Horrible Bosses 2

The main acting trio return for this sequel to 2011’s employment comedy ‘Horrible Bosses’, which is fair enough, as they got the casting right first time. Jason Bateman nails the comedic anxiety of a guy who’s always expecting the worst and is rarely disappointed; Charlie Day offers sincere to the point of panic-stricken; while Jason Sudeikis has his snarky would-be Lothario role down pat.

But if these three hoped for a sharper script this time out, they must be disappointed as they’re left to plod their way through another convoluted tale of criminal bumbling. This time, they target Christoph Waltz as the scheming home-catalogue magnate who’s swindled them on a deal to stock their get-rich-quick gizmo – the Shower Buddy. Yep, the same gay-panic humour is present and incorrect, while Jamie Foxx returns to have fun with badass racial stereotyping, Jennifer Aniston’s sex-addict dentist is shamelessly potty-mouthed, and even Kevin Spacey’s executive tyrant gets a brief look-in.

But the movie struggles in turning viable sketch characters into a sustained caper story, and a likeable cast only gets us so far before exasperation turns to dread. A moderately entertaining original, a barely passable sequel… That should be the end of it.