After learning they're no good at crime, Nick, Kurt and Dale (Bateman, Sudeikis and Day) start their own business with a huge order for their Shower Buddy from mail-order exec Bert (Waltz). With their necks on the line, Bert leaves them in the lurch, so they turn to their underworld friend Jones (Foxx) and decide to kidnap Bert's son Rex (Pine) to recoup their losses. But Rex takes over the "kidnaping", demanding a lot more cash. Along the way they re-encounter Harken (Spacey) behind bars, and the sex-mad Julia (Aniston) is still after Dale.

Absolutely nothing is remotely believable. Nick may be the straight man, but even he doesn't know that you don't launch a manufacturing business without a purchase order at the very least. As for Kurt and Dale, they are so relentlessly stupid that it's impossible to imagine them doing anything efficiently. They so continually bungle even the simplest situations that the joke wears out within the first 15 minutes. But this continues to be the screenwriters' main source of comedy.

Side characters are more entertaining, although even they wear out their one joke each. It was funny to see Aniston talking dirty once, but by the 10th time it becomes embarrassing. Spacey essentially uses the same punchline in both of his scenes. Foxx gets more involved this time, but wisely stays relatively under the radar. As for newcomers, Pine shows a rare gift for comic timing in a role that feels badly underdeveloped, even for a movie like this one. And Waltz has little to do as the standard soulless villain.

Like the original, this is Saturday night escapism, allowing the audience to imagine planning a too-elaborate caper. It's obvious from the start that everything that can go wrong will, mainly because no one on-screen seems to be capable of an even vaguely intelligent thought. So when they actually have the nerve to refer to 9 to 5, it seems almost like blasphemy.

themes, language, sexuality

18.Nov.14