‘Horrible Bosses 2’
by John Lyons
IT’S been over three years since the release of the first ‘Horrible Bosses’ film, a surprise hit-comedy about three best friends who hatch a seemingly foolproof plan to murder each of their despicable bosses.
The first film worked so well because of its three leads: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day.
Bateman plays the deadpan, level-headed straight man. Sudeikis on the other hand, is a charming wisecracker who rationalises the trio’s unjustifiable actions. And Day is, of course, the hapless sidekick, blissfully clueless and the default simpleton of the group.
All three actors cut their teeth in American television. Bateman with ‘Arrested Development’, Sudeikis with ‘Saturday Night Live’, and Day with ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’.
And while it’s not a stretch to say that their roles in their respective shows bear a striking resemblance to their roles in ‘Horrible Bosses’, it was their on-screen chemistry that really elevated the first film to something special.
Watching the three (drastically different) amigos argue and squabble their way through a ridiculously formulated plan was well worth the price of admission.
‘Horrible Bosses’ was a film that I would not have imagined to have a sequel in the works. But, as is the case with most hit comedies, all the key players have reunited for round two.
It’s easy to make assumptions about ‘Horrible Bosses 2’, the main one being that it would just have the same knock-on effect as the ‘Hangover’ sequels, where the plot is just a shameless re-hash of the original.
And while that isn’t entirely untrue, I remained optimistic about this sequel. If the success of the first film was largely due to the chemistry between three leads, rather than the comedic set-up, then who’s to say that they couldn’t pull it off again?
In ‘Horrible Bosses 2’, Nick (Bateman), Kurt (Sudeikis) and Dale (Day) are happily liberated from the horrible bosses that made their life a living hell in the first film.
They’ve decided that from now on they’re going to run their own business, so that they’ll never have to answer to anyone but themselves.
Upon receiving a big purchase order for their new invention, ‘The Shower Buddy’, the boys scrape together all their savings in order to manufacture one hundred thousand units of their product.
A lifetime of wealth is just around the corner, that is, until ruthless businessman Burt Hanson (played by Christoph Waltz) pulls the plug on the deal, leaving the boys on the brink of financial ruin.
The group try to come up with a quick solution to the problem. The first suggestion is, of course, murder. But having learned a thing or two from the events of the last film, the boys come up with a more reasonable plan — kidnapping.
Needless to say, things go awry very quickly, thanks in no small part to the boys habit of shamelessly making the plan up as they go along.
The film has a large star-studded supporting cast, who give great performances with what little time they’re given.
Kevin Spacey as Nick’s explosive former boss, Jennifer Lawrence as a dentist suffering from crippling sex addiction, Jamie Foxx as the trio’s ill-suited mentor, and Chris Pine as Burt Hanson’s spoiled rotten son.
As great as all the supporting performances are, the three leads stand head and shoulders above the rest as the show-stealers of the film. The filmmakers have given the boys a lot more screen time in this sequel, and they definitely make the most of every single second.
‘Horrible Bosses 2’ is fuelled with non-stop humour, witty one-liners, scenarios that often escalate to the height of ridiculousness, and most importantly, three naturally gifted comic actors. Watching three hapless friends who’re way out of their depth is way more enjoyable than it should have any right to be.
It’s most certainly as good as the original, if not better.
7/10
Follow John Lyons on Twitter: @Fireinthelyons