Starring: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell
Director: Seth Gordon (The King Of Kong)
Quick Thoughts: A solid, but underwhelming comedy, Horrible Bosses asks the question: how far would you go to get rid of your asshole boss? While the premise makes sense for Jason Bateman’s and Jason Sudeikis’ characters–Kevin Spacey is the epitome of the jerk boss and Colin Farrell is a drug-addled psychopath–I doubt any straight male would have much of a problem with Charlie Day’s situation. Jennifer Aniston has never looked better and she plays the dentist to Day’s hygienist, where she spends most of the work day trying to get him to have sex wit her. Sounds terrible! Sure, Day is engaged to be married, but the only thing we know about his fiance is that she isn’t half as good looking as Jennifer Aniston is in this movie. It’s a hard situation to sympathize with. Plus, what would you rather have on your record? Murder or adultery with an incredible looking woman? Tough choice. Risk going to jail for a long time or HAVE SEX?
For a comedy, it’s odd that Kevin Spacey’s very serious, very jerkish boss gets most of the screen time. Colin Farrell is mostly funny in his role, but is underused and Aniston takes a back seat as well. Who knows why Jamie Foxx was in this movie. Other than having the novelty of being named “Motherfucker” Jones, Foxx’s role is basically pointless and mostly unfunny. Charlie Day is definitely the film’s saving grace. Stepping up to the big leagues after numerous seasons on the hilarious FX comedy “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia“, Day is by far the most consistently funny actor in Horrible Bosses and should have a solid comedic future on the big screen.
Horrible Bosses isn’t a disaster, but it’s not going to find a place amongst the great R-rated comedies of the past few years. It’s only modestly funny and the plot gets too ridiculous at times, plus it’s a shame that it’s two best characters, Aniston’s dentist and Farrell’s coked out lunatic, are criminally underused.
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: Possibly worth another watch.
Sequel Potential: I would guess not.
Nudity: C’mon Jen… you’ve never looked sexier… just take it…one…step…further.
Grade: 5.5/10 (Worth Watching/Recommended)
RottenTomatoes Scores: Critics: 73% Audience: 80%
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
Recommendation: Horrible Bosses isn’t a waste of time–I did find it enjoyable–but it’s more of a DVD rental than something you have to rush out and see in theaters.
The Bat Cave 