Horrible Bosses 2 Review

Rated R (Strong Crude Sexual Content and Language Throughout)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 48 Minutes

Cast-

Jason Bateman-Nick Hendricks

Jason Sudeikis-Kurt Buckman

Charlie Day-Dale Arbus

Chris Pine-Rex Hanson

Christoph Waltz-Bert Hanson

Jennifer Aniston-Dr. Julia Harris

Jamie Foxx-Dean 'Motherf*cker' Jones

Kevin Spacey-David Harken

Lindsay Sloane-Stacy Arbus

Jonathan Banks-Detective Hatcher

Keegan-Michael Key-Mike

Kelly Stables-Rachel

Directed by Sean Anders

The guys are back and this time, they're the bosses!

Note: Screened on Thursday, November 20, 2014 at AMC Empire 25.

"Horrible Bosses 2" is another in a long line of comedy sequels that exist solely because the first one happened to be well-received and make a lot of money at the box office. Released back in 2011, the Seth Gordon-directed film earned $209.6 million worldwide on a modest $35 million production budget, making it the highest grossing dark comedy of all time, a distinction previously held by 1989's "The War of the Roses." New Line Cinema predictably greenlit a sequel because Hollywood logic dictates that if the original made a lot of money, then the follow-up will too. Granted, this has been predominantly true, especially when said original owes much of its success to positive word-of-mouth from moviegoers (2011's "The Hangover Part II" opened with a whopping $103.4 million over the Memorial Day weekend and took in over a $100 million more worldwide based on goodwill from its 2009 predecessor) but the sequel is almost always inferior from a quality standpoint, barring a few rare exceptions like 2013's "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" and this past summer's "22 Jump Street." Wiser filmmakers and actors tend to avoid doing comedy sequels altogether since they're so hard to pull off, which is the case here as Gordon dropped out of the "Horrible Bosses" follow-up due to a 'scheduling conflict.' Replacing him is Sean Anders. Yep, the same Sean Anders who helmed "That's My Boy," one of the worst films I have ever seen. Given the person directing the film and the less-than-stellar track record with comedy sequels, it should come as no surprise that "Horrible Bosses 2" is not very good. In fact, it's terrible.

Fed up with answering to abusive higher-ups, Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman), Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis), and Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) have quit their terrible jobs and gone into business for themselves. The three friends create a clever bathroom product dubbed 'The Shower Buddy,' which shoots out soap, shampoo, and conditioner as well as water. Their appearance on a morning talk show to promote their new product catches the attention of Boulder Stream, a massive retail company owned by Bert Hanson (Christoph Waltz). He offers the trio seven figures for exclusive distribution rights while allowing them to retain ownership of their business. Nick, Kurt, and Dale waste no time in buying out a warehouse to begin production on their first order—consisting of 100,000 units—but it all turns out to be a scam. Upon the order's completion, Bert reveals to the hapless trio that he has pulled out of the deal, leaving them with half a million dollars in debt. Since they're unable to pay back their bank loan, this means that Bert can simply buy all the manufactured units at below cost and rebrand them however he wants, essentially stealing their idea. With murder out of the question, the three desperate friends decide to kidnap Bert's smarmy son Rex (Chris Pine) and hold him for ransom. What they didn't anticipate is that Rex wants in on the scheme as well as a way to get back at his father and exhort $5 million from him.

There's no shortage of talent in "Horrible Bosses 2." Too bad it all goes to waste.

As I mentioned before, the original "Horrible Bosses" proved to be a surprise hit at the box office thanks to its edgy, high-concept premise—which captured the recession-era zeitgeist with aplomb—and ensemble cast. That same cast (sans Colin Farrell) has returned for Sean Anders' sequel but it's immediately clear that everyone has little to nothing to work with as they strain so hard for laughs that you're almost afraid that their heads are going to explode any second. The hilarious camaraderie that Nick, Kurt, and Dale shared in the first film has now been replaced with incessant yelling and imbecilic behavior. Whether it's arguing over codenames or debating how to pull off a kidnapping, almost every conversation between these three friends descends into loud bickering. It quickly grows exasperating and torturous to watch. The only time the sequel is funny is when it focuses on the titular horrible bosses from the first film, despite it being obvious that they've been shoehorned in and have no bearing on the main plot. It's always a delight to watch Kevin Spacey nastily chew the scenery as Nick's former tyrannical boss David Harken but his appearance amounts to a three-scene cameo. The same can be said for Jennifer Aniston as the foul-mouthed, sex-crazed dentist Dr. Julia Harris, with the actress providing the biggest laughs when Nick stumbles onto her late-night support group meeting for sex addicts, mistaking it for Alcoholics Anonymous. Jamie Foxx also returns as well as the colorfully named Dean 'Motherf*cker' Jones and while it's nice to see all these old characters again, it just goes to show that the sequel has nothing new to offer. The kidnapping plot wears out its welcome quickly, with the twists so predictable that you can see them coming lightyears away. In the words of Sam Woolf from We Got This Covered, "Horrible Bosses 2" is 'shriller, louder…longer,' and destroys whatever goodwill you had toward the original.

The irony here is that Nick, Kurt, and Dale have become the same 'horrible bosses' that they so despise through their bad decision-making. While obvious, this type of role reversal could've done wonders and give the sequel the freshness it desperately needed but Anders and co-writer John Morris often settle for the laziest route. They're content with treading the same ground, with the comedy now plumbing new depths into tastelessness. One very uncomfortable scene revolving around Rex and his housekeeper Kim (Suzy Nakamura) is so blatantly racist toward Asians that I'm frankly surprised that it made it through the editing room without anyone speaking up. The treatment of women here is also rather despicable. Look, I'm fine with Aniston playing an oversexed vixen because at least she's treated as an actual person. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for every other woman in the film as they function as little more than sex objects to be 'acquired.' Given the way American society normalizes 'rape culture,' it all feels rather irresponsible on the filmmakers' part. People will tell me to 'lighten up' but if you think it's funny to treat women as less than human, then you need to take a long, hard look at yourself in the mirror.

Jennifer Aniston's return as a sex-crazed vixen is one of the film's few highlights.

Despite the subpar and crass material, Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day try their best. In fact, they try so hard that you kind of start to feel sorry for them because all they want to do is make viewers laugh but what they're given here is just so beneath their talents. It ends up becoming a vicious cycle as the three simply resort to screaming and shouting to get a reaction. While their efforts are admirable, they can only do so much when everything around them is crap. The other returning cast members—Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx—have what amounts to glorified cameos as the film's script struggles to concoct ways to keep them in the picture. Joining them are Christoph Waltz, who's completely wasted here in a go-nowhere role, and Chris Pine, whose wild enthusiasm unfortunately doesn't translate into genuine laughs.

Released on November 26, 2014, "Horrible Bosses 2" has received overwhelmingly negative reviews with 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, a far cry from the first film's 69%. Critics noted that it 'may trigger a few belly laughs among big fans of the original, but all in all, it's a waste of a strong cast that fails to justify its own existence.' Goodwill from its predecessor will likely turn Anders' sequel into a box office hit. However, word-of-mouth won't be good and I imagine that will put the kibosh on New Line's plans for a third installment of "Horrible Bosses," although truth be told, the negative reception for "The Hangover Part II" didn't stop Warner Brothers from making a "Part III." "Horrible Bosses 2" is the very definition of a lazy cash-in and it doesn't help that most of the jokes aren't funny and are often tasteless. This is what you get when studio executives only care about their bottom line and that right there is the horrible truth.

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

"Hello Nick. Guy who saved my life, guy who f*cked my wife."