MURDER MYSTERY 2

US, 2023, 90 minutes, Colour.

Adam Sandler, Jennifer Anniston, Mark Strong, Melanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith, John Kani, Dany Boon, Adeel Akhtar, Enrique Arce, Jilian Bell, Tony Goldwyn, Kuhoo Verma.

Directed by

A very popular American comedy. There is little that needs to be said about Murder Mystery 2. It follows, of course, on the very popular comedy, Murder Mystery, pairing Adam Sandler with Jennifer Aniston, reminding audiences of the durability of both stars, Adam Sandler with a long history of goofy comedies, proving a stronger acting talent in more recent years, Uncut Gems, Hustle, and Jennifer Aniston who enlivened Friends for many years as well as many romantic comedies.

If locations are a great appeal to popular comedies, then this one has strong appeal, half an hour immersing the audience in an experience of Bollywood colour, dancing and singing, characters – and an abduction and death. However, the main action takes place in Paris, a lot of it on, above, and dangling from the Eiffel Tower, not to mention chaos at the Arc de Triomphe, car chases, a country mansion is.

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston play a married couple who, in the first film, solve a mystery, not without a lot of accompanying deaths. They are still wanting to be private investigators. But, they receive an invitation to the wedding of an Indian friend (a deal Akhtar and his fiancee Melanie Laurent). There are quite a number of guests – and a range of suspicions when the friend is abducted.

British intelligence then comes to the rescue with the leadership of Mark Strong and the action transfers to Paris, the ransom, car chases, all kinds of things going wrong that could, some doublecrossing, villains unmasked, and drama on the Eiffel Tower.

Interestingly, the cast is not American: Melanie Laurent and Dany Boon from France, John Kani from the previous film from South Africa, and Enrique Arce from Spain, and the British contingent, Mark strong, Jodie Turner Smith, Adeel Akhtar.

Preposterous in so much detail, but preposterously enjoyable.