The world "horrible" seems to be coming up a lot.
According to USA Today's Claudia Puig, the "ill-conceived" and "certainly horrible" Horrible Bosses 2 "out-stupids" Dumb and Dumber To (which actually got generally positive reviews as the piece of Jim Carrey-and-Jeff Daniels-centric fluff that it is) and Jennifer Aniston's randy and inappropriate dentist is just "an all-out predator" now.
"But worse than being unfunny and money-grubbing, this sequel is misogynistic and occasionally racist," she concludes.
Just the opinion of one lone soul, perhaps? The original Horrible Bosses was applauded for its biting raunch and damn-the-man vibe and ended up raking in more than $117 million at the box office. How could the sequel be so different in tone and humor level?
Let's just say, more than just USA Today think the movie flew off the edgy rails and landed in Offensive Town.
"Inane and incredibly tasteless," Variety's Justin Chang deems the film, writing that stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis this time are "jabbing away repeatedly at some elusive comic sweet spot where blatant nastiness and egregious stupidity collide." Overall, it achieves "forgettable mediocrity rather than the memorable, even indelible awfulness to which it cheerfully and sometimes successfully aspires."
As fun as that sounds...
Stephen Holden of The New York Times lays it right out there in sentence No. 1: "Horrible Bosses 2, one of the sloppiest and most unnecessary Hollywood sequels ever made, isn't dirtier or more offensive than its 2011 forerunner. But it is infinitely dumber and not half as funny." (He did have some kind words for Aniston, that she "brings a twinkling levity to a role that in less capable hands would be a hateful gorgon.""
That will probably be the last word on the film's merit to some, but the news wasn't all bad...
A.V. Club's Jesse Hassenger observes that the film's stars, including new-to-the-franchise Chris Pine, seemingly "had a really good time making a sort of okay movie." (Aniston & Co. have talked about what a great time they all had working together again.)
The Los Angeles Times' Betsy Sharkey admits that "there's more to laugh at in 2 than the first," but it's still "not what qualifies as a good movie or even a particularly good R-rated comedy."
And the San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle actually calls it "a very funny movie" and "a big improvement" over the original.
So, not all of the critics were hating their jobs while watching Horrible Bosses 2. The film is in theaters Wednesday.