Murder Mystery 2 is a mystery comedy film reuniting Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston as Nick and Audrey Spitz, the power couple of private eyes. James Vanderbilt is the scriptwriter while Jeremy Garelick serves as director. John Kani, Adeel Akhtar, and Dany Boon return from the previous installment. Newer cast members include Mark Strong, Melanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Jillian Bell.
Nick and Audrey Spitz are working as full-time private detectives with somewhat mixed results. An old friend is having a rather lavish wedding on his private island and invites them to attend. A bodyguard is murdered, and the groom is kidnapped. There is quite an eclectic group of suspects, and the Spitz couple have a friend to rescue with their usual mix of clumsy luck and occasional moments of impressive deduction.
The plot needs some work, but the leads are actually pretty entertaining. Nick and Audrey end up being rather likeable for the audience. Mark Strong’s casting is rather interesting, but it works well in this somewhat madcap romp. It’s another film where the success of the jokes is a little spotty. I did like the moments where Nick seemed like he could actually hold his own in a fight at times. Jennifer Aniston doesn’t really show a lot of range here, but she was still fun to watch. Aniston and Sandler do seem to work well together. The movie overall isn’t all that great, but it’s still not a total disaster. It’s a reasonably enjoyable diversion that requires a massive yet somehow still manageable amount of suspension of disbelief. I would just say check it out, get a few chuckles for the day, and move on.
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