I will start off my review with a bit of implicit bias. Most of this movie was shot in my hometown and I also got to meet Greg Sestero during the filming of this movie. So yes, I definitely enjoyed this part of the movie than the first part. Either way, onto the rest of the review.
Now according to Sestero, he was looking to make Best F(r)iends as a devotional to David Lynch, more specifically than 1990s Lynch who was weird for the sake of being weird. The formula and ambitions didn't seem right for the first part, so the weirdness was scaled back. As for the second part....they went all in. It's only perfect they did this in a weird part of the world that is the cities of Tucson and Benson, Arizona.
Anyway, we pick up where the first movie ended and Jon and Traci are on the run. Traci decides to call her Uncle Rick (played by Rick Edwards) to help them crack the safe/ATM they have with Harvey's money in it. The movie just starts going off on bizarre tangents, namely with Rick Edwards just owning every scene he is in. I loved this character, mainly because I have met people like him who routinely go to gun shows, eat nothing but steak and claim his friends The Oathkeepers are not a fascists but patriots. Trust me, there are a lot of Uncle Rick's in Arizona.
Anyway, double crosses and murders happen aplenty, and we even find out Harvey is still alive (please, was this really a spoiler). While part 2 needed more Tommy Wiseau, the parts we get him in are just fine. The ending also proves the true meaning of the movie's title, in case you were wondering.
Now this "movie" in general was an interesting step for all of those involved. While Sestero and Wiseau will always be associated with The Room, they have tried to do more legitimate projects that tap into the badness of said film while also showing they will not let it define them. I don't think they will ever get rich off their current life trajectories, but they will at least embrace and enhance the names they made for themselves. For fans of The Room, I definitely recommend these two movies.
