(Long Island, N.Y.) Haven’t you ever wanted to kill your boss? Sure, we all have…well, not ME, as the swell guys running Long Island Exchange are just super keen, but I’ve held other jobs where I wouldn’t have minded if a couple thousand cinder blocks happened to fall on my erstwhile employer’s head. It’s only natural; sometimes power corrupts, and those people can be real jerks when that happens.
The idea of crafting a comedy around this concept has been done before – take 1980’s classic 9 To 5 for example. But it’s been a while, and in our current rough economy, where companies can low-ball you on salary and benefits and make all sorts of unreasonable demands because they know you’ll have to take it because they know there’s no jobs out there…well, it was high time for someone to line those “horrible bosses” up in their cinematic cross-hairs once again. And that’s just what director Seth Gordon has done.
Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman), Dale Arbus (Charlie Day), and Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) all work jobs
that would be perfect…that is, if their bosses weren’t complete monsters. Hendricks’ boss (Kevin Spacey) forces him to work millions of hours a week, dangling a juicy vice-president position in front of him, but ends up promoting himself instead. Arbus is a dental assistant who is happily engaged to a sweet gal, but is constantly sexually harassed by his boss (Jennifer Aniston). Buckman actually loves his job…that is, until his kindly old boss (Donald Sutherland) dies, leaving his irresponsible, immoral,
coke-fiend of a son (Colin Farrell) in charge.
One night, while drowning their sorrows in booze, the three friends get to talking and agree that their lives would indeed be better if their bosses were dead, and set out to make this happen. However, being three dorks from the suburbs, they have no idea how to go about such a task, so they drive into the bad part of town and enlist the services of…um…*BEEP* Jones (Jamie Foxx). Now, I’m saying *BEEP* Jones not because his name is really *BEEP*, but
because the *BEEP* is taking the place of his real name in the movie, which is decisively R-rated. Trust me, I wish I could type it here, because it’s awesome.
Anyway, using *BEEP* Jones’ advice, the three set out to stage their bosses’ deaths, and, as you guessed it, they screw everything up and the *BEEP* hits the fan. Will our three heroes be able to pull themselves out of the mess of messes they find themselves in?
Horrible Bosses is, at its very core, a variation on The Hangover, albeit toned down and its characters perhaps a tad more likable. Jason Bateman is like Ed Helm (the nerdy guy), Kurt Buckman is like Bradley Cooper’s character (the cool guy), but tubbier, and Dale Arbus is basically a clone of Zach Galifianakis’ character (the annoying, insane screw-up), but skinnier. Not a big deal, as it’s not a blatant rip-off or anything…it’s just something I noticed. Otherwise, Horrible Bosses is a very fresh, original, well-paced, and, most importantly, consistently funny film all the way through. You won’t be rolling in the aisles while dying of laughter at any one point, but you will chuckle pretty much throughout the either running time of Horrible Bosses, and I’ll
take that over a boring film with one or two great gags any day.
Plus, it’s unusual for a black comedy about a multiple murder plot to be so…I don’t know, almost sweet and well-meaning, I’d say. It’s weird in that respect.
The main thing about Horrible Bosses that makes it work so well is its large ensemble cast. You don’t often see this many well-known actors in one production, and each and every one of them delivers, enhancing the movie as a whole. Bateman, Buckman, and Arbus all share good chemistry, as well they should (after all, they’re the leads), and Spacey, Aniston, and Farrell all kill in roles that all play against type as far as what is typical for their individual careers, with Aniston and Farrell both almost totally disappearing into their roles.
But while I could comment on everyone’s individual performances, I’ll just say that, out of a sea of impressive and amusing roles, Jamie Foxx as *BEEP* Jones pretty much steals the show. It’s a combo of his edgy look, his mannerisms, his delivery, and the fact that the other characters can’t say his real name on-screen
without making the audience crack up that just makes Foxx a joy whenever he pops up.
However, one thing I have an issue with: the sexual harassment sub-plot involving Aniston and Day. Reverse sexism is alive and well in Hollywood, it seems. Now, I’m not saying the scenes where Aniston repeatedly gropes Day didn’t make me laugh, but when she showed him pictures of the highly-sexual things she had done to him while he was knocked out in her office while getting a tooth fixed, and I noticed the audience ha-ha-ha-ing their butts off, I couldn’t help but wonder if they’d be laughing so much if the character’s sexes were reversed. Most likely, everyone would be flipping out in anger if this was a guy molesting a girl, but a girl molesting a guy is apparently still hilarious, even in this so-called “politically correct” age. Whatever.
Aside from that (and believe me, even that point didn’t upset me too much, because what guy wouldn’t want to be sexually harassed by his boss if she looked like Jennifer Aniston), Horrible Bosses is indeed about horrible bosses, but it’s anything but a horrible movie. Go see it.
