Bread + Circuses: 10 Reasons Why Short Circuit 2 is Vastly Superior to the First

It's a generally accepted myth that sequels are always inferior to their predecessors. Looking at the long history of movie sequels, it's easy to see why this is the case.

Typically, films successful enough to come upon the opportunity of sequelhood are written as individual works whose narrative arcs begin and end within the timeframe of that film, making any follow-up feel inherently tacked-on. Moreover, sequels are usually motivated by studios rather than the creative forces behind the original film, and if those creative forces are artists with any level of integrity, they'll often bow out of the creative process of sequel making, leaving it a continuation in name only while all the important people above the production line have been switched out for folks more willing to safely “phone it in”. There are well documented exceptions, like Aliens and The Godfather Part II, but they are not enough to push back the waves of negativity sequels tend to receive, and thus they are often condemned to inferiority without even being examined.

One sequel in particular that has been swept under the carpet and forgotten is Short Circuit 2. And how, in an era when people love tongue-in-cheekedly regurgitating the 80s like pelicans emptying their chum-engorged gullets into the eager mouths of their incessantly yapping chicks, does an 80s movie, particularly the sequel of a fairly successful and and iconic 80s movie, end up forgotten? Well, Short Circuit 2 has kind of been labeled as one of those “Shit Sequels”. It holds a not-so-flattering 38% approval rating at RottenTomatoes, and perhaps more tellingly, I've never seen it mentioned on any of VH1's “I Love the '80s” specials.

Well, right here, and right now, I'd like to set the record straight about Short Circuit 2. It's gotten an unfair hand dealt to it, and I feel obligated to make things right. Gather 'round, this will be an event for the ages.

Reason #1: Steve Guttenberg is not in it.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, has ever failed to benefit from a lack of The Gut. For those of you not familiar with my movie ratings system, let me give you a revealing peek: amidst the separate categories (music, plot, writing, etc.) and checklist items (cranial explosions, tits, etc.) I tend to break a film into, there is one very special criterion I like to call the “Guttenberg Qualifier”. It's worth 5 points. So if you ever go through a list of my film reviews and wonder how the hell a film like Manos: The Hands of Fate gets a 5/10, that's why.

Reason #2: And Michael Motherfucking McKean is.

The original Short Circuit desperately needed a character like Fred Ritter. All of the characters in the first film were either enthusiastically supportive of Johnny 5's existence and apparent sentience or diametrically opposed to it. Fred provides the perfect heel to Fisher Stevens' Ben. He is a straight man with a more natural sensibility. He isn't an enemy of 5's, but is at once skeptical of him, providing a character who shares a perspective more akin to ours. Also, “The Bigger the Cushion, the Sweeter the Pushin'”. That is all.

Reason #3: It has a much deeper existential crisis.

In the first film, Johnny 5 spent most of his time out in the middle of some hick town, largely unexposed to the ravages of society. In Short Circuit 2, 5 faces full urban integration, having to confront discrimination, morality, dishonesty, and even his own mortality. The novelty of “Hey, look! I'm alive!” has given way to the much more integral and fascinating musings on the consequences of being alive.

Reason #4: 100% accurate depiction of urban minorities.

Reason #5: This chick.

Her name is Cynthia Gibb. Sure, her most recent acting credit according to IMDb may be “My Dog's Christmas Miracle”, but she's much cuter than Ally Sheedy. She also doesn't fall in love with Steve Fucking Guttenberg.

Reason #6: It has an actual villain.

The “villains” of the first Short Circuit were corporate bigwigs and an over-the-top security captain. Regardless of how diabolical the film makes them out to be, at the end of the day, they're just doing their job. They're trying to keep a major malfunction under wraps, the fact that #5 is alive notwithstanding. Oscar is much more sinister. Oscar not only realizes that Johnny is alive, he takes advantage of the naivety and trust that Johnny's sentience allows. He doesn't just try to blow up a machine, he tries to kill something he acknowledges as a living thing. Which brings me to my next point.

Reason #7: A robot gets FUCKED UP.

Short Circuit 2 wasn't the first time we were made to feel some level of empathy with a robot, and it certainly wasn't the last. But holy shit, this scene made me cry as a kid. It's brutal. The whimsy and silliness of Short Circuit 1 had no room for a scene with this much weight, and even Short Circuit 2 barely pulls it off, but somehow manages it.

Reason #8: The music.

Even the sweet sounds of the Brothers Gibb via Saturday Night Fever don't come close to the badassery of a robot seeking bloody revenge to the tune of Bonnie Tyler's “Holding Out for a Hero”.

Reason #9: This guy.

Reason #10: In the end, it provides a poignant and oddly relevant allegory for the American way of life.