Director: Sean Anders
Main Cast: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 108 minutes
Release Date: 11 December 2014

The verdict:

‘Horrible’ is a harsh, but not completely inappropriate, way to describe this latest ensemble comedy offering.

A farce in the truest sense of the word, Horrible Bosses 2 provides a somewhat redundant follow-up to 2011’s widely panned Horrible Bosses.

The film follows the first movie’s three loveable protagonists – Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) – as they attempt to navigate the process of setting up their own business after escaping horrible prior jobs.

Emphasis on ‘attempt’.

The film is filled with those cringeworthy “don’t do it…” moments that make you giggle uncomfortably, if not laugh out loud.

Nick, Kurt and Dale (saying their names really quickly is one of the film’s key jokes) are painfully hopeless and, at times, it all gets a bit unbelievable.

The wildly underrated Day holds the trio together in an impressive display of unbridled physical comedy and his dorky charm salvages some of the more questionable gags.

To give credit where credit is due, Bateman, Sudeikis and Day all do a great Southern accent – a regular fixture throughout the entire movie.

Despite a lack of chemistry between the leads, the film is worthwhile viewing thanks to a cast of colourful supporting characters with serious screen credentials – the “horrible bosses”, to be precise.

Jennifer Aniston is shameless as a sex-addicted dentist, while Jamie Foxx is unabashedly ridiculous as “murder consultant” Motherf***er Jones, casually eating red liquorice and calling his girlfriend mid-car chase.

Heartthrob Chris Pine proves he has far more than one dimension as a bratty man-child with manic tendencies.

In contrast, the usually brilliant Christoph Waltz delivers a one-note performance as Pine’s cunning heartthrob father.

One can only wonder how he went from an Oscar-winning performance in Django Unchained to playing what is essentially a German caricature.

The movie’s one true redeeming feature, and possibly the main reason all of these stars are there in the first place, is Kevin Spacey.

He’s grossly under-utilised as Dave Harken, an imprisoned psychopath who made Nick’s life a living hell in the last film.

Spacey’s deadpan insults make all the lame sexual innuendo worth it. Frank Underwood would be proud.