'Horrible Bosses 2' has horribly funny moments, but too few

In the sexually inappropriate and politically incorrect "Horrible Bosses 2," the bumbling workplace underdogs played by Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day are about to try their hand at being in charge. And at times, they are horribly funny.

Being the boss makes for a lot of incredibly idiotic, highly amusing running amok, especially with a nasty new nemesis in Chris Pine, whose eyebrows and sense of entitlement are completely out of control.

Make no mistake, despite some well-earned laughs, "Horrible Bosses 2" is not what qualifies as a good movie or even a particularly good R-rated comedy. But there is more to laugh at in "2" than the first, so let's go with less horrible, shall we?

Directed by Sean Anders, who wrote the screenplay with creative partner John Morris, what "2" does better is play to its sweet spot not the bosses but the beaten-down schlubs beneath them. At least any offense coming from that quarter isn't intentional. They're not dumb as in "Dumb and Dumber," but they're not too bright either.

Nick (Bateman), Kurt (Sudeikis) and Dale (Day) are, however, a much more cohesive comic team this time. Their annoying silly sallies are much snappier. The chemistry between them is good enough to almost make them a modern-day Larry, Curly and Moe albeit more intelligent, more prurient and more attractive.

Kevin Spacey is back as horrible boss Dave Harken, best remembered for his scathing tirades, but he's behind bars and better now that his screaming comes in smaller doses.

Jennifer Aniston reprises Dr. Julia Harris, the R-rated dentist who specializes in sexual assaulting. There's still far too much of her porn dominatrix. Not a wise choice, since the naughty-doc bits never pay off. I'm guessing the implied hospital rape of a comatose male won't draw many laughs, even from the guys who come to see Aniston in a little leather and lace.

Completely inappropriate references are not limited to naughty doc. It must be in the "Horrible" articles of incorporation. As they did in the first, the filmmakers bet heavily on innuendo and politically incorrectness to carry the film when the plotting fails, starting with the opening scenes.

The guys are being featured on a local morning TV show for their new invention it involves a shower and shampoo. They kick things off with what sounds like a racial slur and move right into a demonstration that makes it look as if Dale is giving Kurt a "hand" in the shower.

The riffs are laughable, and I don't mean that as praise. They do, however, serve to lower expectations (assuming they weren't at rock bottom going in), which makes some of what follows seem almost brilliant in comparison.

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'Horrible Bosses 2' has horribly funny moments, but too few