Film Review: Horrible Bosses (2011)

Halfway through the summer, R-rated comedies have had mixed results: The Hangover: Part II (2011) disappointed many viewers, especially in comparison to the vastly superior original; Bad Teacher (2011) failed to live up to its potential let alone satisfy or exceed expectations; but Bridesmaids (2011) amazed audiences with hilarious humor as well as heartfelt drama.  Fortunately, Horrible Bosses (2011) is more like the latter.  While it does not quite surpass expectations or make the most out of its promising premise, this movie is very entertaining and features a rock-solid cast that helps make it more memorable.  In fact, for some viewers Horrible Bosses has dethroned Bridesmaids as the funniest comedy of the year thus far, even if it has a less developed story and characters than the pre-wedding dramedy.

The concept is rather relatable since almost every adult has had to work for a less-than-agreeable boss at one point or another in his or her life.  However, in Horrible Bosses the premise is intensified to extremes where you virtually believe that such bosses should be “taken care of.”  The movie centers around three best friends who have peculiarly grueling and dreadful superiors that are making their lives miserable.  Nick Hendricks is an aspiring businessman who has taken s*** from his psychotic, manipulative boss Dave Harken for eight years in order to receive a promotion to vice president of sales.  Dale Arbus, a dental hygienist with an overstated criminal background as a pedophile, assists the scandalously sexy Dr. Julia Hilarious, D.D.S., who is a sexual fiend out for Dale’s intimacy.  His situation might not seem all that terrible except that he is a conservative guy who only wants to marry his lovely fiancée Stacy.  The suave Kurt Buckman, on the other hand, loves his accountant job for a chemical company and his sweet, old boss Jack Pellit.  When Jack dies from a heart attack, though, Kurt must submit to his playboy, coke-head son Bobby Pellit.  After a couple hypothetical conversations, the trio decides to kill their bosses.  Initially they seek a hitman, since each one has clear motives for murder, but after a disgustingly funny failed attempt they settle on a “murder consultant” – Dean Mother-F***** Jones – who advises the group to take out each others’ bosses for them.  The ensuing operation is comically chaotic as it transpires anything but according to plan.

The best thing about the movie is its practically pitch-perfect cast, particularly the members who play the horrible bosses.  Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey is terrifying as the brutally abusive Dave Harken, who has the most screen-time and importance to the plot; watching him bring his dramatic talents to the comedic role is highly entertaining.  Jennifer Aniston has never been sexier than in the role of Dr. Julia Harris, nor has she been much funnier either; her character’s vulgarity might be a little too much for some people but most viewers will have a hoot watching her naughty humor, after all this is a R-rated black comedy.  Lastly, Collin Farrell gives arguably the best performance of the three and perhaps the whole movie when he uglies himself and disappears into the role of Bobby Pellit and his comb-over (much like Tom Cruise did in the absolutely hilarious Tropic Thunder [2008]); Farrell manages to offend so much in certain instances (i.e. “trim the fat”) that it becomes humorous rather than obnoxious.  Unfortunately, he has a very limited amount of screen-time as audiences may wish for more of his character – if so, stick around for the outtakes during the credits where he has a number of them in a grocery store.  Bottom line, though, is that if you go into the movie with your political correctness still intact or in effect, then you probably won’t enjoy it too much; Horrible Bosses is very crude but also incredibly funny at times.

