Many comedy sequels have wilted in the shadows of their predecessors, failing to recreate the magic that made the first ones so successful. With the exception of 22 Jump Street (2014), Clerks 2 (2006) and A Shot in the Dark (1964) there are few that triumph. Seth Gordon’s Horrible Bosses (2011) was far from a classic but proved successful enough to warrant a follow-up and while Horrible Bosses 2 stumbles, falling short of the original, it does stumble with some sort of style.
The two Jasons, Bateman and Sudeikis, return with Charlie Day as Nick, Kurt and Dale: the downtrodden employees who have re-teamed to create the “Shower Buddy”, a product they hope will make them rich enough to never have to work for corporate evil-doers again. Their contraption comes to the attention of businessmen Bert and Rex Hanson (Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine) who shrewdly acquire its rights, setting the threesome on a path to win back what is rightfully theirs and take revenge on the conniving fat cats.
Despite an intriguing set up, HB2 wanders into flat, familiar territory. The mordant humour works at times but is occasionally rasping and inane, lacking the biting wit and interesting supporting characters of the original. The comedy is also cyclical, relying on and repeating jokes while brandishing cheap gags, condescending sarcasm and college/ toilet humour which is only partly successful due to the delivery by the main cast.
Bateman, Sudeikis and Day are fine but the supporting performers struggle with the banal dialogue and underdeveloped roles. Waltz and Pine play less interesting, malicious and disgusting characters than Kevin Spacey’s Dave Harken and Colin Farrell’s Bobby Pellitt did in the first film, while sex-obsessed dentist Dr Harris (Jennifer Aniston) is crowbarred in for old time’s sake along with slack-haggling gangster MF Jones (Jamie Foxx) , in a slightly beefier role.
There are a couple of winning twists that rescue HB2 from total mediocrity but the story is lacking a refining touch and teases with an unresolved sub-plot. This comedy sequel feels spawned from a brainstorming session more so than from a moment of pure, creative inspiration. It is light and fairly enjoyable at times but far too dim-witted to be truly worthwhile.
Daniel has awarded Horrible Bosses 2 two Torches of Truth
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