Murder Mystery 2

By Joanna Langfield

It is what it is.

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston are back as the Spitzes, the married NYC couple trying to make a go of it as private detectives. Out of the blue, they receive a last minute invitation to their buddy’s destination wedding. And what a wedding it is. The island destination is fabulous. The bride is fabulous. The goody bag is fabulous. Everything is fabulous. Until the groom gets kidnapped.

This is not a movie for those of us who love and appreciate Sandler’s more serious work. Aniston’s either, for that matter. This is not a movie that is particularly deadly or mysterious. This is a movie that goes heavy on the silly, luxuriates in the escape (we don’t just get a lush island to gaze at, we get Paris, too, thank you very much), and basically has a bunch of game actors doing everything they can think of to give us a laugh as well as something, for at least hour and half, to watch besides the news.

I’m always happy when Mark Strong shows up and here, he offers us a nicely buffed inanity. How nice to see a fun side to the gorgeous Melanie Laurent, too. While Sandler does get to toss off a few decent jokes, he generously allows the best of the bits to the sleek and ageless Aniston, who dangles in the air with the same glow she emits while rebuffing playboys who just can’t resist her. And here, we sure can understand why.