Anyone who regularly reads my reviews knows that I often bemoan the state of modern film comedy, which so often now wallows in vulgarity and raunchiness instead of actually trying to be legitimately, intelligently funny.  Read my review of We’re the Millers to get the idea (☆ 1/2).  However, when I saw Horrible Bosses in 2011, soon before I began this website, I actually thought it was kind of funny; or, perhaps, the humor of three schlubs who hate their jobs so much they consider murder to end their misery agreed with me.  That movie is not bad, especially when super hot Jennifer Aniston is talking dirty.

Well, she’s back, with the same three schlubs (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day), along with a few other people from the first film (Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lindsay Sloane) and some new ones as well (Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz, Jonathan Banks).  This film isn’t as amusing as the first one, but it still works due to its universal theme — who hasn’t had a boss they’d like to dump in a river?  The trio of leads generates good chemistry together, although you’d probably find smarter dudes hanging out on any street corner.  Sadly, too, Aniston has little screen time and little to do, but boy, she looks great.

Sean Anders’ film is just as raunchy, if not even raunchier, than the first one, and I could do without much of the nonsense dialogue that these guys spew, especially Sudeikis, whose character is just brainless, but that’s part of the comedy.  Some of it is funny.  It also works because, as dumb as these guys are, they are dumb in nice ways, trusting all the wrong people and repeating the same mistakes over and over. My favorite is Charlie Day, whose voice is ridiculously high, and whose boss problem is the envy of all.  This isn’t great comedy by any means, but I do find it amusing, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more silliness from these guys, especially if Jennifer Aniston comes along for the ride again.  ☆ ☆.  9 December 2014.