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Having myself lived in an Andalusian pueblo for the better part of a year (albeit in 2004) I found myself amused by some of the similarities between my own "modern" experiences and those of Geraldo in this light-hearted romantic comedy -- particularly the dumb-struck way in which he initially blunders about in a world that is in many ways completely alien to him. Also quite familiar was the tightness of the community, the openness, the love of the art of conversation, the desire (as embodied in the character of Paco) to find any reason to throw a party, and of course, the wonderful, passionate Flamenco.

The village characters, less than fully fleshed-out individuals but more than stereotypes, are in some ways archetypes of the times. Much of Andalusia was impoverished in that time period (another familiarity to me, having grown up in a small, poor rural town in the US) -- and yes, as in all such places, there are the machinations for dominance in the village, the matrimonial plotting of the town matriarchs, and even the mystique embodied, however clumsily, by the gangly English foreigner Geraldo, who has arrived looking only inspiration, but finds himself rather lost and quickly swept away by the engines of fate.

Far from being a "serious" film, this comedy depicts well the clash of Geraldo's naive artistic intentions with what life in this poor Andalusian town, to which he is so completely new, actually provides him. The film serves as a metaphor of more modern times in Andalusia as well, with so many Britons and other northerners having relocated to the Spanish Mediterranean -- bringing with them the two-edged sword of wealth and development, which has lifted much of Andalusia out of poverty in recent decades, but subverted a good deal of passionate tradition as well. Little pueblos evolve into bedroom communities for British, Dutch and German retirees and wealthy vacationers, and new golf resorts spring up like weeds. The transformation of Andalusiua, depicted in a simplistic way in the film, continues.

This sequel could serve as the archetype of all bad, low-budget sequels to decent first films. The actors, in particular Jane Sibbett, mostly seem as though they'd rather be doing something other than playing their roles-- vaguely distracted and somewhat wooden, with exception of Patrick Muldoon, who in the lead must nevertheless settle for a thoroughly one-dimensional character.

The plot is an uninspired alien-conspiracy-theory rehash of the first film, minus the much more throughly crafted suspense, the special effects are scant and include an underground alien-lair scene lifted 100% from Arrival I footage, and even the agonizingly dull, obligatory car-chase scene is notable for its low-budget automobiles.

This film ranks a solid "1" -- but see it for the sake of laughter if nothing else. It is a delightfully terrible film.