Movie Review: Horrible Bosses

Who hasn't found their boss, at least at one time or another, horrible? Who hasn't thought about killing them? - Oops! Did I just say that? - Such is the premise of this black comedy starring Jason Batemen, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis as the poor idiots who have the bosses from hell, respectively Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farrell. Colin Farrell? Was that really him? Wow, you have to look twice.

Of course being a comedy, the fodder as in comic fodder stems from the utter incompetency of our three heroes to create and execute a plan to surreptitiously do away with the one person standing between them and the perfect job. Our geniuses are so inexperienced or just plain dumb, they can't even find a proper hitman to carry out their devious scheme. Gee, I didn't know that if you looked through the "men looking for men" section, you could hire somebody for water sports and they would show up with their own plastic sheet. Sorry, no more spoiling it. Go see the movie.

In the States the film is rated PG-13 and I see here in Canada, well in Ontario, it's rated 14A. Such a rating comes from the language which in places does go through some of George Carlin's "Seven Word You Can't Say on Television" - Gosh, does that reference date me? - however I'm sure that is nothing anybody has already heard about a zillion times before. No big deal, right?

I've noted that several reviewers have made favourable remarks about Jennifer Aniston. True, she has floundered around in some unremarkable roles since the 1999 film The Good Girl, but I think these male critics are enamoured with seeing a good looking woman, and Aniston is a good looking woman, playing the part of a sex crazed maniac. Seeing a guy as a sex crazy maniac seems funny; seeing Aniston as sex crazed is, well, just hot. Sorry, the spittle at the corner of my mouth is not from laughing too hard.

Final Word
On the official movie web site, I read that one critic called this the funniest movie of the year. I looked elsewhere and found somebody saying it's the funniest movie of the year to date. I kept looking and discovered the phrase "the funniest movie of the year" applied in separate reviews to Bridesmaids, Hall Pass and Just Go With It. Hmmm, is the funniest movie of the year merely the film I'm currently looking at?

This is a not bad comedy. It is certainly far better than the mediocre Larry Crowne. However with a rating of 76% at Rotten Tomatoes, it's a good film but not necessarily a clear winner. I liked parts of it, but some of the slapstick wasn't quite slappy enough and didn't always end up being as funny as it intended. Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farrell did good jobs as the horrible bosses and certainly added to the ensemble cast. - Colin Farrell? Was that really him?

I would rate this, as a comedy, on par with Bridesmaids. - Although Bridesmaids was rated 89%. - This film is amusing; it's funny. Not a rip snorter. Not a falling on the floor I'm laughing so hard, but funny. It does have its moments.


References

Rotten Tomatoes: Horrible Bosses: 69%
It's nasty, uneven, and far from original, but thanks to a smartly assembled cast that makes the most of a solid premise, Horrible Bosses works.

Wikipedia: Horrible Bosses
Horrible Bosses is a black comedy film directed by Seth Gordon and starring Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx. It premiered June 30, 2011. The movie's premise follows a trio of long-suffering friends who team up to murder their respective overbearing bosses with disastrous results.

official web site: Horrible Bosses
[The usual movie extras: videos, photos, synopsis, with downloads (wallpapers, posters, buddy icons).]

2011-07-08

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