George Burns reprises his role of the Almighty in "Oh God! Book II", a 1980 sequel to the popular "Oh, God".  Burns was great as an incarnation of the Deity in "Oh, God!" and with good  direction by Carl Reiner, the movie was also good.  He's still good in  "Book II", yet the movie isn't.
Part of the problem is they  didn't come up with a distinct and original story, a departure from what we  got in the first film.  The cover for the video reads "That's right, I  made another movie," yet as far as I can see this is not another  movie, but pretty much the same movie.  It does (except for Burns) have  different characters and therefore different situations, but from beginning  to end "Book II" is all too similar to its predecessor.
Like  its predecessor, the sequel has God coming back for the same reasons.  "They are still not thinking about me," he says.  "People  have to be reminded I'm still around."  This time, he chooses a young  girl named Tracy (played by a where-is-she-now actress who just went by  "Louanne") and like the late John Denver in the original, she is  surprised when she gets a message to meet God.  Also like Denver, she  thinks it's a practical joke when she hears Burns' voice at the meeting  place.  But alas, like the first movie, she comes to believe and wants to  get his message across.
Tracy's father (David Birney) is in advertising,  so she tries to figure out a way to advertise God (as Denver did), finally  coming up with the brilliant slogan "Think God".  She then  organizes a group of her fellow students in the school auditorium (how  would be a good question) and proposes her plan to post signs and write  "Think God" wherever they can.
Soon some kids can be seen  crossing out some graffiti that says "Grass is good for you" to  write "Think God".  Later, Tracy's mother (Suzanne Pleshette)  rationalizes to the school principal that "kids are going to write  things on walls anyway, why not 'Think God'?"  (What a dumb line.  "Think God" is just as much graffiti as "Grass is good for  you.")
Anyway, the similarity between the two films goes on right to  the very end.  I won't tell you the climax, but it's about as close as they  could get within the context of the different characters.  The denouement  is also pretty much the same.
I liked "Oh, God!" but I can't  recommend this sequel (reproduction) with its plastic characters and cutesy  situations.  George Burns is the standout, yet even he is just repeating  his original good performance.  They even have him spouting the same  mistakes-of-nature type jokes.  Warner Brothers really took the easy way  out.  They stayed with something that worked, and they played it safe.  Don't fall for it.
George Burns reprises his role of the Almighty in "Oh God! Book II", a 1980 sequel to the popular "Oh, God". Burns was great as an incarnation of the Deity in "Oh, God! " and with good  direction by Carl Reiner, the movie was also good. He's still good in  "Book II", yet the movie isn't. Part of the problem is they  didn't come up with a distinct and original story, a departure from what we  got in the first film. The cover for the video reads "That's right, I  made another movie," yet as far as I can see this is not another  movie, but pretty much the same movie. It does (except for Burns) have  different characters and therefore different situations, but from beginning  to end "Book II" is all too similar to its predecessor. Like  its predecessor, the sequel has God coming back for the same reasons. "They are still not thinking about me," he says. "People  have to be reminded I'm still around. "  This time, he chooses a young  girl named Tracy (played by a where-is-she-now actress who just went by  "Louanne") and like the late John Denver in the original, she is  surprised when she gets a message to meet God. Also like Denver, she  thinks it's a practical joke when she hears Burns' voice at the meeting  place. But alas, like the first movie, she comes to believe and wants to  get his message across. Tracy's father (David Birney) is in advertising,  so she tries to figure out a way to advertise God (as Denver did), finally  coming up with the brilliant slogan "Think God". She then  organizes a group of her fellow students in the school auditorium (how  would be a good question) and proposes her plan to post signs and write  "Think God" wherever they can. Soon some kids can be seen  crossing out some graffiti that says "Grass is good for you" to  write "Think God". Later, Tracy's mother (Suzanne Pleshette)  rationalizes to the school principal that "kids are going to write  things on walls anyway, why not 'Think God'? "  (What a dumb line. "Think God" is just as much graffiti as "Grass is good for  you. ")
Anyway, the similarity between the two films goes on right to  the very end. I won't tell you the climax, but it's about as close as they  could get within the context of the different characters. The denouement  is also pretty much the same. I liked "Oh, God! " but I can't  recommend this sequel (reproduction) with its plastic characters and cutesy  situations. George Burns is the standout, yet even he is just repeating  his original good performance. They even have him spouting the same  mistakes-of-nature type jokes. Warner Brothers really took the easy way  out. They stayed with something that worked, and they played it safe. Don't fall for it.