Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler reunited for their new Netflix movie Murder Mystery 2 to the delight of their fans, but reviews for the detective comedy have been mixed.
The co-stars and friends have reprized their roles as married couple Nick and Audrey Spitzwho are now full-time private investigators after becoming embroiled in a murder investigation in 2019’s Murder Mystery.
In the sequel directed by Jeremy Garelick, the Spitzes are invited to the destination wedding of the maharaja Vikram Govindan (Adeel Akhtar), but are forced to go into detective mode when he is kidnapped before the ceremony.
Critics are not sure what to think of the film, which was released on Friday. It’s been both panned and praised for its everyday humor, the same combination that made the first film a streaming hit.
Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler have reunited to reprise their roles as married private investigators Nick and Audrey Spitz in their new Netflix movie Murder Mystery 2, which was released Friday.
In the sequel, the Spitzes are invited to the destination wedding of the Maharaja (Adeel Akhtar), but are forced to go into detective mode when he is kidnapped.
In Peter Travers’s review for Good morning Americahe slammed the “nothingburger” movie and said that the chemistry between Aniston and Sandler had been ruined by the “dialogue from the script of sitcom clichés.”
“One of those new AI bots like ChatGPT could have coughed up a script with more personality,” the film critic wrote.
Johnny Oleksinski at the New York Post agreed, calling the sequel “painfully uninteresting” and “nothing more than a free vacation” for Aniston and Sandler.
Both critics took note of a chilling moment scene that Sandler jokingly dubbed the Arc de Triomphe in Paris the “Arctic Tree Hump.”
Others, however, appreciated the great action-adventure comedy, whose main characters fly to the nondescript private island and Paris, for what it is, especially in the wake of the pandemic.
New York Times critic Brandon Yu called it a “harmless sequel” but felt the film’s stars gave it a slight boost.
“Sandler and Aniston maintain a charming mid-career debauchery and have a palpable affability as a duo – you can sense the fun they had in making such silliness, even if the result isn’t gold,” he wrote. “You can do worse if something happens during dinner.”
The film has received mixed reviews from critics who both panned and praised the lowbrow humor of the detective romp
Sandler, 56, and Aniston, 54, (pictured at the premiere) no doubt had a blast filming the sequel, and a number of critics pointed to their natural chemistry
In Bilge Ebiri’s review for New York magazine, he also saw the benefits of tuning in while doing chores around the house.
Murder Mystery 2 knows its place. It doesn’t ask you to drive anywhere or part with your hard-earned money,” he explained. It’s strictly a Netflix movie, and as such it’s meant to be watched while you’re doing the dishes or folding the laundry or counting out your accumulated pocket money and putting it in those little paper tubes the bank gives you.
“But it’s a time-filler, not a time-waster,” he added. “It’s a film of simple pleasures – but they are pleasures.”
So far, Murder Mystery 2 has a score of 53 percent Rotten tomatoes and a viewership rating of 57 percent, which is slightly higher than the first film.
The one sure thing about the sequel is that Aniston and Sandler had a blast making it. Ahead of the comedy’s release, they dove into their decades-long friendship and recent on-screen collaboration in a series of promotional interviews.
While chatting with USA todaySandler, 56, admitted that he and Aniston, 54, are still awkward about filming kissing scenes with each other, which they’ve done in all three of their films together.
The former Saturday Night Live star joked that Aniston was a little too excited when it came time to pucker up in the Murder Mystery sequel.
“For God’s sake, keep your mouth shut,” he recalled telling her. ‘It was so wide! Every time she came with a big, wide mouth, and I’d say, “Who-ho-ho-ho-ho, whoa! What are we doing?”‘