Musclebear Roger and his twinkish boyfriend Tyler (who became a couple in the original 2010 "Bear City" film) decide to take advantage of NY's new gay marriage bill, despite some initial misgivings on Tyler's part. Since they and most of their friends had already planned to be in Provincetown for "Bear Week," they decided to hold the nuptials there, staying in a guest-house owned by Rose (Kathy Majimy), mother of their friend Brent (Stebem Guarino, who is one of the few bright spots in this misguided sequel). Lots going on amid the craziness in P-Town, including Brent and his partner interviewing attendees for a "bear documentary", and another couple making plans to open a new "bear bar" in NYC.
The middle part of the film seems like a P-Town tourist promotion, with local attractions and huge crowds also (over)filled with marginal gay celebrities, from Kevin Smith to Frank DeCaro, Jason Stuart to Mike Ruiz, Mark Caruso and even Lt. Dan Choi, making this seem more like a vanity project than any attempt at a cohesive story. We do learn that, even within the bear community, there is an element of discrimination between "muscle bears" and their more portly brethren, except that both groups are equally unable to be monogamous in a relationship. Tyler meets a chubby bear he seems to develop a connection with, and Roger spends time with an ex he previously swore he never wanted to see again. SPOILER ALERT -- The ending was not what I was expecting, and somewhat disappointing, although I suppose it illustrated a valuable lesson ... that two men should not decide to get married simply because their state decides they now CAN do so.-- END SPOILER
Besides the casting issues, the film seems disjointed in terms of pacing, more a series of skits than telling a story. Some scenes clearly go on way too long, and add nothing to the film other than additional minutes. Some funny bits are milked too long (such as people calling Tyler's father, who is there for the ceremony, "Daddy", and how a threesome of bears next door needs a really large bed). Most of all, the assorted disagreements and uncomfortable confrontations often overshadow the camaraderie of the bear community, which was an important selling point in the original film.
As if the film doesn't have enough problems on its own, the movie makers are making it more difficult to obtain, by choosing to bypass all usual gay-friendly retailers, and only sell it directly via their website. (I suspect this may also be an attempt to keep it off sites where users provide reviews that could affect a decision to buy!) They further discourage sales by quoting inflated "list prices" and using a complicated (and seemining changing every week) series of discounts for the DVD, BlueRay, download and streaming, which few will have the patience to figure out. DVD has a "making of" featurette, deleted scenes, director commentary and music videos. Not rated, would be a heavy R for sexual content (No nudity). I'm somewhat generous in giving it five stars out of ten.
The middle part of the film seems like a P-Town tourist promotion, with local attractions and huge crowds also (over)filled with marginal gay celebrities, from Kevin Smith to Frank DeCaro, Jason Stuart to Mike Ruiz, Mark Caruso and even Lt. Dan Choi, making this seem more like a vanity project than any attempt at a cohesive story. We do learn that, even within the bear community, there is an element of discrimination between "muscle bears" and their more portly brethren, except that both groups are equally unable to be monogamous in a relationship. Tyler meets a chubby bear he seems to develop a connection with, and Roger spends time with an ex he previously swore he never wanted to see again. SPOILER ALERT -- The ending was not what I was expecting, and somewhat disappointing, although I suppose it illustrated a valuable lesson ... that two men should not decide to get married simply because their state decides they now CAN do so.-- END SPOILER
Besides the casting issues, the film seems disjointed in terms of pacing, more a series of skits than telling a story. Some scenes clearly go on way too long, and add nothing to the film other than additional minutes. Some funny bits are milked too long (such as people calling Tyler's father, who is there for the ceremony, "Daddy", and how a threesome of bears next door needs a really large bed). Most of all, the assorted disagreements and uncomfortable confrontations often overshadow the camaraderie of the bear community, which was an important selling point in the original film.
As if the film doesn't have enough problems on its own, the movie makers are making it more difficult to obtain, by choosing to bypass all usual gay-friendly retailers, and only sell it directly via their website. (I suspect this may also be an attempt to keep it off sites where users provide reviews that could affect a decision to buy!) They further discourage sales by quoting inflated "list prices" and using a complicated (and seemining changing every week) series of discounts for the DVD, BlueRay, download and streaming, which few will have the patience to figure out. DVD has a "making of" featurette, deleted scenes, director commentary and music videos. Not rated, would be a heavy R for sexual content (No nudity). I'm somewhat generous in giving it five stars out of ten.