamond, but of course they can’t do it alone, and the diamond is in town for a few days only. Cue Ocean’s Eleven stylish hiring as they work through an eccentric team of thieves, among which include Jeremy Dick as trademark pimp Jamal, Jaymond as brilliantly funny narcoleptic driver Martin, and Dustin Guest as Codec the hacker, who unwittingly steals the show. With help from Klaymen’s (shall we say ‘spontaneous’) informant Calvin and concordantly no help from The Bank Robber’s potential love interest, the team prepare for the ultimate high. But of course The Bank Robber has a reputation, and he is unwittingly thrown into a cat and mouse game with the Police Dept, namely returning characters Sgt. Joe and Lieutenant Oliver, who unwittingly provide most of the observational comedy. Cue a seventies flashback heralding Sir Funkington, which is unarguably one of the more amusing narrative throwbacks.


What is most interesting about this plot on paper of course is that there are obvious problems arising. There are a lot of characters for a start, something that can usually amount to development suicide. Yet Orcus manages to give them all a fair piece of the action, even when crosscutting over from the cops’ antics to the heist. Next is the stereotype of the thieves themselves. Traditionally heist movies involve a complete mismatch of hoodwinks and rogues, but rather them squaring off, Orcus gets them to play off each other. Often I find myself laughing harder at key moments rather than the predictable gags surrounding their abilities or indeed inabilities. Klaymen’s line concerning the ‘history of beastiality’ must not be missed, while the introduction of Jaymond’s character is a consistently funny sight gag. What’s even more admirable is that Orcus manages to even the comedy between the heist and the cops, so as not to make the audience groan whenever a long scene at the police department begins, but rather sit up and pay attention. Again it’s little things that make me laugh harder, such as the various beatings of Brenda (using her as a battering ram is brilliant) and Joe and Oliver's exchanges in Shady’s apartment. Never outgunned but easily up to scratch with the other narrative’s comedy (having two narratives in itself can prove dangerous) makes Moderately Confused much more of an even joyride than the first film’s misses. This is probably where Moderately Confused is more noticeably superior to Sgt. Steve in my mind, as that film contained only one running narrative throughout, and unfolded at a slower pace than MC’s.

That’s the beauty of Moderately Confused. It never tries to be something it isn’t. It does exactly what it says on the tin, offering us a keen helping of action and comedy (often hilarious comedy), a good slice of insight into what makes Heist movies so enjoyable in the first place, as well as actually surpassing the original. Moderately Confused is one of the finest examples of how a sequel can be better than the first film, and while it can be argued than Slightly Confused didn’t actually require a sequel, Orcus did it anyway and improved on everything that made the first film stumble. In terms of narrative it’s an absolute goldmine, Orcus pulling out all the stops to deliver set piece after set piece that all serve to develop the plot and move it along. The moments of direct comedy are achieved made shockingly apparent, as Orcus has a knack for blunt, biting direction that makes these moments even funnier. With this in mind, MC is modelled around an old, uncertain template and given enough style and innovative ideas to make it a worthwhile standout among the less successful comedies of recent years.

And Orcus, believe it or not, doesn’t stop there. Something comedies rarely do nowadays is have a good sing-along, and in obvious comparison while Sgt. Steve had brief moments of music to progress the story somewhat, the characters didn’t actually take part nor acknowledge the presence of the said soundtrack. Yet here, Orcus recognises the hilarity (and not always deliberate) of soundtracks being used more as musical numbers than an actual plot-driving mechanism and utilises it to his own advantage. Guilty evidence can be found in most places, even in reality. Jerry Bruckheimer’s more ludicrous actioners such as Armageddon and Pearl Harbour both use key numbers to try and boost the movie’s appeal. Liv Tyler swooning and a pissed Bruce Willis matched to Aerosmith? It must have seemed logical at the time, but now is simply side splitting. Orcus builds on said ideas with Queen’s We Are The Champions, and turns it into an amusing if bewildering sequence that actually does help to drive the narrative action. Further aplomb his way for making the characters actually respond to the soundtrack and act accordingly, in one of the most outlandish and riotous scenes in the film. This is just another example of how MC easily stands out as one of the best comedies of recent times.

What I find most interesting about the film is Orcus himself. His direction is most impressive, surpassing anything SC had to offer. For the most part, his stylistic approaches to directing the film are with humour in mind, his angles and various wide shots usually there to expand the narrative accordingly and often to boost the comedy value of a particular scene. He even manages to throw some odd stylistic integrity (note the profound and witty interval). Back to the point, what I find interesting about it is that Orcus knows exactly where he’s taking MC. He’s not a clueless director, he knows what he wants to do and what the purpose of MC should and ought to be in contrast to SC. Not only is this a sign of a good director, it’s a sign of a good sequel, and MC is just that. It’s also an interesting observation as to how Orcus has developed more as a storyteller than an auteur in the period between the first and second movies respectively. Sadly MC is not without a few minor problems however. In places narrative strands seemed a tad laboured or perplexing. For example Super Chicken’s Girl’s character jumping from sweet, sexy stranger to prudish bitch queen by the end of the film, or how Jeremy Dick’s character, while initially financing the heist, seems to do little else for the rest of the film. Also I find it puzzling that at the centre of it all, this is essentially a more colourful, more interesting re-run of the first film’s plot, making a few minor adjustments to the cat and mouse game and including more characters to make it worthy of note. While the narrative boasts brilliancy, there are certain loopholes as a critic I feel inclined to address. But in my mind these are so minor to me that I personally couldn’t care less. If I can argue here that MC has plot holes than Sgt. Steve surely has a lot of work to do to be on par with this.

Orcus has achieved everything I expected and more some. MC easily holds the gold for best comedy of the year, presenting us with a mixture of genres to wonderful effect. MC is wonderfully constructed, radiantly scripted and ultimately directed in a way that outshines the first film in every way. A rare, professionally directed gem that comes along and reminds us that sequels can be better, Moderately Confused will be remembered, particularly in my mind, as one hell of a success story.