It might be humanly impossible to explain my absolute disdain for Hollywood’s current obsession with sequels and remakes. Mere words alone, cannot begin to encapsulate my utter displeasure at this trend in what has amounted to a chronic exercise in creative atrophy. A trend so commonplace, that I have to sit down for a while, before I can think of a single project that came from an original idea. We’ve usually either seen it all before, or we’ve strained the gnat on some needlessly endless series to the point that it becomes a watered down redundance only indulged in by the most mindless die-hard of fans.

One of the most annoying iterations of this trend, has to be the old movie that suddenly decided, long after its participants in both cast and crew have long aged (if they’re even still alive), to squeeze out a sequel. In each case, the false promise is still the same. Someone believed, contrary to evidence, that they could somehow make this old dusty work relevant in a new age.

Yes, on the rare occasion, the filmmaker strikes gold. But for the investment put into this tendency, it’s proven to be pointless. In addition to the uptick in wokeness, this is another reason for Hollywood’s self-inflicted downgrade. And that is why I guess it should come wearily as no surprise, that a sequel to Dodgeball is floating around.

According to Justin Long (where’s that guy been?), Vince Vaughn has been fleshing out a “great” sequel idea, while wating for Ben Stiller to sign off on it, but per Variety:

“Of course I would love to do it and I hope that it ends up happening, but I think Ben [Stiller] is a little… trepidatious about doing a sequel to something so beloved, something that people enjoy so much… It’s very risky. You don’t wanna s*** on the original, you want something just as good. So I think he’s a little wary of that, of trying to recreate something that was very specific to that time, but I hope he comes around on it.”

The obvious retort to this of course, is that nothing should come after the line, “you don’t wanna s*** on the original.” Except maybe, a very grounded “and so therefore, we’re gonna move on, and create another original comedy.” Even a simple “and so that’s that” would do.

Anyway, as a fan of Dodgeball, and a bearer of generally good feelings towards Vince Vaughn, let me join in the chorus of naysayers, by pointing to an episode of Between Two Ferns. In this one, Jerry Seinfeld is getting “interviewed” by Zach Galifianakis (I hope I got that right).

Along the 1:15 mark, Jerry Seinfeld taunts the host of the interview, with what may have (maybe inadvertently) been an insightful breakdown of the downgrade of The Hangover series, which featured Galifianakis in a memorable role. Seinfeld’s conclusion on how the cash-grab of part 2 and part 3 may have robbed part 1 of its comedy classic status, is a cautionary tale I hope Vaughn comes across, and takes to heart.

The whole video is also funny if you felt like watching the whole thing.

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