301. The Boss Baby - Family Business; movie review

 

THE BOSS BABY - FAMILY BUSINESS

Cert PG

107 mins

BBFC advice: Contains mild bad language, violence, threat

Well, that was more fun than I was expecting.

I groaned at the prospect of The Boss Baby's sequel because I could not see how the concept could be stretched to a second movie.

The opening 15 minutes did little to salve my irritation as the plot was even more convoluted than before.

But, by its end, I was smiling at the thought that young children will have had a giggle while having taking in the loud message of the importance of family.

Tom McGrath's film is set 30 years after the original with Tim Templeton (voiced by James Marsden) now the very active stay-at-home dad of Tabitha (Ariana Greenblatt) and Tina (Amy Sedaris ).

Since childhood, he has become estranged from his younger brother Ted (Alec Baldwin) who is now a highly successful businessman.

Anyway, Tim discovers that Tina is a Boss Baby just like Ted, and needs to recruit his brother for an important mission. 

And away we go, babies who talk try to bring down a master villain (Jeff Goldblum).

This doesn't have the same surprise factor as its predecessor but there are plenty of nice hooks on which to grapple.

Standing above all are the relationships between dad Tim and daughter Tabitha, the little girl who thinks she won't be able to meet his expectations.

Meanwhile, there is also the tricky stand-off between  brothers Tim and Ted to be negotiated.

If this makes Boss Baby - Family Business sound too serious, it isn't. Sure, there are no belly-laughs but there is enough action to keep audiences amused.

Reasons to watch: Fast-moving follow-up

Reasons to avoid: Not as funny as it wants to be

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6.5/10

Did you know? Tabitha has a pet fish in her room. His inclusion in the movie was because director Tom McGrath, had lost his own beloved pet fish of 10 years shortly after the first Boss Baby was wrapping up and thought it was a nice way to honour his memory.

The final word. Tom McGrath: " I remember my parents would take my brother and sister and I to the Pink Panther movies with Peter Sellers. My parents would laugh at some of the adult humour and then my brother and sister, and I would laugh at the slapstick humour and it left a big impression on me because it was a movie like we could all kind of go together and enjoy in a way." Coming Soon

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