Recently I watched two sequels on Blu-ray - Dumb and Dumber To and Horrible Bosses 2. The latter was the better of the two films, but that isn't saying much. The aptly named Horrible Bosses 2 IS horrible and boring to boot.
Once again Nick (Jason Bateman; Arrested Development), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis; We're The Millers), and Dale (Charlie Day; Pacific Rim) team up for an off-the-wall plot. They quit their jobs to go into business together only to get screwed over by a billionaire Merchandising mogul (Christoph Waltz; Inglourious Basterds). When they realize they are about to lose everything they scheme up a plot to kidnap the Billionaire's son (Chris Pine; Star Trek) and hold him for ransom. Of course, things don't go as they planned and they find themselves in an implausible situation that they don't know how to get out of.
Batemen, Sudeikis, and Day make a great team and feed off of each other as if they had been working together for 30 years. They have great timing and chemistry that should have made for some terrific scenes. Sadly, the jokes just aren't there, no matter how talented these guys are. Of the three, Bateman is clearly the stand-out. His dry delivery and serious demeanor play well against Day's frenetic zaniness and Sudeikis' zingers.
Returning from the original film in minor roles are Jennifer Aniston (Friends) as the nymphomaniac dentist, Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) as Nick's former psychopathic boss, and Jamie Fox (Ray) as the streetwise criminal who the three amigos go to for advice. Even with several academy award winners lending their talents to this franchise, this film simply cannot be salvaged.
With 1080p high-definition video and DTS-HD 5.1 audio, the Blu-ray delivers pretty much what you would expect in terms of quality. The picture is clear and crisp and the sound runs the full spectrum from the low bass in the chase scene to the high squeal of Dale's (somewhat annoying) voice.
The extras leave something to be desired. The 17-minute "endless laughter guaranteed" feature looks at each character and the actors who portray them. With some really funny moments and outtakes, it leads the way to what looks like a promising segment of extras. Sadly, the rest go downhill from there with a Shower buddy infomercial, a testimonial from sex addicts, and an endless group of one-liners that didn't make it into the film. While I appreciate the thought and effort that went into making the extras, they just aren't funny or interesting and, except for the first one, are unnecessary.
I think most fans of the initial installment of this series will be seriously disappointed with this sequel. I personally found only one scene laugh-out-loud funny - when they crash through a fence during a car chase and end up dragging the fence along with them. Unfortunately, one scene can't carry a whole film and the rest of the 108 minutes just falls short on laughs.
In my opinion, it's just not worth owning or even renting. Like many sequels, it was just disappointing in the end.
Grade: C-
