THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

The film, a sequel to the spectacularly successful 2003 first edition, again stars Johnny Depp as the swashbuckling, ambisexual Captain Jack Sparrow. Like all sequels, everything is twice as big—from the action sequences to the number of rotten teeth proudly sported by the pirates. The story focuses on Captain Jack, who owes his soul to the slimy, squid-faced Davy Jones ( Bill Nighy ) , who has arisen from the depths aboard the phantom Flying Dutchman, along with his phantom crew demanding payment. Those who dare to tangle with Jones and his squishy crew ( including a half-hammerhead shark, half-man ) are set upon by the dreaded Kraken, the mythical giant squid that at one point literally snaps a sailing vessel in half, quickly sinking her.

Captain Jack, naturally, does his best to make a deal while at the same time trying to find Davy Jones' legendary locker, a small chest that holds the secret to setting him free. He's joined once again by Will Turner ( Orlando Bloom ) and his fiancée, Elizabeth Swann ( Keira Knightley ) . After being arrested at the outset and sentenced to death for helping to free Captain Jack in the first movie, these two have their own agenda—or subplot—to attend to. The various plot threads, naturally, allow for lots and lots of action sequences that manage to toss in something from scores of other pirate/jungle pictures.

Much of the film, like the first one, is bathed in candlelight or moonlight, giving the picture the fantasy glow of Neverland—and Disney's theme park ride. This adds to the 'staying up past your bedtime' thrill of the movie which helps. Depp's performance, again an inspired riff on rock-and-roll legend Keith Richards ( who was rumored to be making a cameo that doesn't happen—maybe next time ) is just as assured as the first turn, though, oddly, there doesn't seem to be as much of him this time out. The attraction between him and Knightley's character is upped and there's a larger nod to Captain Jack's sexual playfulness. At one point when Knightley ( who has been masquerading as a cabin boy in male clothing ) shows up wearing pants, Depp takes a good look and comments, 'You should always wear ladies dresses. I have one in my quarters.' But Sparrow's slouching stance and slurred syllables are forced to take second base to the plethora of action sequences. Like many of the other blockbusters of this ilk, Dead Man's Chest is at least a half hour too long ( X Man: the Last Stand was a zippy 104 minutes by contrast ) . The best spectacles leave one wanting to take the ride again—not just half the ride, as this one does.

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Amy Sedaris, sister of the gay humor essayist David Sedaris, is an extremely talented but hard-to-categorize actor who should make you laugh non-stop. Her screechy voice and adeptness at outsized physical comedy are so unusual and her willingness to go the distance to get the laugh so extreme, it would seem to make that a given. Her talents have been used best in the short-lived but often brilliant sketch series 'Exit 57' that had a brief run on Comedy Central but had nowhere the success of Sedaris' starring sitcom, Strangers with Candy, that followed on the same network for several seasons. Now a long-delayed feature version of the latter is hitting theatres.

Sedaris plays the middle-aged Jerri Blank, a former heroin addict and ex-con with a gigantic overbite who has decided to return to high school to try and reclaim her lost innocence. The comedy comes from Blank trying anything to fit in with the other students and, especially, her vapid attempts to curry favor with the popular kids. The movie, produced by David Letterman's production company, features many of the show's regulars ( who were also fellow 'Exit 57' cast mates ) —such as Paul Dinello ( who also directed ) , Stephen Colbert ( of the hit TV show The Colbert Report ) , and a smattering of big names like Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker. Dinello ( who hails from Chicago ) co-wrote the script along with Sedaris, Colbert and Mitch Rouse ( yet another 'Exit 57' regular ) .

It's a promising line-up but unfortunately, the movie feels interchangeable with all those terrible SNL skits that should have stayed skits instead of being extended into feature-length films ( It's Pat, Superstar, Ladies Man, etc. ) . The movie, focusing on Sedaris joining a team of nerds to win the science fair, also constantly reminds one of the offbeat humor and look of the much funnier Napoleon Dynamite. There are intermittent laughs ( the largest being supplied by Gregory Hollimon as the principal and by Colbert and Dinello as the fey art teacher and the married science instructor involved in an on-again/off-again gay affair ) but the picture never attempts to go any deeper with the characters than the series it was based on. They remain as whisper-thin as the plot.

Sedaris has real comedic flair ( parodying Agnes Moorehead in Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte as brilliantly as she did in an unforgettable 'Exit 57' sketch ) but her Jerri Blank has remained a blank for me. I long for the big-screen version of another Sedaris character—the story of the tough talkin', redneck Bobbi Burns and her comely but dentally challenged trampy daughter, Amber ( Jodi Lennon ) . That's a movie that could go the distance.

Hollimon and David Pasquesi ( who also appears in the film ) , top Chicago improv comedians, will sit for a Q&A after the movie's showing on Fri., July 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Landmark's Century Centre Cinema. See www.landmarktheatres.com .

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