CAST: Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler, Melanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith, Kuhoo Verma, Mark Strong
DIRECTOR: Jeremy Garelick
Adam Sandler returns as Nick Spitz, an NYC police officer who has hung up traditional police work to become a crime solver with his wife Audrey (Jennifer Aniston). After the chaotic action of the original, they’ve become private dicks, solving crimes for a fee, but they’re struggling to make it work. A quick-cut prologue that feels likely (and mercifully) truncated after I bet some test screenings went awry, the real action of “Murder Mystery 2” kicks in when the Maharajah from the original film (Adeel Akhtar) invites him to a lavish wedding in a tropical locale.
A new murder occurs, and the Maharajah is kidnapped. Nick and Audrey are on the case, while they again find themselves wanted by authorities as prime suspects.
Now, Netflix should know that to cook up an Indian plot, you really need authentic Indian elements. The depiction of the great Indian wedding is so caricaturish that we wonder who put that together?
Los Angeles has some awesome Indian dance choreographers and dancers, great Indian acting talent, yet the need for the movie to pass 19th century dance moves as anything remotely Indian is so disappointing. I mean, there are huge independent singers whose bangers could have added to the flavor but no – Netflix brings a mediocre Indian depiction to the wedding party with childish dance moves, cheap costumes ( except for Aniston and Sandlers Manish Malhotras) and confusing characters.
Coming back to the 90 minutes of the story, the Maharajah’s wedding is massive affair, complete with group dancing and an entrance on an elephant. That’s when things go awry. The groom’s bodyguard ends up being the one on the pachyderm, murdered by a cheese knife in the side, but it’s really a distraction for the Maharajah to be kidnapped. Who’s behind it? “Murder Mystery 2” sets up a group of suspects that includes the bride Claudette (Melanie Laurent), an ex-girlfriend named Countess Sekou (Jodie Turner-Smith), the sister Saira (Kuhoo Verma), a business partner named Francisco (Enrique Arce), and an ace negotiator named Miller (Mark Strong)
The characters are not meant to be deep. Sandler is in his most amazing comic form and Aniston tries to match him in the timing. These two have been acting together for years so their chemistry is so organic that it is effortless.
“Murder Mystery 2” has no loftier goals than disposable entertainment for 90 minutes, and it gets the job done.
Streaming on Netflix
