I like a bit of smut, a dirty joke, some crude humor. Used well, the shock value can inject unexpected laughs into a film, as can a gross out moment that sticks in the mind. However, in the face of an uninspired script, such humor can become a crutch, and some films become saturated in a crude vibe that overwhelms everything else. Horrible Bosses 2 is one of those films.
The original film had our lead trio rallying against their “horrible bosses,” scheming in a silly but endearing manner to kill them, thus releasing themselves from their tyranny. This sequel treads a similar path where Nick, Kurt, and Dale, having started their own business, are screwed over by an investor (Christoph Waltz). In an attempt to save their livelihood they seek revenge by plotting to abduct his son, Rex (Chris Pine), and hold him to ransom. Rex becomes aware of this and joins in the plot to help extort his own father for his own financial gain. Cue a farcical adventure as the gang try to hold things together (while supporting characters from the first film again cross their paths) as they try to negotiate the money needed to save their business.
The plot is not overly contrived; there is some consideration of how to take another step and remain tied to the premise of the first film. However, while the original had its moments of depravity, it was tempered with an empathy for the situation of the main cast. They had a stupid innocence and bumbling cluelessness. The situation here is akin to that of Dumb and Dumber/Dumb and Dumber To, which featured a transition from well meaning briefcase returners to horny idiots intent on getting laid. There is a selfishness and douchiness about the motives driving the plot this time around that just make the increased crude humor unpalatable.
The protagonists are switched from a position where you feel sorry for them; no longer are they the hard done by, bullied, poor bastards. Here they are just stupid fuckups. To compound matters, in the first film, each character essentially has a nemesis, a focus and a arc, but here the villain is essentially a criminally underused Christoph Waltz. The only time the film seems to come to life is when the primary antagonist from the first film, Kevin Spacey, reappears, albeit behind bars. Those scenes illustrate what the film is lacking: a colossal bastard to make you actually root for the good guys. This isn’t a story that needed to be told, it is one that was botched together to capitalize on the success of the first film.
Back to the crudeness of the film: sure I laughed on occasion, but what I had to watch to have those fleeting moments did not feel worth it. Horrible Bosses 2 feels like there is an expectation that just because something is crude, it must be funny. It is plainly not the case. The script is relatively lacking so it falls to the cast to bicker and lay on the smut just to keep the film going at times.
We open with a smutty visual gag, and things pretty much go downhill from there. The extent of the crude humor is pretty staggering at times. I am no prude. A good fart joke or “football in groin” will kill me if delivered correctly. The standout moment is a seriously misjudged scene involving sex addicts which meanders into pedophilic territory. How it was written down — let alone rehearsed and filmed — without someone on the cast or crew taking umbrage baffles me. There are also allusions to rape of a coma patient, not to mention the casual racism and misogyny thrown around the entire film. In most cases these jokes are “acceptable” to a mainstream audience because a male is at the receiving end, but that is itself a cheap switch. Ramping up crude content to compensate for a paper thin script is not just lazy, its offensive.
One of the silver linings is the cast. There is a genuine feeling of camaraderie between them. Jason Bateman has pretty much nailed the deadpan, resigned grownup. Charlie Day is, well, I would probably sit through Horrible Bosses 3 to see what he does. He is hilarious in pretty much anything he does, and of the cast he is the best developed, given his personal life in the film being explored as well as his ongoing situation with Jennifer Aniston’s character. The final member of the trio, Sudeikis, is probably the worst. Here he seems like a walking parrot, repeating lines with a slightly different inflection to try and get a laugh. His character has no arc or purpose but to be stupid and coarse. The goodwill he garnered from me with his Coach Ted Lasso character has evaporated. OK, not really, but he’s done himself no good outside of that body of work at all.
Jamie Foxx and Chris Pine are clearly having a hell of a time in their roles and it shows, as does Kevin Spacey. As mentioned, Christoph Waltz seems underused within the script but delivers lines with his usual panache. And finally to Miss Aniston. Seeing as I have issue with the crudeness of the film and 50% of it stems from her character, well, no. Nit pickings aside, the cast is one of the only redeeming features of the film, along with the genuine feeling of camaraderie amongst them. This, however, cannot compensate for such misguided, crude humor.
Horrible Bosses 2 is a crude affair, with moments of comedy, but largely just slapstick and stupidity with the leads blundering nonsensically through a paper thin plot. The charm and camaraderie of the cast is insufficient to save it. I guarantee you those involved had a better time making the film that you will watching it. What is evident is how bad it would have been had a lesser cast been involved. And that is perhaps the unsettling take home message: it could have been worse.
Cinapse Second Opinion:
HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 Podcast by Jordan Troublefield