A brief description on why I find the ending of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 to be unsatisfactory. Especially when contextualized with the first film. Please note that this is all opinionated and not meant to diverge into other critiques of the film. You are allowed to have your own opinions. Also this is a rant and may not be coherent sometimes because of my anger BAHAHAH
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Introduction
It’s common knowledge in this fandom that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’s writing is lacking, which leads to character assassinations and missed story beats. Most people conclude that even if they like the second film, the characters aren’t written as strongly, and the story itself is unsatisfactory. I myself am a big fan of the second film, but there are some aspects of it that I just can’t stand. However, something I realized recently is why I find the ending sticks out to me as particularly lacking.
I enjoy it as a stand alone piece, as is my opinion with most of Cloudy 2, but when contextualized as the ending of the CWACOM franchise as a whole, I find it unsatisfying at best. And an ending with an underlying message that contradicts the message of the first film’s conclusion at worst.
Flint’s Characterization and CWACOM 2’s Subpar Writing
One of the core issues with the second film is how they decide to write Flint. Most of my qualms with Cloudy 2 circle back to how he’s characterized. His poor writing impacts how he interacts with the other characters. This includes his relationship with his father Tim. From a writer’s point of view: they decided to go the easy way out with their relationship. Cloudy 2 Flint was written as a man who “gives into teenage tantrums” and “-classic tensions of adolescence.” (The Art of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2). This exaggerates Flint’s struggling relationship with his father to an annoying degree. This is character regression for the benefit of fitting a trope and making him easier to write. This sucks in particular because a major appeal of the first film was how it subverted common tropes. This character regression for the sake of the plot shows a lack of care and creativity, and leaves me feeling unsatisfied with how Flint and Tim’s relationship developed.
Cloudy 2 Flint acts drastically differently with Tim than Cloudy 1 Flint. Cloudy 1 Flint pleaded with Tim in the opening, yes, but it was never on the level of a “teenage tantrum”. Once he relinquished to the idea of working at the tackle shop he hid his discontent from his father (mumbling the “mhm” and hiding his true plan from Tim). Unlike Cloudy 2 Flint who whines whenever Tim tries to help him and the gang for reasons that are unclear outside of the “adolescence” characterization they keep trying to push.
Flint’s regression as a son feels tragic. He is not a tantrum prone teenager struggling with adolescence. He is a 23 year old man who improved his relationship with his father in the last film. While there is still room to show how their relationship could still be struggling after ten years of neglecting it, the way they went about it was the wrong way.
Tim and Flint’s Relationship
Cloudy 1
Due to how Flint is written in the first film, we see almost a complete relapse in this father-son relationship. The first film makes sure the audience understands where each man is coming from during their conflicts and just how different they are. A perfect example of their struggling relationship is the scene where Flint visits the tackleshop after the success of the FLDSMDFR. Each man offers to connect with the other, but are both unwilling to reach out in a way that would appeal to both of them. But in the end of the film we see that the two of them connecting in a way that they both understand doesn’t matter. It never did. The point of the ending of the first film was Tim accepting that Flint was an inventor. I’m not saying that Flint should never have picked up fishing, but having him gain that interest (out of nowhere it seems, which I’ll explain in the following paragraph) takes away from the first films ending in my opinion. The ending says “Son, I love you despite the fact that I don’t understand you. Because I don’t have to in order to do so.”
Cloudy 2
There is a stunning lack of positive interaction between Tim and Flint in CWACOM 2. This is because of the writer's fear of emotional beats. This film always prioritizes evoking laughter from the audience over emotions. Always. Sadly, this leaves me feeling as if Flint wanted to go fishing with Tim…out of nowhere? I enjoy the fact that they combined their interests in the “All of Us Together” scene, but I don’t believe that would have been enough for Flint to be like “Oh yeah let me try fishing. My friends were almost killed by my former role model, let me try fishing.” like. Okay. It makes the characters feel like they’re almost back at square one, if that. They’re communicating again, but the lack of understanding that they gained from the first film feels lost.
Granted, it makes sense that if Tim had to reach to Flint’s side and utilize technology to save the world it's only fair that Flint try fishing but…six months later…with no proper reason for changing his mind other than “family”...which is too vague in my opinion. There really is no reason for him to want to try fishing. No mention of the act other than the post-vesting ceremony scene. Tim and Flint just don’t interact enough for this conclusion to pay off.
Conclusion
In summary, I believe that having Flint reconcile with Tim by going fishing with him in the end of the first film counteracts the message that the first film was going for. This problem is accentuated by the fact that Flint is written as a man who refuses to meet his father where he’s at for most of the film, and the end is just kinda thrown in there with little to no justification. The second film’s lack of emotional beats makes the whole movie feel unjustified. I love it. /srs
Do people genuinely see the bit of hair in front of Flint’s ears as sideburns (like the hair we see is immediately growing out of the place we see it) /nm
A reason I really like LockHale is because Flint encourages Brent to push himself while Brent helps Flint slow down.
Flint is a man that submitted at least 13 times more inventions for the vesting ceremony than the ABOVE AVERAGE applicant. Brent is a man that had “never experienced a moment of stress in his life.”
In canon Flint pushed Brent to be better, though unintentionally. Giving him a new sense of self and wish to improve. I think it would be easy to assume that Brent would be able to get Flint to slow down every once in a while if they spent more time together.
