Rent Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

Horrible Bosses 2 review by Michelle Sommerville - Cinema Paradiso

I wanted to hate this film, I really did. But for the most part, it won me over. It was funnier than the first film, but I do hope that they stop the franchise here. Of course it had its downfalls, but it wasn’t as unbearable as other so-called comedies (hint hint The Hangover!). I give it three out of five stars because it was funny and the actors played their parts well.

Horrible Bosses 2 continues the story of Nick, Kurt, and Dale. They are not railing against bosses this time, and are actually now in-charge themselves. But, as it does, things do not go smoothly for any of them. A ‘horrible’ investor attracts their ire, and the trio hatch a plan to get even. They will kidnap the adult son of the investor, and demand ransom money. With these three heads together, surely they know what they are doing? Guess again.

The best way to go into this film is knowing that it is a comedy that is far from realistic, and will not send you home with anything important to ponder. I liked it a lot more than the first one, even though this one technically isn’t about horrible bosses.

When films have their whole cast composed of ‘name celebrities’, it always feels like nothing more than a marketing ploy. They know that under other circumstances the script would not get funding, so they grab whoever will put people in the seats. For the most part, the main cast were the same as the first film, and they performed OK. They were funny and had perfect comedic timing, but other than that it was mediocre.

Directing in films like these (generic comedy films) is not usually anything special. Horrible Bosses 2 does not change this, and just does what it needs to do in order to tell the story.

As I said, the writing and dialogue were pretty funny, and there were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments.

Unfortunately, some of the jokes were much more offensive than funny, and I think the writers should be more careful about what they write - and the actors about what they say. There are some areas, namely rape, that will never be funny, and should be treated with the utmost compassion.

Horrible Bosses 2 has received predominately negative reviews by online and in-print critics, with audience goers rating it only slightly more positively. It has performed quite well at the box office; but not as good as the first one.

Overall, this film is enjoyable, and lets you sit back and relax for approximately an hour and a half. Of course the film has its moments (some quite long) of absurdity, but no one watches a comedy film for realism. I really hope they don’t make it into a three-part series (again, like The Hangover), but then again this one was an improvement on the first film. I recommend it, but suggest you don’t go into it thinking it will be amazing.