“Horrible Bosses 2” is a messy, half-baked comedy with very few laughs and little for fans of the first film to enjoy.
When “Horrible Bosses” was released in theaters back in 2011, it was like a breath of fresh air for the comedy scene. It was unique, charming and the main cast had such an infectious chemistry that it was hard not to be pulled into their lunatic, morally bankrupt schemes. Now, the unnecessary sequel is out and it has managed to strip away all of the uniqueness and most of the charm, leaving only a plate of scraps.
This films picks up at some time after the first one with leads Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day attempting to start their own business and be their own bosses. They make a deal with a billionaire businessman played by Christoph Waltz, but are betrayed and end up half a million dollars in the hole. With nothing left to lose, the three come up with a plan to kidnap Waltz’s son, played by Chris Pine, and get the money to save their livelihoods. Hilarity is supposed to ensue, but it doesn’t end up that way.
The main problem with this movie is that everything not related to the first “Horrible Bosses” falls almost completely flat. The three leads still have a lot of great chemistry together and their idiotic back-and-forth banter is still entertaining, but it does enter into the realm of frustrating, head-slapping stupidity and ends up draining any sympathy you had for the characters themselves.
Jennifer Aniston is still a treasure onscreen, even if she does sleepwalk through most of her role. She does get a really great stinger at the end that has now become my favorite thing any of the Friends alumni has ever said onscreen. Chris Pine is having a lot of fun in his role as a douchey, sleazy punk businessman, but it never creates any laughs. It is great to see him give it his all and his energy meshes well with the manic banter, I just wish I could have had as much fun as he was.
Christoph Waltz needs to fire his agent. The guy has nothing to do here and he shouldn’t be wasting his time on C-grade garbage. Jamie Foxx shows up to have some fun, but that’s it. And if you decide to waste your money and buy a ticket, you can also see what Kevin Spacey has been doing between seasons of House of Cards, which consists of ten minutes of unfunny yelling about male genitalia. Stay classy, Spacey.
At its core, “Horrible Bosses 2” is not a film for audiences. It’s an excuse for all the actors from the first film to come together and joke around with a couple of newcomers. They’re all very talented comedians so the laughs do exist, but there’s nothing of substance here, nothing to engage and make “Horrible Bosses 2” a comedy classic or even a comedy footnote. If you haven’t seen this movie, go ahead and keep on doing that. You aren’t missing a thing.
