A prelude to a big fat wedding is what unfurls in ‘Honey Bee 2: Celebrations’, taking a spot from the prequel and filling it or rather stretching it. The movie starts from where ‘Honey Bee’ just about ends. But with a hero who can’t make up his mind and his friends not really in the scene much, the sequel’s saving grace is actually Bhavana’s attire and gorgeous looks. The first half did have its share of laughter. However, the second half is irritatingly serious for absolutely flimsy reasons.
‘Honey Bee’s’ fun was in the friendship angle. In its sequel, Jean Paul Lal- the movie’s writer and director has moved away from there to focus more on the family angle. We have Seban’s (Asif Ali) parents Thambi Anthony (Sreenivasan) and Ruby (Lena) as new additions here with Seban in a fix trying to convince his parents. He and the Punyalans (Lal’s family) chalks up a plan built on white lies leading to a comedy of errors. Meanwhile, Angel (Bhavana) is perplexed as to her fiance’s behavior. Jean has not really been able to work this out.
Ferno (Baburaj), Abu (Sreenath Bhasi) and Ambro (Balu Varghese) are there to provide the giggles, albeit occasionally. The trio is definitely in their element, with their one-liners, expletives and of course booze. Booze does keep flowing intermittently, after all this is the substance on which the prequel was built. But we keep waiting for the real celebrations to start and nothing much happens. It is for the comic humour that we wait for. Whatever humour that is there is thankfully sans clichés and those usual dose of dramatic comedy.
The performance of the cast is commendable. Asif Ali is good as Seban and he gets maximum screen time. Bhavana has done a neat job as the frustrated Angel. She also looks fab in all the scenes. This time Seban’s friends take a backseat with their characters not fully developed. The potential was there for a full fledged characterization of the trio. And that is where the movie flatters. We come expecting the trio to entertain us and they are not there. Whatever was given to Baburaj, Abu and Balu has been neatly executed and their comic timing is flawless. New additions Lena and Sreenivasan don’t have much to do. It was interesting to see Sreenivasan in a new get up. Director Jean Paul has failed to get the script right. Technically it is a colourful fare.
‘Honey Bee 2: Celebrations’ is a lost opportunity. The oomph of the first part is absent in the sequel and turned out to be a disappointing outing. However, one can be entertained with some of the unique one-liners and situational humour.
