Review: Horrible Bosses 2

by Trevor Kirkendall

★

Sequels, sequels and more sequels. When will it end? It never will. Especially when movies that were relatively decent don’t necessarily require a second serving. I could watch Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy go back out for another story in a sequel to “The Heat,” but that’s looking less and less likely to happen. Never once did I think that I wanted to see more of Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day’s characters from “Horrible Bosses” again, despite liking that movie. But here we are.

After escaping jail time from their antics in the first film, Nick (Bateman), Kurt (Sudeikis) and Dale (Day) have decided they want to be their own bosses. They’ve come up with a product fit for Skymall called the Shower Buddy, which automatically dispenses shampoo and soap onto your person in a effort to cut shower times down. But they need investors to make it happen.

Enter Burt Hanson (Christoph Waltz) and his son Rex (Chris Pine) who place an initial order for 100,000 units. The guys borrow money from a bank to make the order and finish it ahead of schedule. But then Burt cancels it, steals the idea and announces his intention to make their product himself under a different name. The guys are furious, so they cook up a plan to kidnap Rex and hold him ransom for the amount of money they’re going to owe the bank. The only variable they didn’t count on is that Rex wants to be kidnapped so he can take part in this dastardly plot and pocket some of his dad’s money too.

While the original “Horrible Bosses” was certainly enjoyable, the follow up falls into the typical traps that doom most Hollywood sequels. While some filmmakers have figured out how to avoid these issues – many sequels have been pretty decent over the past few years – others have not. Director Sean Anders is a filmmaker who has not, which is surprising given that he’s responsible for the scripts to “Hot Tub Time Machine” and “We’re the Millers,” two very respectable comedies. I guess working off of someone else’s material is much harder to do.

There are two things wrong with “Horrible Bosses 2” and both are cardinal sins when it comes to making a successful sequel. The first is repeating the previous installment’s plot points. Since the majority of the audience saw the first film and liked it enough to pay to see the sequel, the theory is that they’ll enjoy this one if it retains some similarities of the first. But that just shows lazy writing. If you played “Horrible Bosses” alongside “Horrible Bosses 2,” all the plot points would happen at the same time. This is the same aspect that doomed “The Hangover Part II.” These are the exact same movies we’ve seen before.

The second sin is an over embellishment of the character’s personalities. These writers have made everyone a ridiculous caricature of themselves. For example, Sudeikis’ Kurt showed the least amount of smarts in the original. He wasn’t an idiot, but would have been ranked third in the group of three on an intelligence-ranking list. In the sequel, he’s a straight up moron. The things he says in this film will induce many facepalms among the audience. I’m embarrassed for Sudeikis. Then there’s Day’s Dale, who couldn’t stop talking in the first film. Here, he never shuts up and rambles on about the most asinine things. He was so annoying I wanted to slap him.

You can tell these actors were here for a paycheck. All of them looked so uncomfortable doing this film, especially Bateman. I thought he was smarter than participating in a film for such an obvious cash grab. His successful directorial debut earlier this year – “Bad Words” – shows that he has the brains and the talent to accept better roles and work on better stories that this garbage. I guess everyone needs to pay the bills somehow, even Hollywood millionaires.

Furthermore, the presence of two-time Oscar winner Waltz gave this movie a bit of intrigue from the advertisements, but he’s completely misused in every aspect. He’s given one scene where the dialogue sounds like complete swindles of his lines from Tarantino films; it’s very out of place. Then he only appears in about three more scenes. That’s a horrible waste of talent.

While the first “Horrible Bosses” was enjoyable and relatively entertaining, it hardly deserved a sequel. I guess it’s a cheap enough concept so the risk of losing money is rather slim. Truthfully, though, the only person losing money here will be you when you shell out the funds to watch this abomination. I understand that it’s supposed to be mindless and humorous fun. It is indeed mindless, but humorous? Hardly. It’s that awkward laugh you make when a friend tells you a joke that’s not funny, but he’s had such a bad day already that you can’t help but give him a little morale boost by laughing back. This is a quick throwaway film. Seriously, I saw it two days ago and I’m already wracking my brain trying to remember exactly what happened in it. And by the time you read this, I will have already forgot I saw it entirely.

Review: We're The Millers

by. Joe Moss

★★★

Rawson Marshall Thurber, best known for "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," has struck gold again with 2013's "We're the Millers." At times the movie seems a throwback to the National Lampoon's adventures of the 1980's. There's plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor to keep the majority of the audience laughing tirelessly throughout the entire movie. Sure, there are a few down points that make you roll yours eyes, but the movie picks up quickly and you hardly even realize the 110 minutes have flown by...then the blooper reels start to flash. DEFINITELY stay through the bloopers as it ends with the BEST scene that should have remained in the film [in my humble opinion]. 

David Clark (SNL Alum Jason Sudeikis) is a happy-go-lucky, small-time drug dealer with no cares or major responsibilities. He inadvertently helps his awkward, teenage neighbor, Ken Rossmore (Will Poulter) stop a homeless girl, Kasey Mathis (Emma Roberts), from getting mugged. In the process--HE gets mugged, looses his sales money and has to pay the ultimate price for his spontaneous "good guy" moment--become a drug smuggler for his boss, Brad Gurdlinger (Ed Helms) or be killed.

In order to pull this drug smuggling venture off (drug smuggling IS different from drug dealing), David realizes that he needs the perfect cover--and is struck by the revelation that he needs to have a family traveling in an RV. He enlists the help of Ken and Kasey easily; however, a guy with 2 kids looks rather weird and "perverted." David needs a wife--so he asks another of his neighbors, the stripper, Rose (Jennifer Aniston). Initially, she rebuffs his offer, but once her boss decides to "up the ante" of what is offered at work, she has an immediate change of heart for David's offer. Thus the shenanigans begin...with a multitude of SNL type interplay and plenty of sexual innuendo to keep everyone laughing til tears begin to fall.

The screenplay by Bob Fisher and Steve Faber, the creative team behind the 2005 mega-hit, Wedding Crashers, have another gem on their hands. They have definitely written the screenplay with their actors' personalities and strengths in mind.

Even so, Aniston is far and away the STAR of this film--providing not only the glue that keeps the plot together, but is by far the most believable presence on screen.  Her lines are delivered effortlessly allowing everyone else to quickly fall into sync and showcase their own personalities without having to attempt to overact. I think that she has shown the best evolution as an actress over the past decade. If this film is any indication of things to come, watch out Meryl Streep.

This film also introduces everyone to the comedic genius of English-born actor Will Poulter (Voyage of Dawn Treader). While Aniston clearly runs away with the commanding presence of the film, Will has some of the best comedic moments and is clearly not afraid to sacrifice his body for the easy laugh. Emma Roberts (Nancy Drew) provides a solid counterpoint of cynicism to his awkward, but hilarious moments on screen.

Having gone into this movie fully expecting all of the funny moments to have been included in the trailer, I have to say that my wife and I laughed continuously the entire film. It was easily one of the funniest films I have seen this year. If you are a big fan of Saturday Night Live (c) or Chelsea Lately (c), you should easily love this film.