When the Cheshire emerges...

I was forced to see this when my cinema had not yet received the copy of my nominated film. It was 7pm on the Thursday and they hadn't received it. How ridiculous. So then I had to join all the British backpackers in town and sit through this car crash of a film.

The Inbetweeners 2 (MA 15+)

TO the odd few absolute cluelessness is an endearing quality to come from a person. Though as the number of people in close proximity with that quality increases, that feeling dissipates. And then there's the utter lack of despair felt when looking at the quartet that make up the Inbetweeners.

They're a truly sorry mob, with Will (Simon Bird), Simon (Joe Thomas), Jay (James Buckley) and Neil (Blake Harrison) still having absolutely no idea about how to deal with girls or the world. Life goes on, but for these guys it really is all that much more difficult.

Running away from problems is something done very well by a large proportion of humans, as a way to clear the mind and supposedly grow as a person before actually dealing with the issues still waiting there.

This lot does exactly that – Will, who hates his university life, Neil, who has no direction, and Simon, who wants to escape girlfriend-from-Hell Lucy (Tamla Kari), decide to spontaneously travel to visit Jay during his working holiday.

The Poms will still never miss a chance to have Australia on, in jest showing our sunburnt country as a haven for hippies and opportunity to land easy sheilas. It's hard to take anything seriously when breaking the fourth wall includes kicking koalas and knocking people out with boomerangs. But to the boys it's the lucky country where they hope those problems of theirs will wash away.

Unfortunately for each of them things seem to get worse – a hundred times more than anyone could ever imagine. Their journey to Byron Bay, for Will's benefit after bumping into school friend Katie (Emily Berrington), brings obstacles thought impossible for such a laidback town. Down on their luck in every department, things appear that they will never change.

The sheer stupidity shown by the group raises serious questions about how they have become such endearing characters to watch on both the small and big screens. Their complete lack of sensibility and understanding about general interaction is like a car crash, the misogyny too rampant to warrant giving it detail.

And that's how the film feels as a whole as things get from bad to worse. An uneasy, cringing feeling lingers as their trip unfolds, with jokes covering everything from paedophiles and spirituality to getting shitfaced. They wear thin across the 96 minutes which is maximised by a slow plot.

Directing/writing duo Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, the creative minds behind these characters, do at least work the film around a story. The plot is filled with mishaps, but the story is a development on their previous outing. The script gives equal time to each of the group, but there's too many crude jokes and too much of Will's obnoxious-but-I-don't-know-it nature, making you want to cry for help.

Only fans knowing the group's history and understanding their aspirations will appreciate this mess of a story. New audiences will see the film in a different light, unable to accept that quality of cluelessness they all possess - or for that matter the complete lack of respect for women.

Rating: 2/5

To be published in the Darwin Sun on Wednesday 27/8/2014.
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of Begin Again.