Released March 6th, 2012
On this edition of Direct to DVD Dissection, we look at a DVD sequel to a theatrical film, featuring Larry the Cable Guy, in “Tooth Fairy 2”.
The Story:
When Larry Gunthrie, a local mechanic and goof, ends up losing the love of his life to a hot shot politician, he tries to win her back by helping her struggling daycare. However, his plans is put in jeopardy when, due to an accidental slip of the tongue, he tells a kid that the tooth fairy isn’t real. Soon, Larry is summoned to the fairy realm and must perform as a tooth fairy for 10 days, or risk losing his happiest memory, while at the same time trying to win back his ex-girlfriend before her big wedding day.
The Cast:
Larry the Cable Guy as Larry Gunthrie, a local celebrity and slacker who is given the task of being the temporary tooth fairy of his little town. A part of the “Blue collar Comedy” troupe, Larry the Cable Guy was one of the highest paid comedians, making over $20 million in 2007.
Erin Beute as Brooke, Larry’s ex and a day care teacher, who is currently engaged to be married to Bo, a candidate for mayor. Her work mostly consist of one-shot appearances in TV series, like Burn Notice, Magic City, and the short lived Charlie’s Angels TV reboot.
David Mackey as Beauregard “Bo” Billings, a mayoral candidate and Brooke’s finace, who has a problem with Brooke’s old friends, especially Larry. Has worked on several TV shows and direct to video releases, and worked with another member of the Blue Collar team, in Bill Engvall’s “Bait Shop” movie.
Brady Reiter as Nyx, the ageless head of the tooth fairies, who sentences Larry to 10 days of teeth collecting for his crime of causing a kid to lose faith in tooth fairies. With a five year career, she’s mostly worked in sequels to established movies/franchises, like Beethoven’s Big Break, and the “Are We There Yet?” TV series.
The Dissection:
“A Direct to DVD movie based on a children’s movie that featured the Rock as a tooth fairy? How can that be any good?” you must be asking yourself. The general dialog when the movie was announced was “Oh, dear god, why?“. Even FAN’s Justin Oberholtzer did a Movienalia based on this movie. “So, Michael” you surely are asking yourself, “what can you honestly tell me at this point what others haven’t said already?”
Well, the movie is actually kind of good, for one.
No! No! Don’t leave! There will be a perfectly explanation as to why this statement was made.
Okay,to those that stayed, a bit of back story here. From the various movies where Larry has released, the general story of those is that Larry, usually going under the character name of Larry., finds himself in a situation that’s very fish out of water and leads to something wacky and outlandish.
Larry the Cable Guy, in his first Tooth Fairy "uniform".
In the case of Tooth Fairy 2, that is still here, but it’s downplayed by a substantial amount. Sure, there are the easy flatulence gags and a silly outfit the movie puts Larry in and even a gag over Larry hitting someone by accident by not knowing the rules of a sophisticated game. However, unlike in other Larry movies like Health Inspector or Witless Protection, it isn’t used as a crutch for the script. The story of the movie can stand up on it’s own.
The movie has a story that revolves around Brooke thinking that Larry won’t grow up, and dumping him for the seemingly more mature Bo. Larry, meanwhile, hangs onto his claim to fame from a year back and it starts this development where he realizes his true feelings to ward Brooke and sets into motion the events that lead to the big climax of the movie. Meanwhile, Bo tries to kick Larry away and get Brooke to himself. It’s a standard romantic comedy subplot, something you don’t usually find in a kid’s movie. It becomes a kid’s movie mostly due to the whole tooth fairy subplot. However, that plot really isn’t needed, when you get right down to it.
The big issue of the movie is also the movie’s big reason for existing. See, the tooth fairy plot really derails the movie plot. The movie is really just Larry trying to get his girlfriend back, showing that he has gotten better. However, the fairy plot, with Larry turning into a tooth fairy and being forced to work on the job and by proxy ruining moments of his life that jeopardizes his relationship with Brooke. Really, the fairy story adds nothing positive to Larry’s story. But the worst of it is related to the boss of the tooth fairy world, Nyx.
Brady Reiter as Nyx, the most evil fairy in children's movies.
Nyx is hands down the most horrible character in the movie, even beyond the boyfriend who gets cartoonishly evil by the end. Nyx sends Larry out into town, with absolutely no training and with the worst attitude, and when Larry eventually fails, she chews him out and threatens him, taking no responsibility for herself. The big issue really is that, unlike the Rock in the original movie, Larry doesn’t deserve any of the punishment he is given in the movie. Thus, there is no reason to root for Nyx doing this to “motivate” Larry, and instead makes her the villain. Worse, at the end, Nyx is given pretty much no reprisals, and the early storyline is mostly abandoned in order to move on the plot.
In general, the movie really has some ups and downs, but it’s not the abomination most thought it would be. There is a good story here, and Larry’s own style of humor is toned down a bit, and there’s even some nice work in the supporting cast witha kid that Larry bonds with.
The DVD itself has a number of various extras and additions to it. You have the movie in various languages and subtitles, there’s some behind the scenes interviews, some talk about the cast and scenes, deleted scenes and extended takes, and a feature about teeth questions with Larry.
There are also trailers for movies like Alvin & The Chipmunks 3: Chipwrecked & Glee: The 3D concert movie, both theatrically released movies getting a DVD release. Along with there, there was an ad for a released called “Marley & Me: The Puppy Years”, or as Shawn Cain (@SDCain) wrote about it on twitter “Marley & Me prequel might as well be called “The Movie You Were Wanting The First Time.””
The Verdict:
Is the movie the worst thing ever? No. There are some good work here, and it gives a nice story. Is this a great movie? Again, No. It has its fair share of issues with the fairy subplot and some character arcs. It’s a kids movie with a pretty decent plot, but it stands above the rest of Larry’s other attempts at leading man roles. It’s not gonna be for everyone, but there is something good here.
It’s worth a shot, at least.
Rent “The Tooth Fairy 2” at Redbox
http://www.redbox.com/movies/tooth-fairy-2
Buy “The Tooth fairy 2” at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Tooth-Fairy-2-David-MacKey/dp/B006WNMHYQ/ref=tmm_dvd_title_0