It's no secret that comedy sequels are hard to pull off -- and often fall flat as a result. From Zoolander 2 to Dumb and Dumber To, follow-ups to classic comedies regularly try to recapture the magic of the original, and it seldom works. With Goon: Last of the Enforcers debuting today, that's what career funnyman Seann William Scott is trying to avoid. According to Scott: the cast and crew knew they faced an uphill battle making a sequel, so their primary approach was to find an angle for the story that actually warranted a sequel. The actor opened up to me during our recent chat about the hyper-violent film and explained:
It's rare to do a sequel that doesn't massively disappoint people. That was all in our heads the whole time and it was like, there's going to be a lot of people that, no matter how hard we try, they're going to be like 'what the fuck?' You know? 'This sucks.' But we did the best that we could and we were like "let's try to come up with a solid story and let's do the best we can.' I think Jay did an amazing job, and it was like there's a hope obviously you're like, because I think this is different from doing an American Pie movie where you can kind of follow the same formula, and I think that ends up happening a lot with sequels. This one is a similar formula but there are elements to it that just felt, on a story and character level, a bit deeper. A little more interesting. And we just kind of went with it. Once you're on set you're like 'oh shit let's do the best we can.' I love the movie, like I'm really happy with how it turned out and I love playing that character on an actor level. Because the character, comedically, you get quite a bit to do with it.
As Seann William Scott pointed out in his interview with CinemaBlend, a Goon movie is a bit different from an American Pie movie. At the end of an American Pie film, we want to see everything reset back to normal after Jim, Stifler and the rest of the gang get into their shenanigans. By contrast, the Goon franchise provides Doug Glatt with a proper arc that develops him emotionally, physically and psychologically. Where many comedy sequels tend to fall flat because they perfectly emulate the original, Goon: Last of the Enforcers uses the events of the original merely to inform how its story sets up. The fundamental DNA of a Goon story is present in this film, but it has been reorganized into something new and exciting.
In the end, Goon: Last of the Enforcers found the right story by acknowledging the passage of time between movies. Taking place six years after the (still surprisingly well-received) original film, Goon 2 finds Doug Glatt forced to cope with age and a potentially career-ending injury when he goes head-to-head against a young up-and-comer in the world of semi-professional hockey. The film brings back almost every major element and character from the original story, but it allows them to evolve (or not evolve) in a way that feels organic and earned. Because many comedy sequels often fail to pull this off, it's a welcome change of pace.
Goon: Last of the Enforcers is now available on VOD. If you are on the lookout for more information related to 2017's theatrical releases, then take a look at CinemaBlend's comprehensive movie premiere guide!
