'The Binge 2: It's a Wonderful Binge' isn't too stupid. It's not stupid enough

“The Binge 2: It’s a Wonderful Binge” is a disappointing sequel that starts with a great premise.

And a little explanation. If you saw “The Binge,” the 2020 film directed by Jeremy Garelick, you know the basic idea: In the near future drugs and alcohol have been banned, except for one day each year. (Yes, it’s a purposefully nitwit take on “The Purge,” with a lower body count and an astronomically higher blood-alcohol content.)

The original was funny and it worked because it leaned into its inherent stupidity. Also, it had Vince Vaughn.

The sequel, alas, does not. And Garelick has departed as director. Jordan VanDina, who wrote both films, takes over as director this time.

The hook for a sequel is pretty funny: After the Binge started, people realized it meant they had to be sober on Christmas Eve.

No one wants that.

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So whoever is in charge of such things changed Binge day to Dec. 24. As with the first film, the boozing and drugging is mostly just the framework of a joke-delivery system. Which are still hit or miss, though I laughed about the rumors of how Bed Bath & Beyond would be celebrating (“I hear they’re going to be doing interesting things in the Beyond department”).

In the first film, Vaughn’s school principal urged students not to binge. Of course that made them more determined to. This time the role of teetotaling stick in the mud is filled by Mayor Spengler (Kaitlin Olson), a board game loving nut job obsessed with a Christmas event and reelection, not necessarily in that order.

Back from the first film are Hags (Dexter Darden) and Andrew (Eduardo Franco). They’re out of high school now, and Hags wants to propose to Sarah (Zainne Saleh) on Christmas Eve, so he’s planning to sit the Binge out.

Right.

Andrew is dating Kimmi (Marta Piekarz) and going nowhere in his life — and his ragingly angry family isn’t helping. Kimmi is Mayor Spengler’s daughter, and has been charged with finding the Christmas owl, the centerpiece of the Christmas event. Unfortunately the owl scarfed up a bunch of drugs and flew away and spends the day busily attacking passersby.

The title come from the brief homage to “It’s a Wonderful Life,” when Andrew decides the world would be better off if he’d never been born, and winds up meeting an angel. Or a guy named Angel, anyway (maybe), played by Danny Trejo, who with the help of some good drugs shows him how he has affected the lives of those around him.

George Bailey he ain’t.

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There are more comedic misses than hits in 'The Binge 2'

There are some funny bits. The mayor’s repeated orders for a police officer to carry out her idea of discipline (“Shoot this man!”) hit, and Nick Swardson has some inspired moments as Uncle Kris, the mayor’s brother who breaks out of prison and steals a cop car to get home for the holiday. His standing on a fire truck dressed as Santa while chucking handfuls of cocaine like LeBron James tossing talcum powder before a game is a surreal bit of business.

And children revolting and attacking the workers at a Chuck E. Cheese-like restaurant plays like a demented form of wish-fulfillment.

Too often, though, the misses outweigh the hits. Granted, in a movie like this, the ratio is never going to be perfect. The whole point is to just keep the jokes and the set pieces coming, and hope for the best. It’s not like the first film was some sort of idiot-comedy version of “Citizen Kane” or something. But that film played like a good buzz.

“The Binge 2: It’s a Wonderful Binge” plays more like the hangover that comes after.

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'The Binge 2: It's a Wonderful Binge' 2.5 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Jordan VanDina.

Cast: Dexter Darden, Eduardo Franco, Kaitlin Olson.

Rating: Not rated.

How to watch: Streaming on Hulu Dec. 9

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'The Binge 2: It's a Wonderful Binge' review: A hangover of a sequel