I remember watching the first Boss Baby movie a few years ago in Senior Days for college and was eager to come back to it when I reviewed it last year, especially to get it out in time for the sequel. But life got in the way and I decided to check it out recently on my day off.
The movie follows Tim Templeton (James Marsden), as he’s grown up with two daughters: Tabitha (Ariana Greenblatt) and Tina (Amy Sedaris). After a night of Tabitha showing how much she’s grown up, he learns that Tina is with Babycorp, the business Ted (Alec Baldwin) was part of in the previous movie. She gets Ted to come over for the holidays where she tells her father and brother about Babycorp’s latest threat: Dr. Erwin Armstrong (Jeff Goldblum), the director of Tabitha’s school who’s planning a revolution against grown-ups. The plan is to send the two into the school after using a formula that de-ages them and get to his office.
Much like the last movie, the cast gives strong performances, with Alec Baldwin returning to play the role of Ted with the same ego he had in the last movie. And while I missed Tobey Maguire as the narrator, James Marsden gives a solid performance. And the chemistry between Marsden and Baldwin feels authentic; you get the feeling that they’re actual brothers who’ve come together after years separated from each other. Amy Sedaris is a ball of energy as Tina, acting as a mirror to Ted here and in the last movie. Jeff Goldblum plays the villain; and like many of his other performances, it’s a wonder to watch. He chews the scenery as this baby genius looking to start a revolution against adults, and you can feel how animated he is. There’s a detail where he keeps consuming sweets and upping things from candy to ice cream sundaes.
The last movie had a world that was so intricately established; and here, there’s more added with the school being creatively thought and a critique on the high standards for gifted kids. And just like the last movie, it really has a lot of heart to it. You have Tim having to reconcile his daughter growing up and still wanting to have a connection and support her. But the emotional epicenter is with Tim and Ted learning that growing up didn’t mean they had to grow apart.
As far as sequels go, this one is up to par with the original. The cast does a solid job, and the world is just as intricate as the previous film. And its emotional heart ties it all together with a proverbial bow. I have no plans to watch the Netflix series, but the ending kind of makes me wish there could be a third installment.
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