Stars Fell Again

As star Maslow might express it, the follow-up to Stars Fell on Alabama feels Big Time Rushed. The first film had a certain charm, but it appears producers moved quickly to capitalize on its unexpected success: The sequel's script feels slapped together and as half-thought-out as the title. As a result, the energy and magic of the characters is drained.

The sequel has a big problem: The fact that Bryce is an awesome boyfriend who's just trying to ask his amazing girlfriend to marry him isn't enough to sustain a film. The writers seem to recognize this by switching the focus to Harper. But we don't get enough backstory to understand why she would agree to immediately marry a guy she's only known for three months. There's also no insight provided as to why no one in her family is suggesting that she slow down, even when she expresses her own doubts. The story takes place around Christmas, which feels like a marketing ploy, but then it mostly ignores the holiday other than throwing in a couple of holiday movie clichés and offering Maslow the chance to sing a carol. And some stuff is just ridiculous. For example, Bryce is challenged to do a couples' dance with Madison and, lo and behold, he just happens to have a pair of tap shoes and turns out to be a modern-day Fred Astaire. That may be the film's biggest flaw. It's one thing for Bryce and Madison to be good people. It's quite another when they're perfect at everything they attempt. It's like the movie equivalent of social media filters. And who needs more of that?