HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 (2014 - COMEDY) ***1/2 out of ***** OR 7 out of 10
(Oh, Lord, here we go again...)
CAST: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz, Lindsay Sloane, Jonathan Banks.
DIRECTOR: Sean Anders
(WARNING: Some SPOILERS and reasons to fear self-employment - straight ahead...)
IT'S LIKE THIS: In 2011, we reviewed the surprise comedy hit, HORRIBLE BOSSES (review # 372), in which three goobers played by Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day had to contend with three bosses who made the icy, formidable, ruthless Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep) from THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (review # 143) look like a warm, fuzzy, back-slapping, bear-hugging, glad-handing supervisor.
If you'll recall, Nick (Bateman), Kurt (Sudeikis), and Dale (Day) were so fed-up with their mistreatment by their respective superiors, but also didn't want to quit their jobs because of the bad economy. So what did they decide to do? Well, if you saw HORRIBLE BOSSES, you already know they went down the "homicide" route and recruited the help of Dean "Motherfucker" Jones (Jamie Foxx), a thug who seems like a cross between Tupac, Rainman, and Bozo the Clown.
Anyhow, that movie ended with Nick, Kurt, and Dale getting their respective asshole bosses sorted out - and moving on to the next phases of their careers which, presumably, will not be presided over by, ahem, horrible bosses. Which takes us to HORRIBLE BOSSES 2....
It's three years later, and our trio of idiot heroes have decided that the only way to really avoid horrible bosses is to... become your own boss. Yes, folks, our three doofi have decided to go the self-employment route. Essentially, they come up with a thoroughly stupid invention that would only fly in a movie. In real life, they'd be laughed out of every single pitch meeting. In case you're wondering what the three stooges have come up with, it's called the... "Shower Buddy."
Essentially, the Shower Buddy is a pimped-up shower head that dispenses shampoo, soap, and probably even lube for the occasional "soapy sumthin-sumthin". And, yes, the fucking thing looks as stupid as it sounds. Which makes Nick, Kurt, and Dale's success at pitching it to business tycoon Bert Hansen (Christoph Waltz) and his irresponsible son Rex (Chris Pine) a complete head-scratcher. Essentially, Hansen promises that he will buy 100,000 units of the Shower Buddy. For starters. What a guy.
Overjoyed, Nick, Kurt, and Dale get a huge business loan from a local bank and go into production, trying to crank out 100,000 units of their crappy invention by Hansen's deadline. I should add that Hansen is technically their boss now. And since the title of this flick is HORRIBLE BOSSES 2, well, I don't have to tell you that Hansen ultimately proves to be less-than-awesome.
Sure enough, just as soon as Nick, Kurt, and Dale announce they've reached their goal of 100,000 units, Hansen pulls the rug out from under them and says he is canceling his order. Turns out the slimy fucker is planning to swoop in after our three heroes declare bankruptcy - and buy up their company and products for dirt-cheap at the ensuing auction. In short, Hansen will still be acquiring those 100,000 Shower Buddies - but at pennies-to-the-dollar, after he ruins and buries our heroes. What a guy.
If this were to happen to any other three guys, they'd probably cry themselves silly. However, let's recall that Nick, Kurt, and Dale spent the last movie trying to murder off their asshole bosses, so they're kind of expert at dispensing payback to jackasses who deserve it. Sure enough, they hatch a scheme to kidnap pretty-boy Rex and ransom him for around $500,000 (the amount of their bank loan). Surely, Hansen would easily pony up the cash in exchange for the life of his useless son, right?
Unfortunately, it turns out that Hansen doesn't love anyone - not even his son Rex. Well, truth be told, if you could see Rex in action, you'd probably throw him under the bus, too. Before you know it, Rex is pulling an "Elektra King" and is conspiring with Nick, Kurt, and Dale to rip his Dad off. Big time.
Will the real-then-fake-then-real kidnap plot work? Will Nick, Kurt, Dale, and Rex actually be able to hornswaggle a crafty old-timer like Hansen? Or is Hansen three steps ahead of them? What happens when they have to recruit the help of Dale's former nemesis boss, Julia (Jennifer Aniston), who was constantly trying to rape him in her dental office? Will Julia fuck things up - or just Dale? And what happens when MotherFucker Jones gets involved again? How will all this end?
Let's just say that if I was Hansen, I would probably throw these morons under the bus, too, just for inventing something so utterly dumb.
BUT SERIOUSLY: One of the surprise hits of 2011 was HORRIBLE BOSSES, which was a black-ish comedy about murder. Fortunately, any potential unpleasantness that may have arisen was smoothed over by the irreverent humor and a game cast that included comedy vets like Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, as well as new comics Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day, with the surprising addition of dramatic actors like Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, and Colin Farrell who atypically and successfully played for laughs.
Given the success of HORRIBLE BOSSES, a sequel was inevitable. The challenge, as with all sequels, was to bring what made the first movie work so well - and add some fresh elements so as not to be accused of merely repeating the previous formula. Note that THE HANGOVER 2 was taken to task for essentially repeating the schematics of the first movie, but setting it in Thailand. Frankly, I thought it was good and didn't mind the "retread" of familiar HANGOVER elements.
With HORRIBLE BOSSES 2, however, we get a slightly different spin. In the first film, our trio of comic leads were attempting to commit murder. Here, they actually commit kidnapping - with the plot thickening in several different directions soon after. It's about as funny as its predecessor, with most of the original cast returning - plus the welcome addition of Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine as the new "villains."
Indeed, it's the cast of HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 that make it a solid ride. Bateman, Sudeikis, and Day have the same goofball chemistry as they did in the first film, and it makes for some sturdy laughs. Jamie Foxx is a hoot as the doofus criminal who sort of mentors our heroes in the ways of the street - with hilarious results. The person who steals the show every single time she walks onscreen, though, is Jennifer Aniston, who is comic gold as Julia Harris, the nympho sex addict who simply will not take "no" for an answer. I wish she could've been used in the plot more. She's a riot, a gifted comic actress...
In the end, HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 is a worthy sequel to HORRIBLE BOSSES. Just like the original, it's a solid flick that will please fans of raunchy, irreverent, politically-incorrect comedies.
