Horrible Bosses 2

This month we as audiences have been graced with not one, but TWO comedy sequels.

The first was the abysmal Dumb and Dumber To which, on top of being about 18 years too late, was just plain bad.

Next up we have Horrible Bosses 2, the sequel to the 2011 comedy. Personally, I really enjoyed the first film, probably more so than most people, as I found it to be a unique comedy with a stellar cast and a decent enough script to accompany the improv. It wasn't the funniest movie ever by any means, but it's one that I own and I watch again from time to time.

I might have been the only one that was excited for this sequel, but sometimes that's just the way it goes! When early reviews started rolling in with a ton of negativity I was a little taken aback but then I remembered that the first didn't receive the kindest reviews either.

Thankfully, unlike the scenario that played out with Dumb and Dumber To, I can confidently say that the critics are, for the most part, wrong about this one. Which strikes me as odd...I'm not sure how you could watch this film and Dumb and Dumber To within weeks of each other and even arrive at remotely the same score. Horrible Bosses 2 is again, no classic by any means, but it's often funny, sometimes hilarious, and if you were a fan of the first one, this is a strong follow up that gets very close to equaling the original.

Captain Kirk cleans up nice!

The issues with Horrible Bosses 2 mainly stem from it's almost 2 hour long runtime. It goes by fairly quick, but there was more than one occasion where it began to push my patience and a handful of scenes could have been sped up considerably. The elongated runtime leads to an elongated script which leads to more jokes than I would care to admit not quite hitting their mark. It's clear that, much like the original, there is a lot of improvisation between Sudeikis, Bateman, and Day going on. Most of it is comedy gold (or at least silver), but there were several instances where I was thinking, "Why didn't they just cut that out completely?". The plot pushes the film longer than it needs to be by way of the everything-goes-wrong playbook and by the time the 15th thing went wrong in their plan I was beginning to get worn out. Also, much like the first film, Charlie Day just flat out wears me down. I think he is funny, and he has some good scenes in this film, but his voice just starts to get to me after almost two hours.

How is someone in their 40s this hot?!

Luckily that's about all the "bad news" that I have. Horrible Bosses 2 continues after the first film and the guys have invented the "Shower Buddy" which is a surprisingly good idea, although a bit impractical. Without giving too much away, they get screwed by a big corporate honcho and decide to take revenge. It's awfully familiar to the first but it has enough variety and twists to establish itself as its own, pretty-damn-smart, original story. This time Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine are along for the ride, the former being woefully underused and the latter giving a hilarious comedic turn as what could be described as a super rich, slightly insane, Captain Kirk. Pine very nearly steals the show and I was more than impressed with his comedic chops. Kevin Spacey and Jennifer Aniston are also back in some well-orchestrated roles that only feel a tad shoehorned in. Aniston is almost as good as she was in the first and Spacey is great as always. Luckily they are supported by a script that is *mostly* strong, not to mention a lot of the improv that is captured is pretty funny.

They just looked at Dumb and Dumber To's score with that
telescope.

Truthfully, there isn't much else to tell about Horrible Bosses 2. If you enjoyed the first film as I did, then this sequel is delightfully pleasant if not a tad overly familiar (but what comedy sequels aren't these days?). If you didn't see the first film but are looking for something funny to see with the family at Thanksgiving this weekend, make sure that everyone is not easily offended, and head on out to Horrible Bosses 2. You'll most likely have a few good laughs and then forget about it, but who knows, you might end up liking the series as much as I do.

Lord knows that's a lot more than I can say for Dumb and Dumber To.

Clearly I'm still sore about the disappointment...

CONS:

• Overlong by about 15-20 minutes
• Too many things go wrong that it becomes a tad exhausting
• Speaking of exhausting, Charlie Day wears me out
• Some jokes/improv sessions fall flat
• Underused (or wrongly utilized?) Christoph Waltz

PROS:

• The trio of Sudeikis, Bateman, and Day are nearly as funny as the first time and I would say their chemistry is even better this go around
• The jokes are often funny with a few gems in there
• While the plot is, as an outline, a copy cat of the original, I enjoyed the things that made it different and the twists and turns it took
• Great performance by Pine
• Strong "elongated cameo" performances by Spacey and Aniston
• I had a smile on my face almost the whole time. Just plain fun

Rath's Review Score: 7.5/10