Horrible Bosses 2 (Blu-ray Review)

We have all had our share of “horrible bosses” haven’t we?  Maybe we don’t care to admit it, but I believe I’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t have at least own horrible boss story.  Let’s look at example from a chapter in my own life.  In my current position and prior place of employment I am/had been looked upon in very high regards.  However, two jobs ago, I felt like I could never do anything right to please the man.   Nothing was ever good enough and in return I was constantly bullied, picked upon and insulted almost every day despite everyone else in the company seemingly loving my work and support I provided.  It just goes to show you there are such things as “horrible bosses” in life and having said that this personal prologue serves as a nice segue into the Warner Bros. Blu-ray Combo Pack we’re all gathered here today to discuss, introducing Horrible Bosses 2.

Film 

I first wrote about the original 2011 film, Horrible Bosses, here.  I made it no secret and nor will I here that I loved that film.  Laughter, love and money are the three best forms of medicine in my life and if I couldn’t have the latter two back in 2011, then I was more than happy to settle for the former.  Fast forward three years later and low and behold we astonishingly have a sequel to a film that probably didn’t need one, but you know you can’t keep a good cash cow down, can you?  Regardless, I’m just exuberant about being back together with my three leading men again, Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis.  Plus, in 22 Jump Street fashion, it reunites us with fan favorite characters from the first film, enter into the conversation: Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey.  However, Colin Farrell’s hilarious character in the first film does not return for well…obvious reasons, but we get some really great additions in his place.

While his performance here is no Django Unchained, I always get off whenever Christoph Waltz is involved in any project.  Add in a hilarious outing with Star Trek‘s Chris Pine and you have all the right ingredients/chemistry at play to innocently forget about the bald cap that Colin Farrell donned in the original.  However, just because they brought in the two aforementioned big guns does not always equate to an entirely solid golden bar.  Let’s take a closer look at why down below as we talk plot and what works/doesn’t here.

Make no doubt about it.  Horrible Bosses 2 is a direct sequel to the original film.  And I’ll apologize for I’m sure I’m going to drop another 22 Jump Street comparison somewhere in this review, but that sequel is still fresh on my mind from my multiple reviews last year and in my opinion, both of the those films were great comedies in 2014.  I was hoping I could mention Dumb and Dumber To in that same sentence this year, but I digress.  Our film here takes place some time after the events of the first film where we pick up with Nick (Bateman), Dale (Day) and Kurt (Sudeikis) launching their own business with an invention called The Shower Buddy.  There are a lot of jokes played off that name, but for now let’s stick to the gist of the story.  With the guys risking everything and doing this joint venture I assume it’s clearly apparent to y’all how they have grown and matured (Dale even has triplets now) since the first outing, right?  They are now their own bosses and they can’t wait to prove not only how awesome life is without having someone to answer to, but also how great of managers they can be to their respective employees.

However, after getting into business with Burt Hanson (Waltz) and his son Rex (Pine), their superior feelings are thrown out the window.  They ironically become horrible bosses themselves as they are forced to close their doors and figure out how to recoup all the money they were scammed out of it.  Even worse for Day’s character, the financial welfare of his family is on the line here.  None of these lads have the Benjamins to cover everything Hanson swindled from them, some five hundred thousand.  What are they ever going to do?  Well, why not kidnap Burt’s son and hold him for ransom and take their business back that way?  That sounds like a rock solid plan, right?  Nothing can possibly go wrong here.  WRONG!  The craziness unfolds!  Hold on!  This is where the laughter will definitely ensue.

So you kind of already know going into this one that you can expect plenty of laughs with Foxx reprising his character of Muther-F#$%a Jones and the hot sexual cravings of Aniston’s vixen character.  Hell, you can pretty much arm yourself in the knowledge and preparation that you’ll laugh out loud a lot throughout this one (the guys definitely have great chemistry together).  That’s what I love about comedies like this that have very likable characters, the second time is just as much a blast as the first viewing hearing all the one-liners you missed the first time around.  While it’s not as self-aware and goofy as 22 Jump Street is (there is a very similar mentor-like scene though), Horrible Bosses 2 certainly takes advantage of everything that worked in the first film, minus Farrell’s character of course.  However, parents beware, the film ramps up the laughs mostly with rude, crude and sexually infused humor and language.  In other words, if you have a potty mouth, you’re going to have a jolly good time with this one.  However, if you’re one that offends easy, hates degrading jokes towards women, rape, race and even sexual fantasies about two 14-year-old boys, then maybe Horrible Bosses 2 is not your cup of tea.

Fans of the first film know what to expect here, basically more of the same.  And that’s just it.  Horrible Bosses 2 feels like just a logical continuation of the first film, rather than something bold, fresh and new, but that’s just it too.  Why change the formula?  Look what happened to The Hangover Part 3 when they listened to the fans.  It wasn’t that good, was it?  I had a blast with Horrible Bosses 2 and left with a smile on my face.  That’s all that matters to me and hopefully you too.  So let’s take a closer look now at those beloved Blu-ray vitals and everything you’ll find here in the way of extras.

Video 

This is gonna be a short one to grade in the video department because unless my eyes are going bad this Warner Bros. comedy’s presentation looked absolutely flawless.  Come!  Come!  I’ll how you around.

• Encoding: AVC MPEG-4
• Resolution: 1080p
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Size: BD-50
• Clarity/Detail: There was immaculately sharp detail abound throughout this presentation right from the beginning as we see that to die for gorgeous nighttime LA skyline illuminated by all those endless lights.  Ah…what I wouldn’t give to be able to live there.  Streaks of sweat on the characters like Dale’s profusely sweaty scenes in the beginning to rich detail right down to the fabrics in the clothing were are brilliantly rendered and authentically represented on display here.
• Depth: Because of the razor sharp detail I mentioned up above, the onscreen characters all have that three-dimensional pop to them so they stand out nicely in comparison to the chiseled backgrounds, however, there are certain scenes that make you go wow more so than others.  Those scenes in particular are undoubtedly the skyscrapers in downtown LA right down to the white and wooden interiors such as where Rex works or even the small factory where the Shower Buddies were assembled.  Somehow the filmmakers made that tight space look so big that I could extend my arms and never touch the rear of it.  Well, I guess the same exercise would be valid in real life too.  LOL.
• Black Levels: The black levels were all dark, deep and inky throughout.
• Color Reproduction: Ah the colors!  They just pop vividly here from the bright golf course greens to the nicely lit interiors, things just pop crisply here!
• Flesh Tones: The skin tones all looked natural and authentic throughout.
• Noise/Artifacts: I didn’t notice anything wrong with the presentation’s print in regards to any blemishes, white specks, noise, etc.

Audio 

While there’s nothing wrong to speak of here, this one just is what it is, a comedy surround track.  Let’s talk some more about this.

• Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French (Quebec) Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
• Dynamics: I really like the dynamics here.  Events and atmospheres are rendered with the utmost of authenticity here from dragging a fence under a car against the pavement during a high speed chase to everyday ambience in familiar environments such as bars, office buildings, etc.
• Low Frequency Extension: Many thanks to the LFE channel for its thumping soundtrack in this comedy.  It really bumps it up a notch here since this is not the most action packed of films.  The soundtrack can get quite aggressive and loud at times and thankfully the LFE channel effectively handles it all.
• Surround Sound Presentation: Again, like the dynamics category up above, your home theater experience is accented by ambient noise in the rears in such instances as bar conversations going on near main characters and let’s not forget that car chase where a fence gets dragged across the pavement for miles while the action amps up and immerses you.
• Dialogue Reproduction: The dialogue levels are all loud, clear and intelligible throughout.

Extras 

The Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital HD versions of Horrible Bosses 2 include an extended cut of the film featuring footage not seen in theaters.  What that means is if you choose to accept this mission and select to watch the Extended Cut, you gets 8 extra minutes of the film for your viewing pleasure.  All in all, only one extra scene really jumped out during my Blu-ray viewing where I remembered saying to myself hey I don’t recall seeing this in the theater.  Since this is a Blu-ray Combo Pack you are also getting the film in Standard Definition on a separate DVD disc and a redeemable code for the Digital HD UltraViolet version, but the catch is only the Blu-ray version has the Extended Cut so remember that.  Other than that we have HD movie trailers for Get Hard and San Andreas and a healthy serving of extras that I think you’ll really enjoy, but sadly no audio commentary with the hilarious trio.  That would have been the bomb, yo!  So let’s take a closer at what you’ll all find here.

• Let The Sexual Healing Begin (HD, 2:24) – Follow the road to recovery with the sex addict group here in this mockumentary/spoof infomercial, complete with film footage mixed in.
• Who Invented The Shower Buddy (HD, 1:29) – This one debates who really created it. This infomercial screens with the film’s characters as well as footage from it with the Good Morning Los Angeles show as its backdrop.
• Nick Kurt Dale INC: Employee Testimonials (HD, 2:13) – Ray, Lupe and Candy tell it like it is how it’s working for Nick, Dale and Kurt.
• It’s The Shower Buddy – Infomercial (HD, 1:10) – The Shower Buddy gets the Billy Mays infomercial makeover.  It feels just like you are watching late night TV with this one.  It gets an A+ for replicated authenticity.
• High Speed Crash Course (HD, 2:47) – We get a closer look at the cop chase scene and what it was like being suspended off a bridge.  I was surprised to learn that this chase scene was Bateman’s idea and Foxx was really driving the Randero during this high speed chase.
• Off The Cuff: One Liners You Didn’t See (HD) –  There are a total of 13 of these one-liner segments, but sadly no Play All option.  Here they are listed in order: Pumping Your Buddy (1:31), Julia’s Cog Collection (1:23), Don’t Drop The Soap (1:09), Spit It Out (1:28), Sex Addiction Group (1:11), Kiss and Tell (1:31), Half-Assed Brushing (1:15), Racist Dale Arbus (1:44), Stuck in the Middle (1:08), Coma Boners (1:45), A Tender Bottom (1:31), Who Gets What? (1:31) and Dale’s Not Dead (1:04).
• Endless Laughter Guaranteed! (HD, 17:28) – Here the cast and crew talk about the chemistry of the 3 main actors and the resulting outtake material they have, most notably because of Charlie Day, as all they do is try to make each other laugh.

Summary 

Rule the world like a tyrant boss when Horrible Bosses 2 arrives onto Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD on February 24th from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.  The sequel to the 2011 hit comedy Horrible Bosses reunites Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis as everyone’s favorite working stiffs: Nick, Dale and Kurt.  While critics may be mixed on it, I still managed to have a blast with it even after my second viewing now on Blu-ray.  So I’m pumped and super excited to add this Blu-ray release to my collection.  Hopefully you are too!

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Laugh on Blu-ray With Horrible Bosses 2

February 24th from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

PRE-ORDER NOW!

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