The ensemble comedy Think Like A Man, inspired by Steve Harvey’s best-selling book Act Like a Lady, Think Like A Man, was a huge hit, naturally leading to a sequel that will be bringing all of the couples back for a wedding in Las Vegas, when it hits theaters on June 20th, what was supposed to be a romantic weekend goes terribly awry when their various misadventures, and the bachelor and bachelorette parties, get them into some compromising situations that threaten to derail the big event.  Back on June 13, 2013, Collider was invited, along with a handful of other press, to visit the Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino set of Think Like A Man Too and chat with the cast and filmmakers.

Because the success of the first film was above and beyond what was expected, the pressure is on to deliver, this time around.  Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Taraji P. Henson, Terrence J, Romany Malco, Gary Owen and Gabrielle Union are back, joined this time by Wendi McLendon-Covey (whose character is only mentioned in the first film), and it was clear from spending just one day watching them work that they are all dedicated to making this as funny as possible.  Hit the jump to find out more about what we learned on set.

While on set, I was able to participate in a small press conference with the cast, as well as a group interview with producer Will Packer and director Tim Story, and learned a bit about what to expect from the movie and these characters.  I’ve listed the highlights as 13 things to know.

13 Things to Know About Think Like A Man Too 

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    Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper announced the sequel before the first film came out.
  • The first movie was inspired by a beloved book, but the sequel is its own entity.
  • For the sequel, their goal was to take this group of characters that everybody fell in love with on another adventure.
  • They chose Las Vegas as a setting because, on any given weekend, they’d be hanging out there with each other, anyway.
  • They felt that this was a great brand, the writing was good and the backdrop was great, but without each of the actors agreeing to come back, they wouldn’t have done it.
  • Even though the film is set in Sin City, they’re sticking to the PG-13 rating.
  • The movie answers the question of whether these relationships can survive against the backdrop of Vegas.
  • They plan to push for even more cross-over appeal, this time around.
  • There a lot of great cameos again, including Kelsey Grammer, Adam Brody and Floyd Mayweather, but they are organic to the story.
  • The cast chemistry is so natural that they said the minute they got back together, it was like the first one had never stopped.
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    They’re in Vegas for the wedding of Candace (Regina Hall) and Michael (Terrence J), and the girls are off getting into trouble for the bachelorette party while the guys are doing the same for the bachelor party.
  • With most of the couples in the sequel, it’s all about the maturation process of the relationship.  Mya (Meagan Good) and Zeke (Romany Malco) are doing really well, except that Zeke’s past keeps rearing its ugly head.  Dominic (Michael Ealy) and Lauren (Taraji P. Henson) are solid in their relationship, but they’re independently confronted with challenges.  Cedric (Kevin Hart) is in the process of getting a divorce.  Jeremy (Jerry Ferrara) and Kristen (Gabrielle Union) are married, which leads to a new set of issues for them.  Tish (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and Bennett (Gary Owen) have been married a long time, and this trip shakes up their marriage.
  • Everybody in the cast had creative input into how to make the scenes better and funnier.  As long as they did what was scripted, they could also have fun and improvise.

Think Like A Man Too opens in theaters on June 20th.

THINK LIKE A MAN TOO set visit interview