Big Bad Mama II

Is she back? or is she reborn?

Roger Corman wasn't very fond of sequels, until he made an exception as his gangster sexploitation ride known as "Big Bad Mama" survived the 70's and moved on from drive-in theaters to a much safer place for movies: video rental stores, hence  to immortality...

This "sequel" to the 1974 cult classic is more of a remake since the events in the first film are overlooked and the characters are pretty much starting from scratch.

So, what's cooking in Big Bad Mama II?

Well, not much really. This time the film begins after Big Bad Mama's husband is murdered, Wilma McClatchie (Dickinson) takes her daughters Billie Jean (Danielle Brisebois) and Polly (Julie McCullough) on a crime spree so that they won't have to go to bed hungry at night. Wait! didn't we see that in the prequel? Anyways, Mama decides to get even with a crooked politician (Bruce Glover) by kidnapping his son (Jeff Yagher) but things don't go as planned...

Big Bad Mama II was shot in about two weeks for an extremely small amount of money so one should keep that in mind. What's so funny is that director Wynorski knows that this isn't going to be an Oscar-winner so instead of trying something fancy he just keeps the film moving at a nice pace and throws in as much action as he can (or as much action  as he can afford with such a restricted budget). The movie certainly isn't high quality and there's no question that it's not nearly as good as the first movie but I think the character do deserve a try,  and the cast do such a good job with them that you can't help but have fun as long as you don't mind this type of "B" film.

Big old mama  can still give us a good shag!

From FBI agent to Reporter.

Once again, Angie Dickinson does a fine job in her role as she has no problem playing tough and she's still quite believable in the part (perhaps seeing her older makes her a more realistic gangster type of character) Robert Culp plays a reporter/love interest and he too does a fine job. I've read some reviews that said he looked embarrassed but I don't agree at all as it seems he's having a wonderful time and he has some nice chemistry with Dickinson. Brisebois is fine playing the tough daughter while McCullough is awfully cute as the good girl. Even Yagher is enjoyable in his part and fans of HALLOWEEN will enjoy seeing Charles Cyphers in a quick bit. Glover really steals the film as the sleazy bad guy as you can't help but get a real kick because he's certainly a no-good snake that you love to hate. The director keeps the film moving at an incredibly fast pace and we're treated to all sorts of action with non-stop bullets going around and we even get several explosions. In true Roger Corman fashion we even get a sequence where some new footage is mixed in with mostly scenes from the original movie. The nudity on display, especially that of McCullough, just adds to the fun. One strange thing is that in 1987 just about anything could go in the direct to video market (this did hit a few theaters) but this film is actually a lot tamer than the original with much of the sleaze cut out.

I'm old enough to suck you dry son.

Naughty sisters.

So, is it worth the watch?

The first Big Bad Mama was a quickie Bonnie and Clyde wannabe on a much lower budget and a much shorter shooting schedule. Angie looked good and seemed to be enjoying herself in a rare bad girl role, and there were enough car chases, shoot-outs and nudity to keep the viewer from falling asleep.

Big Bad Mama II is more (and less) of the same. Mostly less, since writer- director Jim Wynorski aims for camp, but can't manage to get laughs with anything. (This was a career-long failing for him.) Angie is back, but she's now over 50, and the Depression gangster genre has put on a few years too. With nothing new in the way of story ideas or screen visuals, there seems to be no point too having made a sequel beyond cashing in on the original for its video notoriety. More car chases, more guns, but little point. The sequel is only for die hard Angie fans. Collectors of celebrity nude will be disappointed that Angie's nude scenes were doubled (by former Penthouse model Monique Gabrielle).  

Oh baby, cum inside me!

Here's the movie trailer: