Directed By Sean Anders
Starring Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis
Nick, Kurt, and Dale, the trio of friends with a plot to kill their bosses in 2011’s Horrible Bosses, are back to their criminal ways in Horrible Bosses 2. With a premise just different enough from the first movie, and a new director at the helm, lets find out how the second outing goes for this group of inept would-be wrongdoers.
After a financial problem arises with Nick, Kurt, and Dale’s new company, the three guys decide that a kidnapping could be the answer to their monetary woes. As anyone who’s seen the original film might expect, the kidnapping doesn’t quite go as planned, and the multitude of mishaps provides for an entertaining comedy.
Horrible Bosses 2 stands out from other comedies full of over the top crass humor, and what stands out for me is the casting. Charlie Day’s Dale shares the child-like attitude and lack of common sense of his It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia persona Charlie Kelly. Jason Bateman’s Nick has a good bit of Michael Bluth showing, which Bateman perfected during his 4 seasons on Arrested Development. Many of the laughs in the film come from Nick’s reactions and responses to the situations Dale and Jason Sudeikis’s Kurt seem to have a knack for finding. The most appealing aspect of getting another Horrible Bosses film was that I’d get to spend more time watching these three incredibly funny actors interact with each other, and playing characters that feel like natural fits for them.
The always beautiful Jennifer Aniston rejoins the cast as Dale’s former boss, and delivers a number of sexually charged lines that left the audience in my theaters laughing and groaning in disgust at the same time. My only criticism of the cast is the underutilization of Christoph Waltz, who is wasted in the role of a two-dimensional wealthy business owner, who makes Mr. Burns look like Santa. He’s a welcome addition to the movie, but this role could not have been written with him in mind.
Towards the middle of the film, Horrible Bosses 2 takes a bit of a turn as the heist aspect of the story starts to unfold. To the credit of the writers, including director Sean Anders, the movie is able to keep the pace of the humor throughout the change in tone, and gives us an ending that calls back to the first film, and an easy lead in for another sequel, which would take no convincing for me to go see! Strangely, the director decides to include a blooper reel for the cast credits that’s nowhere near as funny as the last laugh in the film. I can’t think of another time I’ve seen the blooper device used so poorly. If there were not better outtakes to pull from, a traditional credit roll would have been a better choice, leaving this material for bonus material on the home release.
Horrible Bosses 2 delivered what a comedy sequel should, more time with characters that you love, and a story that remembers the tone of the previous film, without simply rehashing the same material. It’s a must see for fans of the original!