The Maharajah’s wedding is massive affair, complete with group dancing and an entrance on an elephant. These punny Poirots are outsiders not merely because they come from another country, but from what looks like another world when it comes to wealth and privilege, and Aniston and Sandler are good at conveying that without relying on it for cheap humor.
In both films, they’re struggling to make ends meet and they're thrust into worlds with people who toss around millions of dollars like money has no meaning. Once again, Audrey and Nick are outsiders in a foreign land, which allows for a bit of 'Ugly Americans' humor but mostly plays into registers of class humor instead. A quick-cut prologue that feels likely (and mercifully) truncated after I bet some test screenings went awry, the real action of “Murder Mystery 2” kicks in when the Maharajah from the original film ( Adeel Akhtar) invites him to a lavish wedding in a tropical locale. After the chaotic action of the original, they’ve become private dicks, solving crimes for a fee, but they’re struggling to make it work. Sandler returns as Nick Spitz, an NYC police officer who has hung up traditional police work to become a crime solver with his wife Audrey ( Jennifer Aniston). Maybe it’s just that we need that more in the 2020s than we did pre-pandemic? It's a mystery. And, once again, it’s an easy way to tune out the real world for a feature runtime.
Once again, the relatively tight runtime (this one is only 90) keeps The Sandman and his writers away from the meandering non-jokes that fatten the worst Happy Madison movies. Once again, Sandler’s charm is the strength. Whatever the reason, “Murder Mystery 2” gets the job done in much the same way. And that could be because of the goodwill engendered by projects like “ Uncut Gems,” “Hustle,” and even the relatively enjoyable “ Hubie Halloween.” Or I could have just been in a worse mood four years ago. Coming off a spate of mediocre (to be kind) comedies that emerged from his initial deal with Netflix, I gave the comedy/thriller a modest two stars, but now I think it deserves another half-star as a solid diversion. Was I a little too harsh on 2019’s “ Murder Mystery” or do I just like Adam Sandler more now? Both could be true, but it’s indicative of how much comedy can be based on timing and what's going on in the real world.
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