Horrible Bosses 2

***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion, that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching! It could have been worse...it could have been a Hangover sequel.

Horrible Bosses 2 ? 4 out of 5

I really enjoyed the first Horrible Bosses film. We?ve all had a terrible boss that we wouldn?t have shed a single tear if a rabid bear with an Uzi suddenly busted into the office and riddled his body with bullets and this film helped us with that fantasy?well, not the very specific one I mentioned but more of the worker killing the boss and fulfilling the very thing Homer Simpson once called the American Dream. When I saw the trailer for its sequel, I laughed quite a bit and was a little bit excited to see the trio of Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day get into some more shenanigans?also, this film allows me to use the word "shenanigans."

And the shenanigans start!

Nick (Bateman), Kurt (Sudeikis), and Dale (Day) are in business for themselves and they create a device called the "Shower Buddy." They soon find themselves doing business with some investors named Bert Hanson (Christoph Waltz) and his son Rex (Chris Pine). After Bert screws them over in order to bankrupt them and buy the company when its in foreclosure, the group meets with their old buddy Motherfucker Jones (Jamie Foxx) and come up with a plan to kidnap Rex and have Bert pay a ransom?and said ransom will be used to get their company back in good graces. The group soon see a hiccup?Rex is willing to play along because he feels his father doesn?t respect or love him.

Movies have taught me that crime leads to fun and hilarity!

Hmmm...I think I'll start calling myself Motherfucker
Ron.

The critics and audiences were mixed on Horrible Bosses 2 but I really enjoyed this one. In fact, I had just as much fun with this one as I did the first one. I?m a sucker for a dark comedy and the more inappropriate they get, the more likely I will find it hilarious (of course, it still has to be a joke?just doing offensive things for the sake of being offensive isn?t actually humor). There were some very definite risqu? jokes going on in this film that easily rode the line of being funny and offensive but I never had a problem with any of them and was cracking up quite a bit.

The longer you stare at Charlie Day, the harder you'll laugh.

I won?t deny the chemistry that Bateman, Sudeikis, and Day all have as a unit or the chemistry they have with the rest of the cast?especially Pine, Aniston, Spacey and Foxx. This chemistry seen throughout the cast is what made so much of the humor work for me and made the near two hour running length not seem like overkill. The film could have easily started to drag but the characters and the story mixed so well with the darker humor that I was entertained the whole time.

Look at all those shenanigans...

The scenes may be short but the laughs they gave me
went well into the night...the neighbors weren't happy.

The cast in the film are all really good?I already mentioned their chemistry but each player was able to hold their own and bring it up a notch with the humor. Kevin Spacey returns and has a small role but his few scenes are memorable as hell. Jennifer Aniston continues to be the sexed up harlot of the previous film but is able to take it even further and really bring the shock factor of hearing some truly cheek-blushing things from one of America?s Sweethearts. It was also really nice to see more Motherfucker Jones because he was, without a doubt, one of my top highlights from the first film. However, one actor that really stole the show for me was Chris Pine.

Never in my life did I ever think I would hear Rachel says what she says in these films.

I had no real expectations for Pine because I?m not the biggest fan of him. I don?t think he?s a bad actor, I just haven?t really seen him in many films where I felt he was perfect for the role. However, for his role as Rex Hanson, I was beyond entertained. Pine not only felt right at home with the group of Bateman, Sudeikis, and Day but he was proving that he wasn?t just there to be someone who tags along but showed he could keep up and even steal several scenes with his delivery. The character of Rex has a bit of complexity to him and he develops quite a bit through the story and Pine was perfectly showcasing the changes without it ever feeling like a brand new character showed up and, more importantly, was hilarious the entire way. To put it simple: Pine nailed this character and all of his attributes, development and humor perfectly!

His performance made me PINE for more of his character!


I am truly, deeply sorry for that pun.

One thing however that felt extremely lacking in the film was the character played by Christoph Waltz. While it?s obvious who he is and the purpose he plays, I felt we never got to see enough of him and that having someone as ridiculously talented as Waltz go underuse was a bit of a crime. Granted, the film is already a bit longer than a lot of shenanigan-based comedies are and showing more of Bert Hanson and seeing some more development about him and his relationship with his son might have slowed the film down or make it too long, it still would have been nice to see some more Waltz added to the story and not regulate him as a metaphoric set piece or plot device.

One shouldn't waste Waltz.

More shenanigans!

Even with the consensus of Horrible Bosses 2 being deeply mixed, I really enjoyed this film and had a blast watching it. I loved how the story didn?t feel like it was trying to completely redo what was already done and I think all the characters are very amusing and played excellently by the cast. Some of the humor might be a tad offensive to some viewers but, to me, I felt it was hysterical and was laughing quite a bit. Sequels are always difficult to do but, in my opinion, I felt this one work exceptionally well.