"Horrible Bosses" - Directed by Seth Gordon
Up front you should know that this review will be heavy on the Aniston- just because I can.
It is a real relief to see the talented actress get a role that she can sink her teeth into.
Not that she is the main reason to see this movie.
In fact one of the things that "Horrible Bosses" does really well is spread the load amongst 4 or 5 characters.
By doing this it doesn't rely on a single character's traits for comedic value and allows a whole bunch of talented actors to shine.
Jason Bateman has rapidly become his generations Mr Reliable. Even in movies that don't quite come off he is the funniest facet. Refer to "Extract" or "Hancock".
Here he plays one of three men whose lives are made miserable by their bosses.
Bateman's Nick has a manipulative, nasty piece of work for a boss played with disdainful glee by Kevin Spacey. His friends Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) have a sexually harrassing sexpot (A sizzlingly, smoking hot Aniston) and a coke snorting sleazeball (Colin Farrell) for bosses.
Nick is passed over for a promotion that he was all but promised, Dale's engagement is threatened by the advances of his boss and Kurt is made to perform outrageous tasks such as firing overweight people.
When it becomes too much they plot to kill their bosses.
The manner in which they decide to do this reminds me of another Bateman vehicle- the classic, marvelous "Office Space".
For middle class white guys the best way to get into crime of course is to find the first black guy you can and ask him because he is obviously au fait with all manner of heinous criminal acts.
Yeah... right.
This approach leads them to a bar where they meet the superbly named Motherfucker Jones played by Jamie Foxx who is clearly loving every second of this. Motherfucker Jones not only provided me with a chuckle every time someone said his name but also drives the plot forward by suggesting the obvious tactic here is for each man to kill one of the others bosses.
This part of the movie might be my favourite. The squirm enducing fun in watching the out of their depth white guys attempting to fit in at a largely black bar as they look for a hitman is terrific.
The wheels are soon in motion and to reveal any more would be to ruin your fun.
That's the operative word - fun.
This movie may not make you belly laugh but you will giggle consistently and smile all the way through.
To hear some of the filth that comes out of America's Sweetheart Jennifer Aniston's mouth is a wonderful use of some against type casting.
If Foxx is having fun as Motherfucker Jones Aniston is having an absolute riot as dentist Julia Harris.
I freely admit that I love Jennifer Aniston more than air in my lungs so to see her given a decent role and a hit movie to boot is great and hopefully the start of a trend.
The only criticism that I have for "Horrible Bosses" is that one of the titular characters is criminally underused.
Colin Farrell who I was not a fan of (apart from his role in Daredevil) until I saw him in the brilliantly funny "In Bruges" is not given nearly enough screen time. He completely ditches everything that we associate with him to become a beer-bellied, comb over sporting middle management dunderhead. He is as offensive as he is inept and he leaves you wanting more. Great stuff from Farrell.
You can forgive his lack of screen time to a degree because his character's fate is funny and out of the blue and important to the plot. Still- more would have been good.
I suspect a DVD release will amend this as judging by some of the trailers a lot of his part was left on the cutting room floor.
There isn't an abundance of plot in the movie but each scene is well used for comedic value.
Humour is derived from cocaine, cats, bathroom implements and general ineptitude.
The three leads are great together and the constant pointing out that being hit on by Jennifer Aniston "doesn't sound that bad" is just one of the ongoing gags.
"Horrible Bosses" comes preloaded to appeal to a population jaded by the modern workplace and a work / life balance rapidly shifting out of control and provides enough laughs to make sure that the better half of that scale is served by giving it a look.
It could add an additional ten or fifteen minutes to its running time and I am sure that such footage exists in a longer cut. More Farrell, Spacey and Foxx would not be a bad thing and I will take all the Aniston that I can get.
(I draw the line with "The Bounty Hunter" but that is just common sense)
However the 96 minutes that we are given are great.
Excellent fun and unreservedly recommended.
I suggest that you bend this one over and show it all fifty states.
(That's a real expression by the way)
Rated R16 for a lot of filthy talk, mild drug use and an offensive comb-over
It is a real relief to see the talented actress get a role that she can sink her teeth into.
Not that she is the main reason to see this movie.
In fact one of the things that "Horrible Bosses" does really well is spread the load amongst 4 or 5 characters.
By doing this it doesn't rely on a single character's traits for comedic value and allows a whole bunch of talented actors to shine.
Jason Bateman has rapidly become his generations Mr Reliable. Even in movies that don't quite come off he is the funniest facet. Refer to "Extract" or "Hancock".
Here he plays one of three men whose lives are made miserable by their bosses.
Bateman's Nick has a manipulative, nasty piece of work for a boss played with disdainful glee by Kevin Spacey. His friends Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) have a sexually harrassing sexpot (A sizzlingly, smoking hot Aniston) and a coke snorting sleazeball (Colin Farrell) for bosses.
Nick is passed over for a promotion that he was all but promised, Dale's engagement is threatened by the advances of his boss and Kurt is made to perform outrageous tasks such as firing overweight people.
When it becomes too much they plot to kill their bosses.
For middle class white guys the best way to get into crime of course is to find the first black guy you can and ask him because he is obviously au fait with all manner of heinous criminal acts.
Yeah... right.
This approach leads them to a bar where they meet the superbly named Motherfucker Jones played by Jamie Foxx who is clearly loving every second of this. Motherfucker Jones not only provided me with a chuckle every time someone said his name but also drives the plot forward by suggesting the obvious tactic here is for each man to kill one of the others bosses.
 |
| MF Jones esquire |
The wheels are soon in motion and to reveal any more would be to ruin your fun.
That's the operative word - fun.
This movie may not make you belly laugh but you will giggle consistently and smile all the way through.
 |
| The case for Brad Pitt being an idiot exhibits A through C |
If Foxx is having fun as Motherfucker Jones Aniston is having an absolute riot as dentist Julia Harris.
I freely admit that I love Jennifer Aniston more than air in my lungs so to see her given a decent role and a hit movie to boot is great and hopefully the start of a trend.
The only criticism that I have for "Horrible Bosses" is that one of the titular characters is criminally underused.
Colin Farrell who I was not a fan of (apart from his role in Daredevil) until I saw him in the brilliantly funny "In Bruges" is not given nearly enough screen time. He completely ditches everything that we associate with him to become a beer-bellied, comb over sporting middle management dunderhead. He is as offensive as he is inept and he leaves you wanting more. Great stuff from Farrell.
I suspect a DVD release will amend this as judging by some of the trailers a lot of his part was left on the cutting room floor.
There isn't an abundance of plot in the movie but each scene is well used for comedic value.
Humour is derived from cocaine, cats, bathroom implements and general ineptitude.
The three leads are great together and the constant pointing out that being hit on by Jennifer Aniston "doesn't sound that bad" is just one of the ongoing gags.
It could add an additional ten or fifteen minutes to its running time and I am sure that such footage exists in a longer cut. More Farrell, Spacey and Foxx would not be a bad thing and I will take all the Aniston that I can get.
(I draw the line with "The Bounty Hunter" but that is just common sense)
However the 96 minutes that we are given are great.
Excellent fun and unreservedly recommended.
I suggest that you bend this one over and show it all fifty states.
(That's a real expression by the way)
Rated R16 for a lot of filthy talk, mild drug use and an offensive comb-over
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