Horrible Bosses 2

Starring: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Chris Pine, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Jonathan Banks, Lindsay Sloane, Keegan-Michael Key
Directed by: Sean Anders
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Three friends (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis) trying to start their own business run afoul of a ruthless corporate exec (Christoph Waltz). They decide to kidnap his son (Chris Pine) and ransom him to save their business.

Review:

Tim: After enjoying the first movie, I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of Horrible Bosses 2. Comedy sequels are notoriously bad, and while I liked the first movie, it wasn't exactly an instant classic. While this sequel is flawed, I found myself laughing throughout. Like the first one, this certainly could have been better, but it still translates to a fairly fun time. I believe most critics took a fairly harsh view of this film, but I have to admit I enjoyed it. I'd consider this a worthwhile sequel, one that is only slightly less effective than the original.

The biggest appeal is once again the trio of Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day. I can't say I especially like any of these three individually, but they work very well together. It's fun seeing Bateman as the straight man and letting Sudeikis and Day go a bit crazy. Bateman does disgust very well and I have to admit some of the funniest moments were his reactions to the other two. I'm still not a Bateman fan, but he did good work here. Sudeikis was funny and Day was okay- he was a little too over-the-top.

The supporting cast is once again excellent and contributes greatly to the film. Kevin Spacey has a very minor role, but does terrific work in his few scenes. He truly is a great actor and it was fun seeing him in this role again. Jennifer Aniston was fairly good once again as a foulmouthed sex addict. Part of the appeal of her in the original was the unique, surprising character she played. That surprise and novelty is long gone, though, and the movie really didn't need her in it. The same could be said of Jamie Foxx. He was fine as "MF" Jones, but the movie really didn't need him in it. His presence felt forced. I loved the new additions of Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine as father and son. Waltz's talent mostly felt wasted, but I like him as an actor and enjoyed his presence here. Pine, on the other hand, was terrific. I loved him in this role and it was great fun seeing him embrace this character. He's been cast as the lead in several big franchises in recent years, so it was great to see him take on this supporting role and show a very different side to his acting ability. I had great fun watching him and sincerely hope he takes on more roles like this in the future. He makes a good Captain Kirk, but he's very good in these kind of roles as well. I also liked seeing Jonathan Banks here. He is consistently strong and his presence is always a positive bump for a film. As a whole, the cast is truly the film's biggest strength.

While the movie could have been funnier, I have to admit I laughed fairly frequently throughout the film. Our three protagonists get themselves into some very awkward, humorous situations. The movie did a good job of utilizing the R rating to give the comedy more bite than the typical PG-13 film. That was refreshing and a strong reminder of why we need more R rated comedies. While some of the more outlandish aspects of the story were detractors, for the most part, I had fun watching the story unfold. It also felt like a nice continuation of the story from the first film. It was wise to not travel down the exact same road (if they were planning to kill bosses again), while still maintaining the premise from the first film. I felt like the setup and the plot to kidnap the son of a horrible boss was an appropriate focus for this film.

I do want to highlight the outtakes that come during the credits. They are pretty funny, but none compares to the final scene with Bateman and Sudeikis. The scene involves Sudeikis making a joke about Bateman's acting, and it is by far the funniest part of the entire film. On the positive side, the film concluded with me laughing incredibly hard. On the negative side, the funniest moment of a film really shouldn't be an outtake.

While this film is flawed, I still had fun watching Horrible Bosses 2. These films will never be classic comedies, but they are more enjoyable than you might expect. This film made a fraction of what the original did at the box office, so we likely won't be seeing this become a trilogy. That's too bad, because this film was far better than the average comedy sequel.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Horrible Bosses, The Switch, Couples Retreat, Extract, Bad Words