Gill Sutherland suspects that behind the laughs and Brit comedy capers, the Inbetweeners are counting the cash

Hurrah, yells most of teen Britain and the, erm, more puerile among us, as we are once again treated to the sexual misadventures of socially inept schoolmates Will (Simon Bird), Jay (James Buckley), Neil (Blake Harrison) and Simon (Joe Thomas). Yes, it’s smutty jokes a-go-go in this sequel to 2011’s first Inbetweeners movie.

In this one, Jay has headed to Australia for a gap year, where he has enhanced his status as an incorrigible ladies man. With the promise of more sex than they can handle, Will, Neil and Simon head down under to join their pal and the four misfits abroad attempt to impress the female of the species including Katie (Emily Berrington), Polly (Belinda Stewart-Wilson) and Lucy (Tamla Kari). Needless to say, the lads’ ham-fisted chat-up lines and amorous overtures often lead to toe-curling humiliation.

But hang on a minute: three years ago the actors swore blind that they would not be making any more Inbetweeners — small or big screen, assuring us that the first movie was a fond farewell to the hopeless lads we’d all come to love since their telly debut in 2008.

The more cynical might see this resurrection as the predictable milking of a cash cow — after all, the first movie set a new record for the opening weekend of a film comedy (previously held by sequels The Hangover Part II and Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason) and took a cool £66million... so obviously with that kind of loot to be made, a sequel seems kind of inevitable.

The four key actors are, however, adamant that money was not their motivation. Buckley, 26, also known as pathological liar Jay, recently explained that “every day, people were coming up to me and tweeting me, ‘Please do another film’. If it wasn’t for the fans, this film wouldn't have been made.”

And then, as luck would have it, the show’s creators and writers, Iain Morris and Damon Beesley, produced a new film script. “When we saw how funny it was, then everything changed and it became a no-brainer,” explains Simon Bird.

Oxford Mail:
From left: James Buckley, Simon Bird, Joe Thomas and Blake Harrison

Hmmm. So this sequel has been made for entirely artistic and authentic reasons — to get those loyal fans chuckling once more. That might seem reasonable and convincing if it weren’t for the fact when you watch the four now considerably older ‘tweeners’ playing 18-year-olds, with their stout and hairy 30-year-old’s legs, hint of of a jowl around the jaw, the phrase ‘flogging a dead horse’ springs to mind (Joe Thomas, 30, as Simon, 18, is particularly unbelievable). They are old blokes playing teens, it’s daft... not necessarily in a pleasing way!

Still, despite that, there are plenty of genuine laugh-out-loud chuckles to be had here.

The film is less of a rom-com than its predecessor (although the lads continually seek love and lust with the usual hilarious consequences) and more of a rites-of-passage road trip. The characters are well observed and the interplay between them makes for some great comic moments.

The outback setting means that cinematically the film looks good, but that’s it for the arty road trip vibe... Their mode of transportation says it all: a motor with a picture of a topless woman on the bonnet and the words ‘mobile virgin conversion unit’ emblazoned on the boot — chosen by Jay.

The film’s cheap sexual gags and revelling in the lame Britishness of the lads, make the Inbetweeners brand a worthy successor to the Carry On franchise of yesteryear — we titter along and don’t care if only us Brits get the jokes.

There were one or two moments, though, when the humour fell flatter than an AA-cup (and maybe this is just me getting old and frumpy) with the gags going from toe-curling to offensive. Like when the lads ride by a bunch of Aborigines sitting in ceremonial garb by a campfire in the middle of the night — Jay shouts ‘fire w******’ at them as they speed by. Perhaps film-makers Morris and Beesley are being edgy — seeing how far they can push audiences out of their comfort zones — but the scene felt more ASBO than amusing, and left our chortle slightly stuck at the back of the throat.

The Inbetweeners 2 (15)   
91 minutes. Comedy
Directed by Iain Morris, Damon Beesley
Starring Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison and Joe Thomas