Jay Chandrasekhar, one of the founding members of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, has put his name on raunchy comedies like The Babymakers and Super Troopers, and has directed episodes of cult TV shows like Arrested Development and Community. So what does a guy with a comedy resume like that do to hit the big time? Why, direct the sequel to a critically reviled animated film, of course!
OK, maybe that isn't exactly the obvious next step. And yet, Chandrasekhar is doing it anyway, signing a deal to direct Yogi Bear 2 for Fox, according to Deadline. The first film, released in 2010 and directed by Journey to the Center of the Earth's Eric Brevig, made just over $200 million worldwide, despite a 13% Rotten Tomatoes score and endless eye rolls from most adult moviegoers. Though Chandrasekhar has directed one studio film of a similar scale-- The Dukes of Hazzard-- it's hard to imagine a bigger contrast from his most recent film The Babymakers, which has made $7,889-- yes, under $10,000-- theatrically and notched a remarkable 9% on Rotten Tomatoes. Yes, someone made a movie with even worse reviews than Yogi Bear-- and now he's been put in charge of the sequel.
I can't really make heads or tails of any of this, why Chandrasekhar would be hired given his background in cult comedy, or why he'd want the gig (beyond the obvious paycheck). But there's no use sitting here and scowling that this ruins all interest I had in Yogi Bear 2, since let's be honest, that interest did not exist. Maybe I can be glad that two things I don't particularly care about have been quarantined together?
