The police comedy, and more specifically the whodunit genre – the mystery film – has not lost its popularity, on the contrary. After Knives Out, Murder Mystery also returns with a second opus still starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston.
This time, a couple of detectives put their suitcases in Paris to solve a kidnapping case. Two Frenchmen join the party for this new adventure: Danny Boone and Melanie Laurent.
The former, already introduced in the previous installment, finds his role as Inspector Laurent Delacroix, a supposed homage to Inspector Clouseau played by Peter Sellers in The Pink Panther. As for the other, she plays Claudette Joubert, who sees her marriage crumble when her husband is kidnapped.
For AlloCiné, the two actors spilled the beans on the crazy shoot with laughs and anecdotes.
Shooting in the music
Danny Boone and Melanie Laurent agree to say this: Murder Mystery 2 was a blast to shoot, especially thanks to Adam Sandler, who doesn’t leave his portable speaker.
“He plays very loud music between each take.laughs Danny Boone. Rap sounds special. He sets the mood on set.” Melanie Laurent adds:We sing, we dance. We know when it will come and we can hear it from afar.”
Even when he’s not working, Adam Sandler is around, as the actor revealed, recalling the day when he didn’t have a scene to shoot, he was on set to answer their phone.
“Not many people would travel just to give an intonation at the end of a line, but there he was, he did it live“, he explains.
Adam Sandler, Danny Boone and Jennifer Aniston.
Kings of Improvisation
Although the script is very written, Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler left a lot of freedom to their partners. “They fully participate in the writing and change the valves from one to the otherMelanie Laurent pleases. Plus, I’ve never seen them do the same thing, so it changes our entire line..”
This explains the eclectic distribution of the two Murder Mystery films: to keep up with the comic pace of the Sandler-Aniston duo, you’d better surround yourself with actors who can keep up. “Adam, I watched him come up with some really funny thingsMelanie Laurent confides. It was difficult for us to remain serious.”
Bollywood moment
In the wedding sequence, Mélanie Laurent improvises herself as an Indian dancer in a number worthy of a great Bollywood film. It reflects this experience:The suit was very heavy, only the skirt weighed several kilograms.
After the first part of filming in Hawaii, we went back to Paris and I called the producer and said, ‘But by the way, that little dance scene, when are we going to do it?’ They completely forgot about my rehearsals.”
In total, the actor had only two hours to learn the choreography before filming the sequence. “Which is crazy because there’s one movement per secondshe adds. Everyone around was a dancer, and that’s the nice thing about being an actor: being surrounded by only professionals who make you feel like you’re there… when you’re not. (laughs)“
Zurin Villanueva, Melanie Laurent and Jodi Turner-Smith.
Fake Eiffel Tower
The final act of Murder Mystery 2 takes place on the Eiffel Tower. The first part of this climax was filmed on location, with stuntman Kelly Phelan – who doubles Jennifer Aniston. For the purposes of the film, it had to fall at a speed of over 48 km/h in -16° temperatures.
Later, all the characters meet at the famous restaurant Jules Verne, which is located on the top floor of the tower. Danny Boone reveals that none of the filming took place in the actual facility: “They completely restored the floor, down to the last detail. This entire episode was filmed at the Cité du Cinéma studio.”
Interview by Thomas Desroches, Paris, March 16, 2023.
Murder Mystery 2 is available on Netflix.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
