Horrible Bosses 2 has a message, people. It’s about heralding America as the land of opportunity; celebrating modest, hard-working folks, and getting revenge on the undeserving One Percent.
It’s also about viciously mocking Asian women; promoting gay panic and bromantic comedies’ ubiquitous punchline of male sexual abuse; “accidentally” dropping racial slurs into casual conversation; and making Jennifer Aniston play a nymphomaniac who experiences sexual pleasure at the thought of 14-year-old boys.
Dumb And Dumber To director Sean Anders follows up Seth Gordon’s middling 2011 tale of three mid-level workers’ revenge fantasy with this unnecessary and tonally confused offering. Jason Bateman, Jason Sudekis and Charlie Day return as uptight Nick, unreliable Kurt and manic chipmunk dimwit Dale. After setting up their own business, they’re betrayed by sociopathic mogul Christoph Waltz (deliciously sadistic but underused) and kidnap his entitled pretty-boy son Chris Pine.
The three leads have undeniable chemistry, though Day’s hyperactivity and Bateman’s phoned-in deadpan delivery quickly become dull. Pine is fantastic as a spoiled and bratty manipulator, though he’s laden with the unfortunate task of hurling racist remarks at one of the film’s few non-white actors. The basic kidnap premise allows for plenty of absurd and very occasionally funny convolutions but the adventures feel episodic and sketch-worthy rather than naturally flowing.
Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx chew the comedic scenery in their reprised supporting roles, and energetic cinematography from Julio Macat (Home Alone, Ace Ventura, Wedding Crashers) imbues car chases and hijinks with great energy. But everything, from the clichéd soundtrack (can we declare a moratorium on the use of ‘How You Like Me Now’ please?) to the male midlife crisis theme feels stale; with the decidedly nasty humour pushing the film into the realm of acidic rot.
In cinemas now.