When his meddling mother (Magre) moves in to recover from an injury, Simon (de Caunnes) struggles to cope with her constant demands. She also forces him to find somewhere else to see his two young lovelorn boyfriends, diva cross-dresser Naim (Dehbi) and sensitive Raphael (Micha Lescot). It also starts to affect his career as a musician. Then his actress ex-wife Rosalie (Zylberstein) returns to Paris with their 10-year-old son (Gasman), who Simon has never met. As things get increasingly complicated, Simon is forced to open his heart just a little.

As with the first film, a warm tone that balances the farcical story elements. The characters are thoughtful and likeable, with intriguing complexities. De Caunnes bravely plays Simon as a self-absorbed guy who simply can't bring himself to unite the disparate elements of his life. But his ego is nothing compared to his mother, who isn't afraid to use her experience at Auschwitz to make Simon feel guilty about throwing her out.

Watching Simon being forced out of hiding is both very funny and quietly provocative. He can't admit he loves a man, yet he's been kept from his son because he's gay. And he has never reconciled his career, Jewishness and personal life. Rosalie's return brings back all kinds of mixed feelings, especially as she draws the strands of her life back together. And when Naim hilariously poses as his mother's new live-in nurse, Simon seems surprised at what he discovers.

The silly plot wouldn't work if the performances weren't so earthy and raw. The actors' relaxed energy lets us enjoy both the humour and emotion. And relationships develop honestly, as each new wrinkle brings insight along with some hilarious humour and some intense emotion. De Caunnes beautifully captures Simon's fear of being honest with himself and the people around him, mainly from a reluctance to cause pain and a fear that he will lose everything. But living like that may mean he has nothing at all.

At a Palm Springs resort, just-outed and sacked soap star Graham (Callahan) meets recently divorced gay activist Trey (Montgomery). Both are full of attitude and deeply judgmental, and they're also in real pain over personal issues. Trey can't understand why a big actor would stay in the closet; Graham is annoyed that Trey's entire life is defined by his sexuality. They soon get over their differences and launch into a torrid holiday fling that, as they begin to be truthful with each other, turns into something more serious than either is ready for.

Framed by Graham's first interview since "the incident", the story centres on the days in the hotel rather than the chaos that put both men into the media limelight. Of course, the headlines are misleading: the real stories are much more complex, and as the movie progresses all manner of revelations come to the surface. Along the way, there's rather a lot of conversation, mostly centring on important, relevant topics. And this is balanced by continual scenes of relaxed nudity, although there's no simulated sex.

This mixture is a little awkward, but the issue-based dialog holds our attention. It also helps that Callahan and Montgomery are engaging actors who create chemistry that's strong and charming enough to overcome the abrupt direction and editing. They even manage to keep their balance when melodrama kicks in straight from screenwriting 101. In addition, Pevsner adds some nice moments as the resort manager. And the Palm Springs setting works well, as does a decent score by Jake Monaco.

Along the way, the film grapples with big issues in a thoughtful, challenging way. In addition to the overriding sexuality theme, there are strong explorations of life in the media spotlight and the complexities of maintaining a public image and a private life. Who has the right to ask what anyone does in the bedroom? And how is that relevant to his or her profession, whether an actor or an activist? Or a politician for that matter?

Playboy ship owner Hayden (Shane Van Dyke) launches his crowning achievement, the super cruise-liner Titanic II, arguing that it's unlikely for lightning to strike twice. But of course, they rushed the job building it so they could launch it on the 100th anniversary of the original. Meanwhile, iceberg specialist James (Davison) is worried about his daughter Amy (Westbrook) working on board as a nurse. She also has a history with Hayden. But this is nothing: James and his colleague Kim (Burns) have just watched a massive ice-field collapse, creating a mega-tsunami.

The script's soapy plotting is hysterical, as are cheesy production values that feature what is clearly an old and not-so-big ship and a cast of tens playing "crowds" of passengers. The shipboard scenes look like they were filmed in a high school, where the gymnasium plays the "ballroom". As city-sized chunks of ice are propelled at the ship ("Brace for impact!"), they can't outrun the wave because "these engines have not been properly tested". Oh, and "the lifeboats are deathtraps!"

The film's tone implies that all of this is deadly serious. But of course it's so preposterous that we can't help but laugh at the actors' straight faces. There's not a knowing wink in sight. It's quite possibly the funniest film of the year, and it gets more hysterically ridiculous by the moment, as we watch both the desperate rescue attempts and the all-out panic on board. But each frantic plan is more nonsensical than the last.

As chaos sets in, the acting quality degenerates (which you would think impossible from the early scenes), which makes the ship's sinking deliriously entertaining. Each scene is more ludicrously overwrought than the last, but there's no sense of menace, because the filmmaking is so hamfisted. In other words, it's so silly that it's a must-see. Honestly. Gather a group of friends to watch it: it'll be a night to remember.