As for the trio who wish to kill Dave, Julia, and Bobby, the actors bring amusing peculiarities to each of their respective characters as well and help to elevate the comedy as a whole.  Arrested Development star Jason Bateman has a solid summer pair of R-rated comedies between this movie and the upcoming The Change-Up (2011), and he is basically the same kind of character he always plays (reserved and rational) except that he is a bit more crude than usual, swearing more often than ever before in the role of Nick Hendricks.  Most people either find his characteristics funny or dull, but what he does best, and most amusingly, is interact with other idiosyncratic people, such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Charlie Day.  Day is perhaps the funniest character on the TV show and the same might be true for this movie, at least within the trio of abused workers.  As Dale Arbus, Day also plays his character very similarly to the one in Sunny, but why mess with what works? – He is certainly the most entertaining of the three to watch.  Finally, comedian Jason Sudeikis, thus far best known for his work on SNL, has his moments as the supposedly smooth Kurt Buckman, but he seems to be the weakest link in the trio; the laughs associated with his character are sporadic and often elicit only chuckles while his character’s ladies’ man persona is unconvincing.  Some comparisons have been made between these three characters and the three leads in The Hangover (2009) where Buckman’s one is like Bradley Cooper’s, Day’s is like Zach Galifianakis, and Bateman’s is the Ed Helms of the group; although the comparison seems apt, it is not completely applicable and should not be thought of in that sense – this is a distinct trio that has features unique performances.  In all, Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis do an adequate job in provoking laughter; besides, outshining Spacey, Aniston, and Farrell would have been difficult to accomplish.  Nonetheless, the mixture of and interactions between the two groups is what really makes this comedy roll.

Despite assembling a remarkable cast, Horrible Bosses is slightly underwhelming.  On the one hand, the uneven tone (between sharp and nasty black comedy and PG-13 humor) and patchy pacing makes the laughter difficult to sustain throughout the entire runtime.  For instance, parts of the movie drag on and contain limited genuine laughs.  On the other hand, several aspects could have been extended, such as giving Farrell more time to stretch his comedic legs.  Also, the last act’s climax and conclusion feels rushed and too neat and tidy for such a nasty situation; in that sense, one cannot help but feel the ending is a bit of a cop-out and somewhat predictably so.

Apart from the pacing and development flaws, some viewers will feel disappointed by the somewhat subdued personalities of Bateman and Day.  In other words, the two seem like shells of their former great selves here; they are usually amusing but infrequently hilarious.  Again, although the actors who portray their evil bosses are outstanding and hard to compete with, perhaps because some viewers already associate Bateman and Day to their previous work in film and television they are simply fun rather than unforgettable here.  To make a somewhat rough comparison, I pose the following questions: how many of you knew Zach Galifianakis before the first The Hangover?  After which have you been able to disassociate him from his character Alan or has nothing he has done since lived up to the unforgettable first time you saw the movie and his bizarre performance?  In sum, those of you who have seen Bateman or Day’s previous works might feel Horrible Bosses underwhelms because they are largely unable to shed their notable personas, which work but maybe not enough to make this movie a classic, highly quotable comedy.  Don’t get me wrong, they are very talented, comedic actors, but unless you moderate your expectations going in you may feel disappointed by the end and wishing they have more to work with.

The supporting cast contains a few other notable actors that lend small yet important performances.  Most significantly, Jamie Foxx is in a few scenes as Dean “Mother-F******” Jones who’s shifty eyes while drinking from a straw is curiously funny.  Donald Sutherland makes an extremely short but sweet part as the benevolent Jack Pellit.  The ageless beauty Julie Bowen, recently best known for her part as Claire on hit TV show Modern Family and previously recognizable from Happy Gilmore (1996), has a cameo appearance as the perhaps less-than-faithful Mrs. Rhonda Harken.  To varying degrees, they add some quality to the movie.

Overall, this comedy may grow with repeat viewings as its quotes may become more memorable with time, but for now it is a merely good comedy.  Spacey, Aniston, and Farrell give terrific turns as the horrible bosses while Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis do their best to keep up with them and provide fine performance; hopefully Day breaks out a bit and receives more feature-film roles – he deserves it.  While you can debate which characters needed more or less screen-time, you cannot deny the fact that the cast makes the movie much more enjoyable.  It does not have much of an emotional core, other than to make you feel bad for these the employees and root for the success of their plan, or the best developed story and characters, but Horrible Bosses features rock-solid performances and manages to make you laugh or grin more often than not.  Also, while it might not make the absolute most out of its premise, this movie is still worth checking out, preferably with several friends who enjoy dark comedies.

 

Horrible Bosses – 8/10

 

 

 

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