Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
A Movie Review by Jonathan Moya
*** (out of 5)
Fred: Freddie Prinze Jr.
Daphne: Sarah Michelle Gellar
Shaggy: Matthew Lillard
Velma: Linda Cardellini
Patrick: Seth Green
Old Man Wickles: Peter Boyle
Heather: Alicia Silverstone
Warner Bros. Pictures presents a film directed by Raja Gosnell. Written by
James Gunn. Running time: 93 minutes. Rated PG (for some scary action, rude
humor and language).
Using the crime solving techniques learned from watching countless episodes
of the Saturday morning cartoon series, the mystery villain of Scooby-Doo 2:
Monsters Unleashed is easy enough to figure out. It is ___. (The answer is
written backwards in invisible ink and can only be read while looking in a
mirror, standing on your head with one eye closed and singing the Scooby
theme.)
This is the greatest hits version of the dog's adventures, meaning it
recycles plots and familiar characters in such a way that it frees one's
mind to wander and meditate on essential questions that haunt the Scooby
world. Like, who is hotter-- Velma or Daphne? Who really owns Scooby? And
were the old adventures really this lame and creaky?
The answer to number one, at least for this movie, is Velma. To see her in a
red leather jumpsuit ready to party hardy is enough to make any lowly museum
nerd fog his glasses and spill his specimens on the floor.
The last two questions can't be answered for boomer and gen-x kids without
invalidating their childhood. Growing up Scooby was a rite of passage, a
bridge that eased one into facing the scary monster of being an adult- as
well as an echo of what one was already feeling as a young teen. As such it
was perfect and scooberific in and of itself.
This Doo is straight Doo all the way. Gone are the drug, lesbian and other
outre content of the first Doo. It is a romp Scooby style-- safe and
harmless as those day-glow flowers at the bottom of the tub that keep you
from falling on your ass.
The Mystery Incorporated gang must save Coolsville again from another masked
villain wrecking havoc with a machine that recreates classic Mystery
monsters (The Pterodactyl Ghost, The Black Knight Ghost, Captain Cutler's
Ghost and The 10,000 Volt Ghost) while beating off the inquiries of an
intrepid female reporter (Alicia Silverstone) more intent on creating dirt
than finding the truth.
Of course, all mysteries exist for Scooby and Shaggy to screw them up and
somehow solve them in the process. That is what Scooby-Doo was really all
about: the stumbling to discovery that the monsters under the bed, in the
closet, and in our heads weren't really monsters after all. Scooby-Doo in
its purest essence was really psychotherapy for two generations of kids.
In a break with the show, some monsters here are actually real, but prove
ultimately harmless. Doo 2 and the current Dawn of the Dead both share the
same screenwriter, James Gunn. The supernatural echoes are more of a hiccup
of a writer balancing two screenplays written at the same time, not Doo
finding real demons and maybe God. The mischief created is equal to a garden
gnome coming to life and whacking you on the knee. It's a sting you won't
remember in a few minutes.
Matthew Lillard continues to refine the perfect Shaggy, a role he was born
to play. Only a great talent can act this convincingly with air. Most of the
mild laughs of Doo 2 come from the believable interplay between him and his
good CGI buddy. Hopefully, Lillard will get his fair share of screamingly
better parts.
Outside of Linda Cardellini as Velma, who manages to find that character's
perfect stride, the other two major players, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne
and Freddie Prinze Jr as Fred, seem to be phoning it in. They are another in
the long list of actually married couples that can't seem to generate any
on-screen chemistry.
Raja Gosnell, returns to direct, keeping everything mildly amusing and
competently on track.
There are still a few moments where the parents might want to go out and buy
some Scooby snacks, but overall there are more smiles than groans. Scooby
Doo 2 might be a bit too housebroken for its own good, but at least it is
less messy than the first puppy installment that earned more than $150
million domestically. After all, it really just wants to be a good dog that
kids can pet.
Copyright 2004 Jonathan Moya
http://www.jonathanmoya.com
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