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Look Who's Talking Too

Look Who's Talking Too is a 1990 American romantic comedy film, a sequel to Look Who's Talking, and the second installment in the titular franchise, the film was directed by Amy Heckerling from a script she co-authored with Neal Israel. Starring the original cast members John Travolta and Kirstie Alley as James and Mollie Ubriacco, the parents of Mikey (voiced by Bruce Willis), a toddler coping with the newest addition to the family, baby Julie (voiced by Roseanne Barr).

Look Who's Talking Too
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAmy Heckerling
Written byAmy Heckerling
Neal Israel
Produced byJonathan D. Krane
Starring
CinematographyThomas Del Ruth
Edited byDebra Chiate
Music byDavid Kitay
Production
company
Big Mouth Production
Distributed byTri-Star Pictures
Release date
  • December 14, 1990 (1990-12-14)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$120.9 million

In addition to this, he is having trouble using a potty, and the unorthodox advice he gets from his playmate, Eddie (voiced by Damon Wayans), doesn't make his problem any better.[1]

Plot

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Several months after getting married, Mollie and James welcome their child, Mikey's half-sister Julie into the family. While at first, Mikey is excited to be a big brother, he begins to resent his sister shortly after she is born when the reality does not match what he dreamed being a big brother would be like. He finds Julie annoying and resents sharing both toys and his parents attention; being constantly mean to her as a result. In turn, Julie is not impressed by Mikey, who struggles with potty training, having several accidents despite encouragement from his friends and family. James is provided a job as a full time pilot thanks to Mollie's parents and the longer work hours strain the couple’s relationship. The couple also have parenting disputes with James believing Mollie to be overprotective and too high strung. Mollie's lazy younger brother Stuart comes to live with them temporarily, and James is upset that Mollie does not even consult him about it. James is further frustrated when Stuart pulls an (unloaded) gun on him thinking he's an intruder. He wants Stuart out immediately and Mollie insists on talking to him first seeing nothing wrong with him having a gun or leaving messes everywhere. James finally reaches his breaking point and storms out of the apartment. Mikey thinks Julie is responsible for the situation and takes his vengeance out on Julie's stuffed bird Herbie. Meanwhile, after her apartment is robbed, Mollie's friend Rona comes to stay with them, and she begins to date Stuart.

During one of James' visits, he takes Mikey and Julie to the movies. Mikey finally realizes he was too hard on his sister and she wasn’t to blame for their dad leaving. Later, when Julie decides she doesn't need Mikey and wants to strike out on her own, she is inspired to walk unsupported. Mollie sees this and showers Julie with affection for her accomplishment, the happiness is short lived however, as James is not there to share the moment. James returns home to talk to Mollie and Mikey accomplishes going to the bathroom on his own, which is a celebration both of them share with him. James is due to go flying despite a massive storm building in the area, Mollie gets worried and leaves Mikey and Julie in Stuart's care. While she is gone, a robber sneaks into the apartment and Stuart scares him out with his gun. Forgetting that Mikey and Julie are in the apartment, Stuart gives chase leaving them home alone. He’s also left the stove on and a towel on the stove causing a fire to spread through the apartment. Thinking quickly Mikey pushes Julie in her bouncer out of harm’s way. He promises to take care of her when she tells him she’s afraid of the “hot stuff” which he tells her not to touch.

Meanwhile, James and Mollie make up in the plane when the flight is canceled. James asks Mollie if she’s happy about being right; she tells him that she loves him and no longer cares about who’s right. They return home to see the fire through the kitchen window. Momentarily panicked they are relieved as Mikey exits the elevator with Julie in tow. James runs to the apartment and puts out the fire before any major damage is caused. Mollie admits that leaving the kids with Stuart was a bad idea which James is pleased to hear.

Later, at a family barbecue Julie and Mikey have a conversation on how strange adults are. Julie is grateful to Mikey for saving them from the fire and he sees how much they are needed in each others lives. He tells Julie that’s it’s them against the grown ups and that he loves her. She agrees saying “big ones don’t make any sense” and the two walk off together hand in hand.

Cast

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Voices

Production

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An extended and re-arranged version of the famous Tri-Star Pictures theme music, originally composed by Dave Grusin and composed and arranged by David Kitay, was played during the scene when Julie practices walking. A variation with the standard version of the fanfare, which was credited at the end, exists at the beginning of the logo when Bruce Willis (voice of Mikey) was doing a Mister Ed imitation.

Casting

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The bum teaser at the end of the first film portrayed an uncredited Joan Rivers, providing the voice of Julie. Due to scheduling conflicts, she declined the role.

An early trailer featured Richard Pryor as the voice of Eddie.

Also appearing are Olympia Dukakis, Elias Koteas, and Gilbert Gottfried. Further vocal talents include Damon Wayans in a supporting role as the voice of Eddie. Mel Brooks makes a cameo appearance as the voice of Mr. Toilet Man. Director Amy Heckerling's father, Lou, has a small speaking part as Mollie's father. The film was followed by another sequel, Look Who's Talking Now!, in 1993.

Alternative versions

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When the film aired on Freeform (formally known as ABC Family), many of its deleted scenes such as Mollie threatening Mikey with corporal punishment if he walks off with Julie's carriage again (Kirstie Alley reportedly hated saying that as she was an advocate against corporal punishment) were shown. One notable addition is a running gag where Mollie chats with her friends and folks and it ignites a daydream of James cheating on her. There is even one sequence where she imagines him as John Lennon and herself as Yoko Ono parodying their activism. Only one remnant of this gag remains in the theatrical and home media cut.

In one version, James and Stuart have a conversation after he arrives in the apartment.

Reception

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Unlike its predecessor, it received mostly negative reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 13% of 16 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.5/10.[2] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[3] The film was released in the United Kingdom on March 22, 1991, and reached number 2 in the country's box office that weekend.[4]

Catherine Dunphy of The Toronto Star called it "a movie filled with the kind of thigh-slapping potty jokes only those still not trained could love", while noting that the character of Mikey was "old enough by any pediatric standards to speak for himself by now."[5] Bill Brownstein of the Montreal Gazette called it an "embarrassingly dreadful [...] project that should have been aborted before conception."[6] Greg Potter of the Vancouver Sun wrote that "if not for the sweet, cherubic countenances of the wee tikes innocently gagaing amid the unscrupulous exploitation and bald-faced money-grubbing of Look Who's Talking Too, this 81-minute testimony to the despicably twisted motives of Hollywood sequel mongers would be even more insufferable."[7]

David Armstrong of the San Francisco Examiner called the film "utterly undistinguished product—witless, vulgar, filled with potty jokes and gags about genitalia, stuffed with can't-miss-'em-product plugs, weighted down with a gratuitous chase-and-fight scene, loaded with old pop songs to underscore what the characters—and thus the audience—are supposed to be feeling."[8] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune called it a "toilet-humored sequel that loses the romance and Innocence that made the original film such a pleasant surprise. John Travolta and Kirstie Alley return with a new baby girl with the voice of Roseanne Barr, who has been given absolutely nothing funny to say. The few infrequent bits of humor come from the laidback voice of Bruce Willis as toddler Mikey. Travolta dances like Elvis In one scene, but director Amy Heckerling manages to louse that up by shooting him too often from the waist up."[9] Steve Murray, in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, wrote that "the good news is, "Look Who's Talking Too" is less than 90 minutes long. The bad news? It feels so much longer. [...] Designed to make money, 'Look Who's Talking Too' will probably succeed on that level, though it fails on all others."[10] Martin F. Kohn of the Detroit Free Press wrote that "the script, by director Amy Heckerling and Neal Israel, provides a dime's worth of characterization and a nickel's worth of plot. The story line is so flimsy that the film deteriorates into a series of music videos [that] are downright delightful compared to some of the minor characters, particularly the kids' mooching, trigger-happy Uncle Stuart and the proprietor of the baby gym, played by one Gilbert Gottfried (picture Richard Simmons with Martha Raye's mouth) whose performance makes Pee-wee Herman look like Sir Laurence Olivier. Incidentally, the voice of the talking toilet is Mel Brooks. Now there's an idea for a sitcom."[11] David Lyman of The Cincinnati Post called it "an embarrassingly bad 81 minutes that is humorless, dismally dull and totally devoid of cleverness."[12] Ryan Murphy of The Miami Herald gave the film only one star, and stated that "Director Amy Heckerling has whipped up a banal entirely soulless cinematic concoction whose main ingredients are vulgar bathroom humor (there are at least two dozen references to poo-poo and pee-pee) and bothersome Mr. Ed baby tricks m which the mouths of poor toddlers and infants are manipulated to produce overdone talking effects."[13]

It grossed $47,789,074 at the box office in the United States and Canada,[14] and $73.1 million internationally,[15] for a worldwide total of $120.9 million.

It was also nominated for two Razzie Awards, including Worst Supporting Actor for Gilbert Gottfried and Worst Supporting Actress for Roseanne Barr, and a Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Picture.

Sequel

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Main article: Look Who's Talking Now!

The movie was followed by a sequel titled, Look Who's Talking Now! in 1993. Once again co-starring John Travolta and Kirstie Alley, alongside David Gallagher and Tabitha Lupien as Mikey and Julie respectively, the movie centers around the introduction of two pet dogs to the family. The two animals, an Irish-wire fox terrier mutt and a white coat poodle who compete for the family's affection, were voiced by Danny DeVito and Diane Keaton, respectively.

References

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  1. ^ Wilmington, Michael (1990-12-14). "'Look Who's Talking Too' Needs a Diaper Change". LA Times. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  2. ^ "Look Who's Talking Too". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 6, 2021.  
  3. ^ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
  4. ^ "UK Weekend Box Office 22nd March 1991 - 24th March 1991". www.25thframe.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  5. ^ Dunphy, Catherine (December 16, 1990). "Who's Talking Too is unspeakably awful". The Toronto Star. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  6. ^ Brownstein, Bill (December 17, 1990). "Makers of infantile Look Who's Talking sequel should throw in the diaper". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Potter, Greg (December 17, 1990). "Look who's talking about toilet training, and little else". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  8. ^ Armstrong, David (December 14, 1990). "Talking babies get old fast". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  9. ^ Siskel, Gene (December 28, 1990). "Siskel's Flicks Picks". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  10. ^ Murray, Steve (December 17, 1990). "Baby formula gets warmed over". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  11. ^ Kohn, Martin F. (December 18, 1990). "Sequel teeters on flimsy plot". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Lyman, David (December 17, 1990). "'Talking Too' suffers from sequel sickness". The Cincinnati Post. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  13. ^ Murphy, Ryan (December 18, 1990). "Too: a soulless sequel". The Miami Herald. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  14. ^ Look Who's Talking Too at Box Office Mojo
  15. ^ Evan Frook, John (June 26, 1992). "Col TriStar tide rising overseas". Daily Variety. p. 1.
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