Hollywood spews sequels. If a film makes anything close to a successful gross, a sequel is basically guaranteed. It does not matter how unnecessary it might be, it is a golden cash cow in the eyes of studio executives.

While comedy sequels tend to be some of the worst, “Horrible Bosses 2” (Rated R; 108 min) is almost as good as the original.

“Horrible Bosses 2” is a comedy directed by Sean Anders and stars Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day and Chris Pine.

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Dale, Kurt and Nick, played by Bateman, Sudeikis and Day, are at it again. After enduring their bosses from the original film, the guys have decided to quit their jobs and go into business together. Creating a device known as the Shower Buddy, they find the business world a lot harder than they expected.

Hope comes in the form of Bert Hanson, played Christoph Waltz, a business executive looking to buy their product. After Hanson steals the design for the Shower Buddy, the trio decides to take matters into their own hands once again and kidnap Hanson’s adult son. Things get out of control and Dale, Kurt and Nick must find a way out of their self-induced predicament.

The original “Horrible Bosses” was not a classic comedy by any means. It suffered a lot of problems, but ultimately was saved by terrific acting. So with the return of Bateman, Sudeikis, Day and even Kevin Spacey, it is no surprise how similar this movie is to the previous installment, for better and for worse.

When it comes to comedy sequels, the return rate of original cast members is incredibly low. A lot of the time, stars returning does not guarantee success.

Bateman, Day and Sudeikis all have a natural chemistry that brought both films above their inherent value. The three are some of the most talented performers in the business today and can make virtually anything funny, whether  scripted or improvised.

Dialogue and situations that under any normal circumstance would fall flat, are given life by the three; they work off of each other terrifically.

This movie uses too much content from the original. Many of the new things that work in the movie are pushed off for tired old jokes from the original.

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Pine and Waltz both give amazing performances. Pine in particular is brilliant in an unfamiliar role. Unfortunately, they are both underutilized and characters that were barely funny in the original return. Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey and Jennifer Aniston all return to basically say hello and then leave the film.

Comedy sequels are still extremely unnecessary. The bad ones outweigh the good by almost 100 percent. There is very little a sequel can bring to a comedy in the way a sequel brings to a drama. “Horrible Bosses 2” is an exception because it is worth watching, and as funny as the original.

Stars: 3 out of 5