Wes Reviews: “Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2”

4 stars out of 4

Rated PG for action violence and some rude humor

Running time: 88 minutes

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyJuSjpoMfg&w=560&h=315]

“Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2” is without a doubt the best movie of all time. Of course, “Glitter” is in second place and might just take the gold someday if only it could get a 3D re-release. (Please, Hollywood!) However, that will be dealt with in due time. In the meantime, let us deal with “Superbabies.”

A sequel to 1999’s “Baby Geniuses,” it includes all of the original’s charm of having, well, you know, the talking baby stuff, but this time the plot is tighter now that we get to avoid all that expository stuff. The cast is also better, not so much because we have a new batch of babies, but because of the addition of Jon Voight (once again reminding us why we are so lucky to have both him and his daughter Angelina Jolie). Of course, one downside with this sequel compared to the original is the absence of Christopher Lloyd. And while it was not easy, that is something I’ve learned to live with.

This was Bob Clark’s last movie before he died in a car crash. And even though that was indeed very sad, it does help to bring even greater poignancy to this already very—to be frank—poignant movie. Of course, Clark had a long string of classic movies in his filmography. Besides the “Baby Geniuses” movies, he directed “Porky’s” AND “Porky’s II: The Next Day”—the fifth best movie of all time. Of course, even Clark occasionally had his critical and financial bombs. Such would be the case with his pagan-Christmas movie, “A Christmas Story.” But let us not reflect on that; he was a brilliant man who always knew what he was doing.

The amazing thing about “Superbabies” is its ability to deal with issues of (in alphabetical order) ageism, racism, and sexism. Just because kids enjoy playtime, that does not mean they are defined by that. This is reflected perfectly when one kid declares for all to hear, “Playtime is over.” It is a great moment because not only is it an action movie cliché, but also it speaks to the deeper truth that we all make moral comprises. However, just because the characters in this movie may compromise their values, this does not mean that the movie has.

Indeed, this movie is great because it is absolutely strong on both the visual and the auditory aspect of filmmaking. The witty (pun-tastic?) dialogue is matched brilliantly by such visual motifs as babies bouncing around in confusion and Jon Voight having the life literally sucked out of him through the metaphor that is his hair. If you have not yet seen this movie, drop what you are doing and go to a theater and demand to be shown “Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2.”