The Boss Baby: Family Business

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

The Boss Baby: Family Business is the sequel to 2017's The Boss Baby, and sees our two protagonists back for another world-saving mission on behalf of Baby Corp. Tim is now a stay at home dad with a massive inner child, struggling to connect with his more academically minded eldest daughter. Meanwhile, Ted has become a massive business tycoon, though very much a man alone from anyone else. When Tim's baby daughter reveals herself to be a member of Baby Corp on a world saving mission, she reverts her Dad and uncle back to their younger selves in order to to go undercover and stop the threat. The best aspect of this film is the relationship between Tim and Ted, watching them bond as family again and realise how much they need one another was pretty heartwarming.

 

Alec Baldwin, who voiced Boss Baby, is far more entertaining in this feature than he was in the first; Baldwin really embraces the comedic angle of the character this around which I think is where his character always thrives. Ariana Greenblatt, who voiced Tabitha, is a young performer well and truly making her mark across big Hollywood productions; I found Greenblatt's portrayal of childhood insecurity to be very heartfelt and honest. James McGrath, who voiced Wizzie, was one of the greatest things about the first feature and I was pleased to see him return; McGrath's parody of iconic wizards like Gandalf is enhanced this time by him portraying a childhood toy feeling scorned too.

However, the best performance came from Jeff Goldblum, who voiced Dr. Armstrong. This might not have been the most committed performance from Goldblum but he was clearly having a bunch of fun. This boundless fun turned into a lot of energy scene to scene, in which you get really varied and comedic line delivery. I greatly enjoyed how camp Goldblum made the big reveal that his character was in fact a super genius baby and not an adult. This was an antagonist who was exceptionally entertaining any moment he was onscreen, making him the immediate stand out role of the sequel.

 

The Boss Baby worked so well in no small part thanks to Alec Baldwin's wild performance as this strangely serious infant; yet the sequel pushes the character of the Ted into the background a bit. I can't truly imagine why a sequel would take the role everyone has come to see and reduce their screen time, it makes this an effort doomed to failure straight away. This film really doesn't know how to handle the wild antics of Baby Corp or the villainous Dr. Armstrong; making these moments as over the top and melodramatic as possible. Meanwhile, the main focus is on Tim (an adult who has reverted back to the physical age of a child)  trying to connect with his daughter. This is such a weird way to try and build a better father/daughter relationship and it certainly isn't strong enough to be the main focus of this film. In fact I found the father/daughter storyline to even get a little creepy sometimes, it was definitely a story that needed some more editing. The animation was atrocious and even the film had the gall to highlight this fact. There's a moment in the film in which Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron is playing in a theatre and our protagonist come crashing through the screen on the back of a pony; the contrast in quality is significantly notable and marks a real slump for Dreamworks as a studio. The score for the film is a simple adventure melody that is very forgettable, while the soundtrack is a real mixed bag of tracks for comedic effect that never really lands. 

James Marsden, who voiced Tim, continues the trend started by Tobey Maguire of this adult role really not landing well as a protagonist; Marsden just pushes things a bit too over the top and gets comfortable playing far wilder than some scenes demand. Amy Sedaris, who voiced Tina, is quite an abrupt figure from the minute she appears onscreen with no charm at all; Sedaris is meant to be the fun new mature baby role but she is pushed into the background even more than Baldwin. Eva Longoria, who voiced Carol, is quite the generic Mum character with a very two-dimensional personality focused on being the nurturing household figure; Longoria really has no strong presence in the film and is cut out of all major narrative beats practically. Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow, who voiced Grandpa and Grandma respectively, return for the sequel and continue giving quite bland performances; the classic overly involved grandparent shtick gets played out quick and they almost seem to return to stretch out the runtime.

There's not a lot of charm here for any demographic; this is a sequel that was really rushed out the door. I would give The Boss Baby: Family Business a 2.5/10.