“Limitless 2: Doggy Geniuses”
Grade: A-
WARNING:
CONTAINS SPOILERS
Synopsis:
In this laugh-out-loud sequel, Bradley Cooper accidentally gives his dogs the pills that have made him the smartest man in the world, leading to some truly hilarious situations. Talking dogs, slapstick humor, and Cooper’s zany antics characterize this wacky comedy.
Review:
When I first got word that Rogue Pictures was doing a “Limitless” sequel, I got excited. When I heard it was going to be a comedy, I fell into a deep, dark depression.
Still, I had to keep cool. I’m a respected critic, after all, and respected critics don’t fly off the handle before they’ve even seen the movie. But, I will admit, I was tempted to do my write-up based upon the preview alone, and play it off as if I’d actually seen the movie.
I gave it a chance, because that’s my job. And good thing I did, too. At one point I was laughing so hard, I thought I might get kicked out of the theater (which has only happened once, the time I got caught sneaking into “Days of Thunder” without paying).
Anyway, “Doggy Geniuses” had me from the get-go. Cooper’s wiener dogs, Coco and Sparkles, ingest the nootropic pills and begin talking within the first five minutes. Their banter produces audible laughs, even during the movies’ slower, plot-driving moments.
“I guess you can’t teach an old dog Newtonian Physics.”
“Whose leg do I have to hump around here to get a graphing calculator?”
Who comes up with this stuff?! And there are plenty more doggy one-liners where those came from. Jokes about trips to the vet’s office, peeing on fire hydrants and sniffing other dog’s butts abound. And they’re all knee-slappers.
The situational humor is top-notch. I almost lost it when Sparkles earned a degree from Harvard. And everyone in the theater was snickering when Coco won the World Series of Poker.
But the funniest parts were the slapstick scenes. I laughed so hard I cried when Coco and Sparkles took apart the toaster and rigged it to shoot bread into Cooper’s face. Rascals!
The movie was hilarious from start to finish. It would’ve gotten an “A” if Coco and Sparkles had broken the fourth wall a few more times, but an “A-” ain’t bad!
Best of all, they left it open to a sequel. At the end, as both dogs are receiving their Nobel Prizes, Coco suddenly goes into labor. Cooper, head in hands, can only look on as she gives birth to a new litter of mischevious doggy geniuses.
