
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 12, 1994                   TAG: 9402120079
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By SUSAN KIRR DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`MY GIRL 2' TYPICALLY DRAB MOVIE SEQUEL

It's rare that a sequel equals or betters the film that precedes it. This may be because directors and producers tend to resort to whatever formula made the first one a success. Whatever the reason, "My Girl 2" is no exception.

The first "My Girl" was unexpectedly good, despite a promotional campaign that made the film seem to be a sappy childhood love story. Instead, the film was very sweet, but smart, and also made much of the black comedy inherent in a precocious little girl's growing up in a funeral home.

The sequel is not so smart and not so funny. Anna Chlumsky returns as Vada Sultenfuss two years later in the story, with her portly father (Dan Aykroyd) by this time married to the corpses' makeup artist, Shelly (Jamie Lee Curtis).

Shelly is pregnant, and Vada is about to be kicked out of her room to make space for the baby. Aykroyd and Curtis make a nicely odd couple, and some humor stems from his playing of the tuba (ranging from Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" to the Supremes' "Baby Love"). There aren't many funny lines, but Aykroyd has most of them, and comes off well in the film.

The rest of the plot concerns Vada's school assignment to write an essay about a stranger who accomplished something. She decides to write about her mother, who died just after Vada was born. Her search to find something about her mother takes her to Los Angeles, where she stays with her uncle Phil (Richard Masur), his girlfriend (Christine Ebersole) and her son, Nick (Austin O'Brien of "Last Action Hero.")

The two kids traipse all over the city, visiting her mother's old school chums, including a city police officer, a flaky boutique owner, an arrogant movie director and an actor. Each one provides small clues to her mother's life. Along the way, the two see the La Brea tar pits, Frederick's of Hollywood and other landmarks.

Despite the cast of oddball characters, the film lacks the dark humor that made the first movie not only funny but insightful. This film doesn't really have much to say, and it starts to sag in the middle.

Chlumsky holds up her end, but unfortunately the film plays too much like a preteen romance, and the script doesn't allow her the range of the first movie.

Both films are set in the early '70s, although it's not clear why, unless it's simply to capitalize on the retro boom. A likable soundtrack includes "The Loco-Motion," "Bennie and the Jets," "Swingtown" and "Don't Worry Baby," but even a rockin' '70s track can't save this sequel.

My Girl 2:

A Columbia Pictures release showing at Salem Valley 8 and Valley View Mall 6. Rated PG. 94 minutes for adult situations.

by CNB