A strange sequel to an already strange movie.
Release Date: October 2, 2019 (theatrical) / October 9, 2019 (online)
Film: It: Chapter Two
We remembered these tropes so you don't have to:
- Call-Back: Besides seven of the eight main cast of the previous It review (except Jason), Jim also reprises his role as the Jared Leto version of the Joker from the Suicide Squad (2016) review.
- Camp Gay: Critic is less than pleased at the over the top stereotypical portrayal of the gay couple (here played by Malcolm and Doug himself). He's embarrassed by the incredibly cliche lines he has to quote from the movie, and asks in exasperation if the writers of the movie actually knew any gay people?
- Casting Gag: Jim has already played men who are abusive to Aiyanna!Beverly in both reviews of the It movies—the first, as her father Alvin, and here in the second as her husband Tom Rogan.
- Clip Show: Inverted—in a Channel Awesome tradition, it substitutes clips of movies still in theaters (and thus avoid potential legal issues) with its own props and cast. The pastiche of the film has most of the main cast from the previous It review reprise their roles, starring Doug as the Bill Skarsgård version of Pennywise, Malcolm as Mike Hanlon, Tamara as Eddie Kasprak, Walter Banasiak as Bill Denbrough, Aiyanna Wade as Beverly Marsh, Heather Reusz as Richie Tozier, and Trevor Mueller as Stan Uris; the exception is Ben Hanscom, whose actor Jason Laws has been replaced with Adonis K.J. Wright to parody his extreme makeover (see "You Don't Look Like You", below). In addition, Walter, Jim and Tamara play a trio of bullies, Doug as Adrian Mellon and Malcolm as Don Hagarty (the gay couple the three bullies pick on), Jim as Tom Rogan (Beverly's abusive husband), Tamara as Victoria and Dean (Pennywise's young victims), and Doug and Rob's real-life father Barney as Mrs. Kersh. Within the Framing Device, Doug also plays the Tim Curry version of Pennywise from the 1990 version, Rob as Chart Guy, Walter as Arthur Fleck, the Joaquin Phoenix version of the Joker as he appears in the same-named 2019 film, and Jim as the Jared Leto version of the Joker from Suicide Squad (2016).
- Corpsing: Aiyanna!Beverly could barely contain her snickering after Barney!Kersh transforms into an unintentionally hilarious monster.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The guys beating up the gay character Doug is portraying cringe at the incredibly stereotyped comeback he throws at them.
- Ignored Epiphany: At the end of the review, Walter seems to have agreed with the Critic that he shouldn't follow the example of the Pennywises and instead find his own, more grown up strategy, but once the Critic leaves, Walter chooses to follow their example willingly, thus receiving the makeover noted in Take That! below.
- Running Gag: Characters claiming they don't have much time for story exposition in the film despite being three hours long.
- Shout-Out:
- The Framing Device of the review takes cues from the opening scenes of Joker (2019) with Walter!Arthur preparing for his performance, before being interrupted by the Critic and the two Pennywises.
- Malcolm!Mike alerts the Losers Club of Pennywise's return by lighting up a Bat Signal with the letter "L" in American sign language.
- Special Effects Failure: In-Universe, the Critic frequently pokes fun of the film's CGI being very unconvincing. The Losers Club in the film pastiche also mock it by putting together messages from fortune cookies they were eating to read "R FX Budget Has Been Cut", before the cookies transform into monsters so unconvincing Skarsgård!Pennywise had to coach them how to act scared, to which they respond by acting flatly in confusion.
- Take That!: Against the Critic's warnings, Walter!Arthur takes heed to the two Pennywises, who then transform him into the infamous Jared Leto version of the Joker from Suicide Squad (played by Jim).
- You Don't Look Like You: The Critic notes how radically different Ben looked following the Time Skip (Jeremy Ray Taylor as a child, Jay Ryan as an adult), contrasting it with his versions from the 1990 version (where at least John Ritter could pass up for an older version of Brandon Crane). The pastiche of the film parodies it by replacing Jason, a portly white man, with Adonis, a muscular black transgender man.
