Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? No.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? If you enjoyed the first movie.
Secret ending? No, but there’s a bloopers reel.
Running time: 108 minutes (~1.75 hours)
“Horrible Bosses 2” is a comedy, and the sequel to 2011’s “Horrible Bosses.” It centres on the further hijinks of the three central characters of the original film as they start their own business. Unfortunately, an unscrupulous businessman drives their company into bankruptcy, and the three friends kidnap his son to ransom back the money to save their business. It stars Jason Bateman (Nick Hendricks), Charlie Day (Dale Arbus), Jason Sudeikis (Kurt Backman), Jennifer Aniston (Dr Julia Harris), Jamie Foxx (Dean “MF” Jones), Chris Pine (Rex Manson), Christoph Waltz (Burt Hanson), and Kevin Spacey (David Harken).
If the plot of “Horrible Bosses 2” sounds like it’s missing something – you’re absolutely right. It’s missing a boss. The movie starts off with the three friends (Nick, Dale, and Kurt) being their own boss, and it looks like it’ll show how they end up becoming horrible bosses when they start their own company. It doesn’t. It veers into kidnapping territory, and the rest of the film goes into either the planning or execution of the crime. It’s completely and utterly random.
That being said, there are some great aspects to “Horrible Bosses 2.”
Jason Bateman’s deadpan performance as Nick
Jason Bateman’s performance as the straight guy among a group of hyperactive jokers is what grounds the film and helps heighten the comedy. Without a reference to normalcy and the real world (which is what Nick provides), the over the top antics wouldn’t seem as out of place and hilarious as they are. And in a nice touch to his role as the (response) straight guy, he has to pretend he’s not (gender) straight to Julia to get his friends out of another scrape.
Jennifer Aniston as the easily aroused Julia Harris
Although she doesn’t appear for much of the film, Jennifer Aniston’s scenes are memorable. Her portrayal of Julia may be stereotypical and direct, but she lends a certain charm to what would otherwise be an obnoxious character. She even gets what she wants at the end of the film – and more – giving closure to the quest that Julia has been on for two films.
Dark humour
As much as this film as slapstick and visual humour, it also has a fair amount of subtle, dark humour in the way the three men solve their problems. It adds another, appreciated level of humour to the film, giving it a bit more depth and appeal.
Then again, there are several flaws that prevent “Horrible Bosses 2” from equalling its predecessor.
The plot feels forced
In order to save their business, the three guys have to kidnap the son of the businessman who tricked them. Does it sound convoluted? The film tries its best to make the characters come to this conclusion as organically as possible, but ultimately the storytelling comes across as artificial and contrived.
Rex Hanson is schizophrenic
Rex’s moods, motivations and methods change from scene – one moment its a desire for money that propels him, and in the next scene its his need for his father’s approval that drives his actions. A more experienced actor might have possibly found a way to make this believable. Unfortunately, it comes across as confusing and ridiculous, the way Rex changes his mind every few seconds.
Not enough humour
The movie just doesn’t make you chuckle enough to justify it as a comedy. The laughs don’t come fast and furious, they just kind of… trickle out. The whole movie feels more like a heist film in the way they discuss how they’re going to kidnap Rex. If it had been labelled a comedy heist film, this would have met expectations better and fit more smoothly into the genre.
Unexplained references to “Horrible Bosses”
Several jokes or references are callbacks to the first “Horrible Bosses,” which gives it a nice sense of completion and continuity. But if you’ve never watched the first film, there’s not enough exposition to allow you to understand what’s happening .Take David Harken’s appearance, for instance. There’s no explanation of who he is, and only halfway through the scene, through inferences from their dialogue, do you realise that he’s Nick’s boss and what his defining character trait is. By then too much of the scene has been wasted trying to figure out who David is, and you’re not emotionally invested enough to find the rest of the scene funny.
Overall, “Horrible Bosses 2” is more of a miscategorised film than a bad one. It feels like a heist film gone wrnog, and it should have been billed that way. Nevertheless, it has its fair share of funnies, and it’s worth watching to see how the three men fared after the events in the first “Horrible Bosses.”
“Horrible Bosses 2” opens in cinemas 27 November, 2014 (Thursday).
This review was also published on Yahoo Movies Singapore.
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