Director: Sean Anders.
Cast: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Chris Pine, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Jonathan Banks, Lindsay Sloane.
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 104 minutes.
Synopsis: Having removed their horrible bosses from the equation, Nick (Bateman), Kurt (Sudeikis) and Dale (Day), have become their own bosses after inventing the Shower Buddy. Unfortunately they get in to business with the cut throat Bert Hanson (Waltz) who tricks them in to running their company in to the ground. Cue a complex kidnapping scheme involving Hanson’s son, Rex (Pine).
HORRIBLE BOSSES was a film that managed to speak to a wide audience. That simple title spoke to the audience and said “We get you.” Most people, so I’m told, have had those HORRIBLE BOSSES that the title reflects, and so the film was a huge hit, which of course means sequel. Seth Gordon is replaced by THAT’S MY BOY director, Sean Anders, which isn’t the death sentence you would expect. HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 is every bit as funny as its predecessor, although the plot is a little more flimsy and disconnected.
First up we have to decide whether we are dealing with bosses, and whether audiences will connect in the same way. Waltz and Pine play father and son business partners, rather than actual bosses, and business doesn’t have the universal appeal that tackling the higher ups does. It does dabble with the idea of the American Dream versus cruel capitalism, and some good arguments about focusing companies inland rather than outsourcing, but that all gets swamped by the shenanigans. Although Pine is fantastic and a great addition to the core trio, Waltz doesn’t have much to do, whereas in the original, Spacey, Aniston and Colin Farrell all provided wonderful exaggerated caricatures to go up against Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis.
The script does seem as though it was written as a solo project before having the HORRIBLE BOSSES characters forced in, and Aniston, Spacey, and Jamie Foxx, although all being very funny, also seem unnecessary. Thankfully Day, Sudeikis, and Bateman all expand upon their chemistry, offering up plenty of laughs. Even if Sudeikis and Day are indistinguishable as characters, each playing the ‘idiot’ of the team. The only discernible difference is Sudeikis being the ladies man and Day being the family man. Bateman is left as the supposed straight man, but even his character does some idiotic things, and when the capers start to unfold that’s when the big belly laughs really start coming.
As before we have a number of funny set pieces, although some repeat, with home break-ins, Aniston’s seductive nymphomaniac, and car chases to boot. The film works best when Pine and the protagonists are on screen, coming up with ideas to swindle Waltz’s unscrupulous business man out of his money. This leads to the best moment of the film in which the guys imagine their crime going down Hollywood style, only to later be faced with the stark reality that their perfect plan may not be that.
It may not be as fresh as the original, and the plot does its fair share of expected comedic rhyming, but HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 serves up an extension of the original, meaning it’s just as funny and screwball. If you’re just going for a laugh, then the film is excellent, offering up silly situations, stupid character reactions, quippy dialogue, and moments of embarrassment. This is a very funny film that is sure to please fans of the original.
[usr=3]HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 is released on 28th November.
