Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Horrible Bosses 2: Cheerfully dirty

Adventures in autonomy

Horrible Bosses 2: “Have you boys ever heard of dressing left?”
Horrible Bosses 2: “Have you boys ever heard of dressing left?”
Movie

Horrible Bosses 2 **

thumbnail

Remarkable: a sequel that actually scales down from its predecessor. The high concept — workers of the world, kill your boss! — dispensed with, our working class heroes Nick, Kurt, and Dale (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day, clearly enjoying themselves and each other) can relax and get down to the business. And this time, instead of three horrible bosses, they need deal with only two. Well, one and a half: a corporate shark (Christoph Waltz) and his never-good-enough son (Chris Pine). Pine provides a lot of the fun this time around, sending up his James T. Kirk smarm-and-smarts persona to great effect. The writers keep what worked in the original (Jamie Foxx's [Expletive Deleted] Jones, Jennifer Aniston's horny dentist), and tamp down on what got tiresome (Sudeikis' skirt-chasing, Kevin Spacey's bullying). The result is a modest comedy, content to entertain and leave it at that. It's silly, it's cheerfully dirty, and it's fun.

Find showtimes

Often, the minds behind superhero movie franchises decide to start things off with an origin story. And often, that origin story, however mythologically compelling, is not as dramatic or interesting as what follows. Think: Batman Begins vs. The Dark Knight, or Spider-Man vs. Spider-Man 2. There’s a thrill in seeing the costume go on for the first time, but there’s also a sense of obligation: here’s what you need to know before we can start having fun.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Oddly, that’s kind of how I feel about the comedies Horrible Bosses and Horrible Bosses 2. The first film handled the setup: Nick, Kurt, and Dale (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day) are miserable employees stuck working for horrible bosses. Eventually, they snap, and their desperate attempts to get out from under go predictably (but not always funnily) awry. There were some good bits, and the three stars played off each other nicely. But by the end, that obligatory feeling had crept in with a vengeance. All bosses accounted for? Right! Roll credits!

Often (too often), the minds behind superhero sequels solve the same-again-but-different problem by going bigger. Add a villain or two (see: Spider-Man 3), raise the stakes, etc. Just so long as it’s more. Horrible Bosses 2 actually goes in for less than its predecessor: this time, there’s only one boss (Christoph Waltz), who must be defeated after he sets up our heroes — now attempting to be their own bosses — to fail in grand fashion. The film keeps what worked in the original (Jamie Foxx’s [Expletive Deleted] Jones, Jennifer Aniston’s horny dentist), and tamps down on what got tiresome (Sudeikis’s skirt-chasing, Kevin Spacey’s bullying). You have what you need to know in the first five minutes; now, you can start having fun.

Part of that fun is Chris Pine, who plays the boss’s handsome, sleazy, never-good-enough son. Pine is in full anti-Kirk mode here: the same smarm and so-crazy-it-might-work strategizing that saves the Enterprise in Star Trek gets employed in the service of egomanaical power-tripping. (Okay, so maybe it’s not exactly anti-Kirk.)

I don’t mean to be too effusive: this is a modest comedy, content to entertain and leave it at that. But maybe that’s enough. It’s silly, it’s cheerfully dirty, and it’s fun.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

94th Aero Squadron – French farmhouse still works

Try the antinoise –tomatoes with olive oil dressing plus capers, garlic, toasted coriander seeds, basil, spring onions, salted anchovies
Horrible Bosses 2: “Have you boys ever heard of dressing left?”
Horrible Bosses 2: “Have you boys ever heard of dressing left?”
Movie

Horrible Bosses 2 **

thumbnail

Remarkable: a sequel that actually scales down from its predecessor. The high concept — workers of the world, kill your boss! — dispensed with, our working class heroes Nick, Kurt, and Dale (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day, clearly enjoying themselves and each other) can relax and get down to the business. And this time, instead of three horrible bosses, they need deal with only two. Well, one and a half: a corporate shark (Christoph Waltz) and his never-good-enough son (Chris Pine). Pine provides a lot of the fun this time around, sending up his James T. Kirk smarm-and-smarts persona to great effect. The writers keep what worked in the original (Jamie Foxx's [Expletive Deleted] Jones, Jennifer Aniston's horny dentist), and tamp down on what got tiresome (Sudeikis' skirt-chasing, Kevin Spacey's bullying). The result is a modest comedy, content to entertain and leave it at that. It's silly, it's cheerfully dirty, and it's fun.

Find showtimes

Often, the minds behind superhero movie franchises decide to start things off with an origin story. And often, that origin story, however mythologically compelling, is not as dramatic or interesting as what follows. Think: Batman Begins vs. The Dark Knight, or Spider-Man vs. Spider-Man 2. There’s a thrill in seeing the costume go on for the first time, but there’s also a sense of obligation: here’s what you need to know before we can start having fun.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Oddly, that’s kind of how I feel about the comedies Horrible Bosses and Horrible Bosses 2. The first film handled the setup: Nick, Kurt, and Dale (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day) are miserable employees stuck working for horrible bosses. Eventually, they snap, and their desperate attempts to get out from under go predictably (but not always funnily) awry. There were some good bits, and the three stars played off each other nicely. But by the end, that obligatory feeling had crept in with a vengeance. All bosses accounted for? Right! Roll credits!

Often (too often), the minds behind superhero sequels solve the same-again-but-different problem by going bigger. Add a villain or two (see: Spider-Man 3), raise the stakes, etc. Just so long as it’s more. Horrible Bosses 2 actually goes in for less than its predecessor: this time, there’s only one boss (Christoph Waltz), who must be defeated after he sets up our heroes — now attempting to be their own bosses — to fail in grand fashion. The film keeps what worked in the original (Jamie Foxx’s [Expletive Deleted] Jones, Jennifer Aniston’s horny dentist), and tamps down on what got tiresome (Sudeikis’s skirt-chasing, Kevin Spacey’s bullying). You have what you need to know in the first five minutes; now, you can start having fun.

Part of that fun is Chris Pine, who plays the boss’s handsome, sleazy, never-good-enough son. Pine is in full anti-Kirk mode here: the same smarm and so-crazy-it-might-work strategizing that saves the Enterprise in Star Trek gets employed in the service of egomanaical power-tripping. (Okay, so maybe it’s not exactly anti-Kirk.)

I don’t mean to be too effusive: this is a modest comedy, content to entertain and leave it at that. But maybe that’s enough. It’s silly, it’s cheerfully dirty, and it’s fun.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tuétano and Mujer Divina: two storefronts, one famous birria

Burritos and coffee or tacos and tortas, marrow or not
Next Article

San Diego Fix it Clinic, Gaslamp Holiday Pet Parade

Events December 14-December 18, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader