‘Bosses’ not so horrible

Better than you’d expect, but still not particularly good.

The 2011 comedy “Horrible Bosses” was a huge financial success. It had a terrific cast, fronted by Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day, as Nick, Kurt, and Dale, respectively, three friends with terrible jobs who make a pact to, well, murder one another’s horrible bosses. It was actually quite a clever idea, but despite its box office windfall it was a movie that ran out of gas somewhere in the middle, and was barely held together the rest of the way by the comedic chops of its leads and supporting cast.

No, a sequel wasn’t required, but strong ticket sales will do that to a movie. So all three guys are back, and surprisingly, the story the second time around is actually tighter and stronger than the original. The downside, though, is that even though all three funnymen are on their game, as well as the returning and new supporting cast, the movie relies far more on raunchy humor than its streamlined plot, which, for the record, isn’t particularly deep or important, but is a degree or two more complete than last time.

Nick, Kurt, and Dale are still buddies, and this time they’re trying to be their own bosses. They think they’ve found a buyer for their invention in billionaire Bert Hanson (Christoph Waltz), but when the deal gets sticky, they sort-of-accidentally kidnap his son, Rex (Chris Pine), in the hopes of saving their company. There’s a little more to it than that, but if you’re wondering who the Mephistopheles is pulling the strings, the answer is that reference is far too long a word and far too sophisticated to be used in terms of “Horrible Bosses 2.”

Bateman once again plays the straight man to Sudeikis and Day, and while the two riff nicely off one another, their relentless idiocy eventually becomes grating. Pine is charming and funny, one of the main reasons for the success of those “Star Trek” reboots, and he revels in the chance to get down and dirty, whereas Waltz still has yet to truly succeed outside of his work with Quentin Tarantino. Still, Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx are both very funny in reprising their roles, and Jennifer Aniston kills it, believe it or not, as Julia, the sex-addicted dentist who has long had her eye on Charlie Day’s Dale (for the record, that is not a euphemism).

The single story, rather than the three threads that eventually frayed, keeps things simple and straightforward, but the gags that Sean Anders, who replaces Seth Gordon in the director’s chair, leans on eventually become so gross and inappropriate that the wafer-thin story gets overpowered. With that in mind, “Horrible Bosses 2” is still funnier than “Dumb and Dumber To,” proudly wearing its R rating on its sleeve. Which makes you wonder, is it better to be horrible than dumb?