After the disappointment of the much-awaited Knives Out sequel Glass Onion, a damp squib of a whodunnit, Murder Mystery 2 gives its viewers exactly what they expect from it — insanity. But in a good way.
Starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler as the crime-solving spouses forever looking to vacation in peace, Murder Mystery 2 is a caper, a thriller, a mystery and an action film all rolled into one, with a light sprinkling of Bollywood with Aniston in a Manish Malhotra lehenga, and, obviously, a synchronised dance performance.
The film’s biggest strength is its absolute refusal to take itself seriously.
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In the first instalment, Murder Mystery (2019), we met Nick Spitz (Sandler), New York cop looking to be promoted to detective, and Audrey Spitz (Aniston), a hairdresser looking for some adventure. The two end up solving a murder while on vacation.
Four years later, Nick and Audrey are trying to make it as private investigators in New York, but business isn’t exactly booming. However, fate in the form of hip-hopping Maharaja Vick (Adeel Akhtar), a murder suspect from their first case now turned friend, intervenes. He’s getting married on a secluded island and the Spitzes are invited to an all-expenses paid vacation.
As luck would have it, on the night of the sangeet ceremony, Audrey and Nick find themselves in the middle of a kidnapping and yet another murder.
Vick has been abducted and one of his bodyguards murdered. The list of suspects includes Vick’s fiancé Claudette (Melanie Laurent), an ordinary shop girl from Paris made to sign a “brutal pre-nup”; sister Saira (Kuhoo Verma); surviving bodyguard Colonel Ulenga; his CEO Francisco facing charges of embezzlement; ex-fiancé countess Sekou; and, after the entry of detective Miller (Mark Strong), Nick and Audrey themselves.
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Now, it’s all down to the Spitzes to rescue Vick and set the record straight. This is where the film takes on the nature of a thriller, complete with a high-speed chase sequence through the streets of Paris that sees Nick, in kinky handcuffs lined with pink fur, beat up kidnappers. Meanwhile, Audrey goes from being a murderer to a mass murderer to an axe murderer — all in a matter of a few minutes —while also keeping a van from crashing. And since the drama unfolded in the French capital, an action sequence on the Eiffel Tower was inevitable.
MM2 also gives fans of whodunnits the satisfying ‘locked-room’ sequence, not once but twice. This is where Nick and Audrey get to show off their sleuthing skills (along with their sharp outfits), quiz suspects and make deductions.
The less-than complicated plot, and the twists and turns along the way could be seen as ridiculous and far-fetched, but Aniston and Sandler’s comedic timing and ability to play off each other makes the film seem like silly fun. Their on-screen chemistry remains strong as ever and it’s easy to believe in Nick and Audrey as the bickering married couple who, at the end of the day, love each other.
Written by James Vanderbilt, who also wrote the first instalment, and directed by Jeremy Garelick, the hour-and-a-half long film may not go down in history as a “classic”. But does it really need to?
Essentially, what one needs to remember when watching Murder Mystery 2 is, suspend disbelief. Give in. Have fun.