My Girl 2 MPAA Rating: PG Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -1/2

MY GIRL 2's attempt at an effective sequel to the 1991 hit, MY GIRL, partially succeeds. Young Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) lives with her mortician father, Harry (Dan Aykroyd), who runs a funeral parlor out of their house. Harry has married Shelly (Jamie Lee Curtis), the Aquarius loving beautician who charmed Harry in the first movie. It's 1974 and 13-year-old Vada is discovering boys and young womanhood. She is also very curious about her mother, who died giving birth to her. Vada decides to visit some of her mother's relatives in Los Angeles to learn more about her. She is begrudgingly befriended by Nick (Autin O'Brien), the 13-year-old son of her uncle's girlfriend. Together Vada and Nick tramp around L.A. trying to find out about her mother's past. They meet an assortment of comical characters her mother knew from high school, kind of like a belated class reunion. The seventies soundtrack from Elton John, The Steve Miller Band and Rod Stewart add to the sense of nostalgia. The story is predictable, and also unrealistic when showing two 13-year-olds running about the L.A. streets alone. However, MY GIRL 2's mixture of nostalgia and youthful exuberance will appeal to 11 years old on up, especially girls, and parents who remember the fashion-conscious seventies.

The Sultenfuss family is very happy and loving, though Vada gets her way fairly easily. Shelly comes across as a New Age mystic looking for signs in everything. However, her character is considerably toned down from the first movie. When Vada sees a hippie smoking marijuana and seems inclined to follow him, Nick drags her away. Still, Nick has a negative side. He believes "rules are made to be broken," and has no qualms about persuading a police officer to break the law to get an address that he and Vada need. Vada's mother's first divorce is portrayed as a natural event between two people who simply had different needs. Surprisingly, this family movie has three s-words. On a more positive note, Vada's uncle living with his girlfriend creates tension until he commits to marry her. There are several discussions about sex and things like bras that reveal the genuine concern Vada feels about maturing physically. MY GIRL 2 is commendable, but has just enough foul language to avoid a G rating.

Preview Reviewer: Greg Wilson
Distributor: Columbia Pictures, 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232