Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston Fail to Offend and Occasionally Amuse in Murder Mystery 2: Review
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The post Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston Fail to Offend and Occasionally Amuse in Murder Mystery 2: Review appeared first on Consequence.
The Pitch: In the first Murder Mystery, Netflix subscribers met Nick (Adam Sandler) and Audrey (Jennifer Aniston), a married couple that discovered an innate talent for solving mysteries together, after finding themselves in the middle of an Agatha Christie-esque adventure on board a European yacht. (Okay, maybe it wasn’t super-surprising that Nick had an interest in mystery-solving, given that he was a New York City cop, but hey, Audrey was a hairdresser, this is a big deal for her.)
In Murder Mystery 2, we find out that the Spitzes have left their previous careers to become full-time private detectives, with varying degrees of success. The grind is getting to them, though, and so when their old friend Vikram (Adeel Akhtar) reaches out to invite them to his lavish wedding on a private tropical island, they see it as the opportunity to relax and also reconnect in their own marriage.
Of course, a murder and kidnapping later, Nick and Audrey have a new case to solve, one which will bring them from the tropics back to Europe (France, this time), lead to a certain amount of mayhem — and, yes, with some more dead bodies along the way.
It’s Definitely Better Than I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry: Adam Sandler’s Netflix era is interesting to parse on a number of levels these days, as the longtime comedy star has released no shortage of movies via said deal that fail to reach the raw hilarity of his earliest works. (Over three decades of film, and my personal favorite Sandler film remains Happy Gilmore, though I fully acknowledge the power of Uncut Gems.) Yet almost in gleeful defiance of whatever Rotten Tomatoes might say, he continues to star in and executive produce comedies that might once have made it to the big screen, but now instead live on streaming.
Some of his Netflix films have actually received stronger reviews than projects like Just Go With It and Blended, which leads to an existential question: If one was to watch this sequel in theaters, would it feel up to par with Sandler’s more classic works? That question is irrelevant given that this movie exists only because of Netflix’s massive deal with Sandler to keep making these films, but Murder Mystery 2 certainly isn’t the biggest embarrassment of his career.
After watching Murder Mystery 2, the words that come to mind are similar to how you’d describe your friend’s new boyfriend, after talking with them for five minutes at a party — “Oh yeah, he was pretty funny,” or “seemed nice enough, I enjoyed meeting him.” Granted, the viewer gets 90 minutes, not five, to spend with Nick and Audrey, but the takeaway is similar: Unobjectionable, at times amusing, and easy to forget until the next time you see your friend Murder Mystery 3.
Murder Mystery 2 (Netflix)
All Expenses Paid: Sandler clearly doesn’t care if you think that he only does these movies to take free vacations to exotic locations. If he did care what we think, he probably wouldn’t keep making movies in exotic locations. (In fact, when it comes to Sandler’s Netflix films, the general spirit of “we don’t care if you like it, we’re still getting paid” is pretty prevalent.)
But the exotic locations do provide an incentive for interesting actors to join the cast, including Mark Strong playing the sort of tough commando who shaves his head for a tactical advantage, not because of a receding hairline, and Jodie Turner-Smith as a haughty countess who gets a few choice moments. It’s also a fun surprise to see Mélanie Laurent appear as Vikram’s fiancee, though she gets comparatively less to do given her pedigree — after watching her burn up a theater of Nazis in Inglourious Basterds, we know she’s capable of anything on screen, and her scenes here feel like a bit of a letdown in comparison.
Probably the most enjoyable aspect of the film is the dynamic established between Sandler and Aniston; despite their individual star power, they do manage to sell the idea of Nick and Audrey as a long-married middle-class couple, and more importantly they each maintain an equal footing in the spotlight. These movies might not be classics on the level of The Thin Man, but at least that Nick and Nora balance is well-established here.
The Verdict: “You think five people dying’s a lot?” Nick asks Audrey when talking about what happened on their last vacation. It’s a hard question to answer in real life, but in the world of these films, the answer is a “eh, not really?” The action’s not flashy but competent, the set pieces are a bit easy to predict but deliver some reliable gags, and there are even a few meta moments that generate a chuckle or two.
There are a lot of other movies that do this sort of heightened action-comedy better: 2018’s Game Night, or the Mila Kunis/Kate McKinnon team-up The Spy Who Dumped Me. But those movies aren’t currently streaming on Netflix. So if you’re bored this Friday evening and “unobjectionable” feels like enough of a recommendation, Murder Mystery 2 is ready and waiting.
Where to Watch: Murder Mystery 2 is streaming now on Netflix.
Trailer:
Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston Fail to Offend and Occasionally Amuse in Murder Mystery 2: Review
Liz Shannon Miller
Popular Posts
David Lee Roth Returns to Live Stage for Performance in Las Vegas: Watch
Josh Homme Issues Statement on Custody Battle with Brody Dalle That Took a "Dark Turn"
Robert Smith Says The Cure Have Canceled 7,000 Scalped Tickets to Their Upcoming Tour
Jennifer Aniston Thinks a "Whole Generation" Finds Friends Offensive
Michael Che Asks SNL Audience Not to Laugh at Colin Jost's Jokes for April Fools Day
