Back in the summer of 2011, Seth Gordon’s crime comedy Horrible Bosses made quite the splash. It was probably the best raunchy comedy of the summer which was enough of a sign that the studio decided to give the trio of terrible criminals another shot on the big screen. This week, hit or miss director Sean Anders (Sex Drive, That’s My Boy), takes over directorial duties for the aptly titled comedy, Horrible Bosses 2.
In this second go-around, Dale (Charlie Day), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Nick (Jason Bateman) decide to become their own bosses and go into business for themselves. When their invention called the Shower Buddy attracts the attention of a big-time investor Bert Hanson (Christoph Waltz) and his son Rex (Chris Pine), they act without any business smarts and make a bone-headed decision that’ll leave them with nothing. Naturally, desperate times call for desperate measures and the trio decide to kidnap Bert’s son, Rex, as a way to get their investment back and to stick it to another “horrible boss.”
The plot of Horrible Bosses 2 is simple enough on the surface but while you’re watching the movie it takes a wonderful turn, adding a few nice twists that keep the story slightly fresher than it could have been. SPOILER After a failed kidnapping, Rex decides to kidnap himself for the boys and uses them to get money from his father while helping them get revenge as well END SPOILER. It’s a nice change of pace and with Rex being such a chauvinistic, politically incorrect, charismatic, crazed rich boy, he adds an insane child element to the trio of guys who are already dumb and chaotic enough without him. In fact, this might be my favorite Chris Pine role, you could tell he had so much fun playing Rex and that helped make his performance that much better.
The reason Horrible Bosses 2 works well as a sequel is that it revisits a lot of the great characters and jokes from the first film while not overusing them. It’s this balancing act that gives us an opportunity to enjoy Dave Harkin (Kevin Spacey) and Motherfucker Jones’ (Jamie Foxx) presence yet again, albeit in different scenarios, while not feeling like they’re just rehashing the same things from the first film. After incorporating those elements, the talent and crew throw in a bunch of new jokes, situations and solid comedic performances by new and old characters that we’re able to get a film that’s familiar but also fresh enough to keep you laughing consistently throughout.
Much like in the first film sex crazed character, Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston) steals the show with Chris Pine coming at a close second. She’s incredibly hot and has some of the most ridiculous, yet funny, lines in the film. Every time she appeared on screen you knew something great was going to happen and she executed it all perfectly. Hands down she is the most memorable character of the film.
Is Horrible Bosses 2 the best comedy out there? No, but neither was the first. There are some repetitive issues and some jokes that fall flat, but that’s bound to happen. The main difference I found between this film and the first is that there were one or two gut-wrenchingly funny scenes in the first, this flick had maybe one, which is a petty thing to think about but I could use a good tear induced laugh every so often.
Overall, Horrible Bosses 2 is actually a worthy sequel to the comedic joys of the first film. Charlie Day, Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis still have the great chemistry and argumentative chaos that made watching them in the first film so much fun while Sean Anders is able to balance fresh material with the inclusion of some of the more memorable jokes of the first film. If you’re looking for fun, mindless laughter at a theater then Horrible Bosses 2 will be the perfect film for you this week.
Rating: Simple enough, if you liked the first Horrible Bosses you’ll really enjoy the sequel (6.7/10)
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