"Murder Mystery 2" another slight but likable vacation whodunit

Murder Mystery 2 (2023)

The “Murder Mystery” movies are good enough. Yes, there’s a sequel to the first “Murder Mystery,” 2019’s Netflix-Happy Madison venture that used the old-friend chemistry between Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston and built a vacation whodunit around it. It was a slight but likable travelogue romp, stunningly devoid of fart jokes and general infantilism for the Sandman. Sure, “Murder Mystery 2” is one of those obligatory sequels that exists because the first movie was a streaming hit, but for a redux, it’s another breezy, generally entertaining lark.

Following the first murder case they bumbled into and cracked during their European wedding anniversary, New Yorkers Nick (Sandler) and Audrey Spitz (Aniston) are now private investigators. They've started their own agency and solve high-profile murders (or something as small-scale as infidelity between a married couple, played by Tony Goldwyn and Annie Mumolo). When they get invited to the wedding of Vik the Maharajah (a goofy and loose Adele Akhtar, returning from the first movie) with French bride Claudette (Mélanie Laurent) on his private island, the Spitzes hope to get a much-needed vacation from their work. But wouldn’t you know it, a guest is kidnapped and someone kidnaps Vik. Who better to investigate? Well, former MI6 hostage negotiator Colonel Miller (Mark Strong) shows up, as does weary Inspector Laurent Delacroix (Dany Boon, reprising his role), but the Spitzes can surely help, too, in solving who from their list of suspects is holding Vik hostage. Could it be one-armed Colonel Ulenga (John Kani), the groom’s icy ex-girlfriend Countess Sekou (Jodie Turner-Smith) and his sister Saira (Kuhoo Verma), or Vik’s associate, womanizing soccer star Francisco (Enrique Arce), who keeps hitting on Audrey? 

Director Jeremy Garelick (2015’s “The Wedding Ringer”) takes over with returning writer James Vanderbilt (2023’s “Scream VI”), but “Murder Mystery 2” is virtually the same movie and better than it has any business being. Like its predecessor, this sequel is just as palatable with Adam Sandler in classier territory alongside one of his most charming scene partners (the other being Drew Barrymore). It is (unintentionally?) amusing to see stars oohing and aahing over their paradise vacation, their lodging, and all of its bell-and-whistle features, as if these two have never seen anything like it before. That aside, Sandler and Jennifer Aniston are sweet and funny together all over again. We believe them as an average couple married for 16 years, and it’s their relaxed chemistry that takes a lot of this to the finish line. 

It may be damning with faint praise, but brevity is a plus, and “Murder Mystery 2” gets in and gets out at a minute shy of 90 minutes with plenty of goodwill still intact. The mystery itself is engaging enough, providing more than one twist, and the killer's reveal is less obvious this time. There aren’t many big laughs, but there’s usually a throwaway line here and a funny bit there (i.e. the Spitzes keep getting suspects knocking on their door and try hiding them in different parts of their resort room). The mixture of comedy and action even threads the needle better than most, like a humorously violent scuffle in the back of a van around the Arc de Triomphe (yet nothing will beat its use in “John Wick: Chapter 4”) and a fairly vertiginous climax on the Eiffel Tower. Jillian Bell also drops by for a sweet, side-splitting cameo as Susan, who's innocently rendezvousing at the restaurant inside the Parisian landmark. The Spitzes (rhymes with “shits”!) are such amiable company that “Murder Mystery 2” makes for another amusing, featherlight diversion compared to the other spit the Sandman has made on Netflix’s dime.

Grade: B -

Netflix released “Murder Mystery 2” (89 min.) to stream on March 31, 2023.