There has been sort of a drought of comedies since the release of Apatow produced Bridesmaids hit theaters in May. Bridesmaids was a hit, not only with critics but with audiences. After its release we’ve seen lackluster ‘funny’ films such as Bad Teacher, Hangover Part 2, Larry Crowne and Monte Carlo. Seth Gordon hopes to reverse the trend of stupid comedies with the release of Horrible Bosses.
The film opens up with narration from Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman) describing how he can become successful, unlike his grandmother who he says “didn’t take shit” and died poor because of it.
He, unfortunately, does and we see the abuse he takes from his boss, Harken (Kevin Spacey) for being two minutes and twenty one seconds late. We then move to Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) who also narrates that his dream job as a child was to be a husband but ended working as a dentists assistant instead. He introduces us to his fiancée, played by Lindsay Sloane, whom he says he loves very much.
His boss, Dr. Harris (Jennifer Aniston), is a sex-crazed monster who sexually harasses Dale for pleasure. Finally, we move onto Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) who tells us that he loves his job at a chemical plant. Granted, he has the best boss out of the three, Jack Pellitt (Donald Sutherland) an environmentally conscience manager whom has a great relationship between his employees. The only problem is that Pellitt’s son, Bobby (Colin Farrell), is a coke addict constantly sniffing blow around the facility. Suddenly, Jack dies from a heart attack and Bobby takes over the business making Kurt life a living hell.
Each boss pushes the three over the edge and they have a brilliant plan to kill their bosses so they seek out help from a ‘hitman,’ Motherfucker Jones (Jamie Foxx). The movie has some pacing problems but you enjoy listening to the characters complain so you overlook it. The story is well crafted and you can tell the writers knew what story they wanted to tell, though the ending seems a bit unsure of itself; they didn’t know if they should set-up for a sequel or if they should just do a one-shot.
Now, is this movie funny, no, it is not. This movie is freakin’ hilarious. I haven’t laughed a movie this much since Bridesmaids. Each actor has their moment but Charlie Day steals the show and I hope to see his face more often in movies. After each introduction for the bosses, you immediately hate them and they are generally funny but below par with the leads. If you decided to come to the theatre to see Jaime Foxx, prepared to be disappointed as he only has about eight to ten minutes of actual screen time. Usually, a character like Foxx’s can really overstay their welcome but due to his lack of screen time, you can enjoy him without being irritated, unlike Zach Galifianakis.
Overall, Horrible Bosses is a hilarious film that will be quoted for years on in. This film isn’t for everybody; dirty jokes, very crude humor, and some gross out gags are riddled throughout. The film deals with some pacing problems that you may notice from time to time, however, you become interested with what the characters have to say. The film was released at a weekend that leaves the film no chance to succeed. Transformers 3 was released the week prior and Harry Potter 7 is only a week away; this could jeopardize how Horrible Bosses does in the long run and could easily be overlooked. I urge you to take the time out and see the film. Believe me, you wont regret it. Look for cameos by Steve Wiebe and Bob Newheart.
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