There's nothing about a sequel that necessarily makes it bad. Sometimes stories are left open-ended so that a follow-up makes sense, or writers may be able to top their previous effort by putting a new spin on the material. There are also some great movie franchises where the same characters can be recycled for numerous stories. However one type of sequel that almost inevitably turns out turkey is the cash-in rehash of a recent hit movie, the hope being that reuniting the same crew and characters will strike the same box office gold without spending too much time, effort or money.
In Father's Little Dividend, sequel to Father of the Bride, the "fast buck" motive was even faster than usual. The closeness of release dates indicates it was probably green-lighted while its predecessor was still in its theatrical run. It was shot in just twenty-two days (the kind of schedule a B-movie would usually get), perhaps because star Elizabeth Taylor and director Vincente Minnelli were scheduled to begin work on more important projects, A Place in the Sun and An American in Paris respectively, and the whole thing looks very rushed. The screenplay is riddled with plot holes and underdeveloped patches. Minnelli sticks largely to long, static takes and straightforward shot compositions. Not that there is anything wrong with such simplicity, it's just that Minnelli could usually work such magic with elaborate arrangements and delicate flow, which clearly he didn't have time for here.
Father's Little Dividend also drops the device that made Father of the Bride work so well. Although it still retains a Spencer Tracy voice-over narrative and keeps him as the primary character, it is no longer quite so exclusively his story. In Father of the Bride he was a fairly passive character, but the focus was always upon his thoughts and his reactions as all the bustle of the wedding went on in the background. He is now a much more active character, but he is sharing the limelight far more with his co-stars. The result is that this is a far more routine piece of storytelling, without that unique take that elevated Father of the Bride above the average romcom. Taylor has a bigger role, probably to reflect her growing stardom, and in fact her heart-to-heart scenes with Tracy (something writer Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett are very good at) are among the nicest moments in the picture. However the larger parts for comedy players Moroni Olsen and Billie Burke don't work so well as the characters simply aren't funny or engaging enough.
This is one of the few major studio productions to be in the public domain. Apparently MGM failed to renew the rights, perhaps due to oversight or simple lack of interest. As such it's available in dozens of shoddy, fuzzy-looking DVD editions, which to be honest pretty much do it justice. There's little point waiting for a nice restoration – the picture itself will always be a disappointment.
In Father's Little Dividend, sequel to Father of the Bride, the "fast buck" motive was even faster than usual. The closeness of release dates indicates it was probably green-lighted while its predecessor was still in its theatrical run. It was shot in just twenty-two days (the kind of schedule a B-movie would usually get), perhaps because star Elizabeth Taylor and director Vincente Minnelli were scheduled to begin work on more important projects, A Place in the Sun and An American in Paris respectively, and the whole thing looks very rushed. The screenplay is riddled with plot holes and underdeveloped patches. Minnelli sticks largely to long, static takes and straightforward shot compositions. Not that there is anything wrong with such simplicity, it's just that Minnelli could usually work such magic with elaborate arrangements and delicate flow, which clearly he didn't have time for here.
Father's Little Dividend also drops the device that made Father of the Bride work so well. Although it still retains a Spencer Tracy voice-over narrative and keeps him as the primary character, it is no longer quite so exclusively his story. In Father of the Bride he was a fairly passive character, but the focus was always upon his thoughts and his reactions as all the bustle of the wedding went on in the background. He is now a much more active character, but he is sharing the limelight far more with his co-stars. The result is that this is a far more routine piece of storytelling, without that unique take that elevated Father of the Bride above the average romcom. Taylor has a bigger role, probably to reflect her growing stardom, and in fact her heart-to-heart scenes with Tracy (something writer Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett are very good at) are among the nicest moments in the picture. However the larger parts for comedy players Moroni Olsen and Billie Burke don't work so well as the characters simply aren't funny or engaging enough.
This is one of the few major studio productions to be in the public domain. Apparently MGM failed to renew the rights, perhaps due to oversight or simple lack of interest. As such it's available in dozens of shoddy, fuzzy-looking DVD editions, which to be honest pretty much do it justice. There's little point waiting for a nice restoration – the picture itself will always be a disappointment.