2.5 stars. Rated R, for relentless profanity and crude sexual content
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 11.28.14
Director Sean Anders apparently
was content to let this film’s three stars — Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and
Charlie Day — babble through much of their obviously improvised, rapid-fire
dialogue.
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| Oddly enough, Rex (Chris Pine, right) doesn't seem all that bothered after learning that our inept heroes — from left, Dale (Charlie Day), Nick (Jason Bateman) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) — planned to kidnap him. Seems that Rex has his own issues with his wealthy, overbearing father... |
Sometimes the results are
amusing.
Usually ... not.
Dumb-bunny comedies often aren’t
nearly as funny as those involved seem to think, and that’s definitely the case
here. Nor are the “even funnier” out-takes, which unspool over the closing
credits, as uproarious as Bateman, Sudeikis, Day and their co-stars want us to
believe.
This film’s 2011 predecessor was
pretty thin gruel to begin with: a potty-mouthed waste of time and talent that was
little more than a race to the tasteless bottom by all involved. The notion
that it did enough business to warrant a sequel is astonishing, but Hollywood —
as always — lives by the quote often attributed to H.L. Mencken: “Nobody ever
went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.”
And so here we are, with a second
dose of Nick (Bateman), Kurt (Sudeikis) and Dale (Day).
This new entry is slightly
better, thanks to the presence of co-star Chris Pine. He thoroughly embraces
his gleefully condescending, spoiled rich guy role with a breezy élan that adds
momentum to this fitful comedy every time he pops into a scene. He’s genuinely
funny, and manages to be such without relying on the vulgarity that’s pretty
much everybody else’s sole defining character trait.
The plot, then:
Having decided that working for
“horrible bosses” undervalues their true potential, Nick, Kurt and Dale have become
entrepreneurs with their own home care product: the so-called “Shower Buddy,”
just the sort of gadget that pops up on late-night TV commercials for $19.95.
Their effort to promote this item on a local morning chat show doesn’t quite
work as expected, but the exposure does bring them to the attention of
father-and-son investors Bert and Rex Hanson (Christoph Waltz and Pine).
Overjoyed by an initial order of
100,000 units, our three stooges overlook the cautionary step of obtaining a
down payment in order to fund this massive production run. Bert subsequently
cancels the order — which he intended to do all along — knowing full well that
Nick, Kurt and Dale will be forced to foreclose. At that point, the Hansons will
scoop up the entire company and all those Shower Buddies at fire-sale prices.
It’s merely standard-issue
corporate raider behavior, which Bert cheerfully acknowledges, knowing full
well that our hapless idiots can’t do anything about it.
Not that they go down quietly.
After first trying for help from the incarcerated and angrily uncooperative
Dave (Kevin Spacey) — jailed after his behavior in the previous film — they
once again wind up seeking advice from the shady Dean “MF” Jones (Jamie Foxx).
The result: a hare-brained scheme to kidnap Rex and hold him for ransom.
The plan requires something
capable of rendering their potential victim unconscious, so Dale naturally
thinks of the nitrous oxide canisters at the dental office where he used to
work beneath the oversexed Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston). Which means
that she’ll also get involved in what comes next.
Needless to say, the plan goes
awry a bit ... but that’s all right, because Rex proves an oddly cooperative
kidnap victim. From this point forward, things get even crazier.
While discussing the first film
in this I-hope-they-stop-at-two series, I complained about the utter absence of
character detail granted our three leads. That hasn’t changed. Sudeikis’ Kurt
still lets his libido call all the shots, and Day’s moronic Dale still
screeches like a hyperactive chipmunk. Dale used to be the only truly dumb one
in this trio, but Kurt apparently has devolved to his level; now they’re both
motormouth idiots.
And, yes, Bateman’s Nick remains
the long-suffering voice of reason: once again the bland leading the
blind-stupid.
Nick and Kurt still have nothing
approaching home lives; as far as we can tell, they simply show up for each
scene in this movie, unencumbered by girlfriends, siblings or other family
members. Dale, at least, has a wife and infant triplet daughters: a cursory
detail good for a few giggles.
Waltz has fun riffing on his
ability to look sinister at the blink of an eye; the cleavage-enhanced Aniston
does nothing but demand sexual congress in ways that might make even the editor
of Penthouse Letters blush.
Needless to say, the relentless
F-bombs, coarse one-liners and sniggering sex jokes quickly get overexposed and
become tedious. Part of humor is context, and you’ll find very little of that
here.
I can’t imagine Anders actually
“directing” this film; it looks like he just sat back and let everybody do whatever
occurred to them at a given moment. He also shares scripting credit with three
other writers — John Morris, Jonathan M. Goldstein and John Francis Daley — and
it’s difficult to imagine so many hands being required to orchestrate this
free-for-all.
But, yes, a few things are
genuinely funny or clever:
• The eventual actual plan
hatched to separate Bert Hanson from his money, a “foolproof” caper that we
first witness as imagined, à la Gambit, and then see as it actually unfolds
once our heroes put it into practice;
• Jamie Foxx’s dry delivery, and
the divide between Jones’ tough-guy persona, and his desire to open a Pinkberry
franchise;
• A third-act car chase with a
truly hilarious finale; and
• Every scene that involves Pine.
He simply steals the show (not that much effort was required, but still).
As for the rest, well ... if you
purchased tickets for Dumb and Dumber To, or rejoiced a few years back when
the 20-disc Three Stooges Ultimate Collection debuted, then you’ll no doubt
get some kicks and grins here.
Otherwise, let the buyer beware.
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