Horrible Bosses 2

Horrible Bosses ended up being one of the most surprising comedies of 2011 and featured a wonderful blend of dark and sadistic humor, not to mention a hilarious star-studded cast. We’ve all had to deal with one (or two) horrible bosses and have most likely dreamed of telling them off or performing some unspeakable act of revenge against them. In a way, Horrible Bosses was a guilty pleasure. Horrible Bosses 2 changes the M.O. from murder to kidnapping but continues to rely on old methods. Nick, Kurt, and Dale may be more experienced, but they’re still none the wiser.

After getting away clean from the events of the first film, friends Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis), and Dale (Charlie Day) decide to become their own bosses and start a business together selling their own invention called the Shower Buddy, an all-in-one showering device that dispenses soap, shampoo, and conditioner from the shower head. After demoing their product on TV, a ruthless businessman by the name of Burt Hanson (Christoph Waltz) decides he wants to order 100,000 of them to sell in his catalogue.Unfortunately he backs out at the last second, leaving the boys with 100,000 units and even more in dollars of debt. With their business about to be closed down before it was barely even open, they take drastic measures into their own hands and decide to kidnap Burt’s son Rex (Chris Pine) and ransom him off for the money they need. As it turns out, they are just about as good as kidnapping as they are at murder.

Horrible Bosses 2 features the same crazy antics of the first film, minus the intensity of multiple bosses. Granted David Harken (Kevin Spacey) and Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston) make brief appearances, but they’re not the focus of the film. The new additions of Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine are good, but the film just goes through the same motions as it did the first time around instead of fully utilizing its talented cast. It’s almost like The Hangover Part II, although  it’s still enjoyable to watch Nick, Kurt, and Dale blindly try their hands at crime again. Charlie Day is especially hilarious, being the wild card that he always is.

Even though the novelty of the franchise is starting to wear thin with Horrible Bosses 2, it still manages to get some great laughs out of the audience. It’s also nice to see Christoph Waltz in something humorous, even if he is still the villain. They’re going to have to change things up for the third film however, if they don’t want it to become another Hangover. Just like Nick, Kurt, and Dale in their criminal doings, there are only so many times you can get lucky.