Oh, God! Book II (1980) Warner Bros./Comedy RT: 94 minutes Rated PG (mild language and references) Director: Gilbert Cates Screenplay: Josh Greenfeld, Hal Goldman, Fred S. Fox, Seaman Jacobs and Melissa Miller Music: Charles Fox Cinematography: Ralph Woolsey Release date: October 3, 1980 (US) Cast: George Burns, Louanne, Suzanne Pleshette, David Birney, John Louie, Conrad Janis, Anthony Holland, Hugh Downs, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Marian Mercer, Bebe Drake-Massey, Mari Gorman, Vernon Weddle, Alma Beltran, Denise Galik, Edie McClurg, Rodney Allen Rippy, Howard Duff, Hans Conried, Susan Krebs. Box Office: $14.5M (US)
Rating: ***
In the Bible (Isaiah 11:6), it says “a little child shall lead them.” It certainly inspired the makers of Oh, God! Book II, a charming sequel to the hit 1977 comedy in which God, in the form of George Burns, tasked John Denver with restoring humanity’s faith in Him. I guess his efforts were in vain. Why else would God deem it necessary to make his second flesh-and-blood appearance on Earth in the same millennium? This time, He takes his own advice and appears to 10YO Tracy Richards (Louanne).
Generally speaking, comedy sequels don’t work because the joke isn’t as funny the second time around. That rule doesn’t apply to Oh, God! Book II mainly because it’s Burns retelling the joke. Also, having a child spread His message makes for a nice follow-up act for the reason specified by the Bible verse I opened with. It just makes sense.
Like most kids in 1980, Tracy’s parents are separated. She lives with her mother Paula (Pleshette, The Bob Newhart Show), a real estate agent who seems to work a lot. She sees her father Don (Birney, Bridget Loves Bernie) on weekends. She makes cracks about his girlfriend’s big boobs. She also likes eating at Chinese restaurants. How convenient! Now God can send her a message in a fortune cookie asking her to meet Him in the lounge.
She’s skeptical until He manifests Himself. He wants her to spread the message that He exists. Unsure of how to go about it, she talks to her father who just happens to be in advertising. He tells her that the best way to sell a product is to come up with a good slogan. With a little help from best friend Shingo (Louie, Gremlins), they come up with “Think God”. Tracy then recruits her entire class to write the slogan on walls, hang signs and do whatever to get the word out. Every good deed comes at a cost though. Tracy’s parents and teachers are convinced something is wrong with her. Only Tracy can see or hear God, nobody else. It looks like she’s talking to herself. Her parents take her to a psychiatrist (Holland, All that Jazz) who recommends she be committed to an institution.
Even though Tracy and her little friends are doing something good, the mean school principal (Janis, Mork & Mindy) doesn’t like it. You know, that whole thing about church and state. When she refuses to cease and desist, he suspends her from school until she gets better. It prompts the rest of the students to go on strike until they let Tracy back in school. In the meantime, the whole “Think God” thing becomes a worldwide movement. She manages to do what the previous guy couldn’t (he’s never mentioned in the movie, by the way). That has to count for something, right? You’d think so, but those doctors still want to put her away. It looks like she’s going to need a bit of divine intervention.
Oh, God! Book II plays a lot like a TV sitcom right down to the score by Charles Fox (Love, American Style). But you know what, I like it. Once again, Burns hits it out of the park as the Almighty, this time more of a grandfatherly figure. He gets off a few good lines including one about regretting making math so hard. It’s fun watching the kids, including Rodney Allen Rippy, spreading His word by way of graffiti. It’s said more than once that kids will write on walls regardless, so why not something good.
Louanne, who really hasn’t had much of an acting career outside of this and the 1988 teen comedy A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, is a likable enough kid. She doesn’t do too badly in Oh, God! Book II. Pleshette and Birney are passable as the parents. The movie itself is funny, gentle and innocuous. Once again, it’s respectful of its subject matter. I’m actually relieved it didn’t delve too deeply into the church and state thing. It’s mentioned, there are some protestors outside the school, but thankfully director Gilbert Cates (I Never Sang for My Father) doesn’t allow Oh, God! Book II to get bogged down with such weighty matters. He keeps it light-hearted and nice. It’s even rather sweet at times. And with George Burns confidently taking the lead a second time, it’s solid family entertainment.
